Posted: February 19th, 2022

Augustine’s View of Human Nature

n Book I of Confessions, Augustine discusses his childhood where he refers to himself as “so tiny a child, so great a sinner.”

Based on what you have learned from the recorded lectures on The Confessions, why did Augustine see himself that way?
Describe at least two of the examples that Augustine gives of his sinful behavior. Why does he see such behavior as sinful and against God’s will?
What is your opinion of his view of human nature? Is it outmoded or still relevant?
Augustine’s View of Human Nature
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Augustine’s View of Human Nature
Augustine sees himself as a tiny child, so great a sinner because of various reasons. He had no interest in learning and hated being forced to do it. Augustine is pleased that he was compelled to study. He believes that those who reproved him were fulfilling God’s will in his life (Elizabeth, 2010). Correspondingly, he has seen infants being jealous of one another. A baby will not want another child to be given breast milk yet both of them need it for growth and nutrition (Nightingale, 2011). Augustine believes he was jealous too when young. Children wail when they are hungry. When an adult shrieks for food, people will laugh at him for being childish. If an adult is ridiculed, so should a child but the society chooses to favor.
There are several examples Augustine gives of sinful behavior. One of them is that Augustine hated the fact that he was taught to look upon models who had a life of confusion (Mann, 2016). People were following them blindly instead of looking upon God. The most high, saw all that they were doing and was in silence because of his nature of patience. Equally, they were busy being taught about letters and syllables and assuming eternal decrees (Matusek, 2011). Knowledge of letters is not better than the conscience within us. When human beings dislike each other and yet have information on writing, it is of no value. Furthermore, it is against God’s commandments and will.
Augustine states that evil does not occur in human nature. Correspondingly, we are created in the image and likeness of God. Our nature should be compelled to do good because God is moral. My view is that humans should try to increase the level of virtuousness in them. In addition, people will be able to receive salvation through the good deeds that they do. To conclude, his view is still relevant because it makes sense.
References
Elizabeth, S. (2010). Augustine on suffering and order.
Mann, W. E. (2016). Augustine’s confessions: critical essays.
Matusek, E. (2011). The problem of evil in Augustine’s confessions.
Nightingale, A. (2011). Once out of nature: Augustine on time and the body.