The Strengths and Weaknesses of Augustine’s and Ireneau's Theodicy

The appearances of Augustine and his twin brother, Alfred, are in great contrast, keying us in on some important behavioral differences. Alfred St. Clare has dark eyes, a haughty Roman profile, and is decidedly built very well, with tan skin. He has a much more brutal way of treating his slaves, and this is made even clearer when his son, Henrique—who is also dark-eyed and has a princely, entitled look—beat one of their young slaves. Augustine St. Clare, on the other hand, is full of spirit with the same bright blue eyes as his daughter, Eva, and a more wiry shape. Henrique’s actions are called out by little Eva, with her head full of golden curls and angelic face, who takes very much after her after. While Alfred apparently thinks that allowing

In the Confessions by Saint Augustine, this great philosopher experiences many problems and emotions related to sin and evil. As a boy, he often felt darkness, blindness, and confusion while attempting to find rest in God. Augustine started out in childhood with a restless heart because he had to live in two different worlds. These worlds consisted of his mother’s Christian faith, and the world of everything else. These two worlds confused and disturbed Augustine as a child. Augustine’s father was pagan and his mother was Christian, and they both wanted him to be very successful in the world. As he became confused, he began asking questions that could not be answered such as, “Humans often feel restless, but what is it they need to feel at

You prompt us yourself to find satisfaction in appraising you, since you made us tilted toward you, and our heart is unstable until stabilized in you. Quintessentially, this quote from Confessions symbolizes Augustine’s perilous journey towards Christianity. Although appearing earlier in what is colloquially known as the “first autobiography”, Augustine expounds on this very idea throughout his writings. Whether that includes his attraction and disdain for Manichaeism or his affinity with Neo-Platonism, one could argue this quote acted as the foundation of his inquisitions of these pre-modern dogmatic sects. Augustine, despite his perils with intellectual paradoxes, sought to understand these rigid entities that seemed to have variant

Aurelius Augustinius, St. Augustine, was born in 354 A.D. in Tagaste, a town in North Africa. Born just over a century before the fall of Rome, Augustine would live his entire life within the Roman empire. Augustine was a great Christian thinker and wrote numerous works which survive today, and offer us a vivid glimpse into the period. His works and thoughts on Christ, the nature of God, the role of the Church, and myriad other topics, shaped much of medieval thought. He would remain a major influence for 1000 years after he died. Two of his works stand out as possibly the most important of his writings: City of God, and Confessions. Augustine's Confessions is the first ever

In Augustine’s article “Virtue and the Human Soul,” happiness is discussed in great detail. What makes a man happy? How do we obtain this happiness and where does

In The Confessions, Augustine goes on a journey to discover the truth, and purses the ideals of how he should live and what he finds value in. In his pursuit for the truth and his journey through life, Augustine is faced with obstacles that significantly shaped who he is, forming his very thoughts contained in the novel. The obstacles Augustine had to face through his life was the confrontation of sin and why humans perform sinful actions, the passing of his friend, and the passing of his own mother.

In regards to Montaigne 's statement on page 23 in Apology for Raymond Sebond, I would deduce that he was using the metaphor of nature and natural tendencies in opposition to man 's vain, self-seeking façade that displaces God the creator. Montaigne 's statement appears to (on the surface at least) value mans naturalistic tendencies and graces in a much better light than our own vain-striving presumptions that claim that our "competent utterances" hold the very answers to the "right" way in which to conduct oneself. Montaigne constantly uses the contrast of animals and humans with the former representing a more pure, natural existence that I assume is to be

Throughout his Confessions, Augustine's view of humans--our essential nature has interesting differences from the way in which others, in different time periods and in different civilizations, have seen humans.

During the Middle Ages, the Roman Empire was on the decline and the Church was growing in dominance. The rise of Medieval Catholicism was growing rapidly with the contributions of its Church Fathers. Of the Church Fathers, the most important was Augustine, who was known not only as a great thinker and the greatest theologian, but, a brilliant apologist. He defended the religion at a time when, although, Christianity was the state religion, was being blamed for the fall of the Roman Empire. However, Augustine, refuted this accusation and stated that Roman paganism itself was to blame. Additionally, Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan whom baptized Augustine was also an important contributor and his superior organization skills contributed to the organization

The "bounds of the church" cannot "in any manner be extended to civil affairs," Locke insisted, "because the church itself is a thing separate and distinct from the commonwealth and civil affairs. The boundaries of both sides are fixed and immovable.

No saint in the history of the Church has had an impact on spirituality in the same way as Augustine. His personality gives him a relatability that allows all Christians to come to a greater understanding of the faith. He makes heaven seems so much more reachable. His devout mother, sinful youth, and dramatic conversion all come together to produce writing that differs greatly from those of the past saints. The great love of God is a major topic of his writing, especially the joys that come as a result of responding to that love. Augustine’s past sinfulness gave him a measurement by which to judge the happiness received from loving God, and so he came to the conclusion that in all cases loving God is far more wonderful than anything one can experience otherwise.

The idea of the hero in Greco-Roman culture was integrated into the idea of the saint (in the process of conversion and totalization) by way of Christianity's adoption of and ancestry in the Greco-Roman culture. As Professor Ambrosio indicates, "The need and the search for meaning is shared by all human beings" (Hero or Saint Saul of Tarsus). Thus, it is no surprise to find that a pagan Greco-Roman title is applicable to a Christian whose virtue is viewed as greater than that of ordinary men just as the hero is viewed as greater (in fame, bravery, strength) than ordinary men. The fact that two of early Christianity's most heroic figures (St. Paul and St. Augustine) were Roman makes this integration even less surprising. This paper will discuss the way in which the hero is integrated into the idea of the saint by comparing Saul of Tarsus with Augustine of Hippo two men who underwent a conversion and rose to "heroic" or "saintly" heights in terms of Christian virtue.

Neoplatonic beliefs are that there is one perfect sources of goodness in the universe [God in Augustine's terms]. We are all connected with the One. Augustine used Neoplatonic beliefs to rationalize his own beliefs on God. He also believes that one can seek to know God through virtue and contemplation. Augustine thinks that supreme goodness and beauty comes from God, the sources of goodness.

Saint Augustine was born is 354 in a North Africa province part of the Roman Empire. Growing up in the Roman Empire was a major influence on his work. He is well known for his theological teaching on Christianity and developed much of its doctrine. Augustine wrote on political philosophy as well and developed his own ideas on what the ideal state is. Augustine believes that government is an act of God and its function is to allow people to live good lives. The state is a part of God's ultimate plan. The type of government is not important as the state playing its role to God. The church and government will be the key institutions in society and each will take care of different functions.

Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, was one of the greatest philosophers of the roman period. He was raised in a religiously divided home, but through time he found his own truth. He was always an excellent student. He fully mastered the Latin language, however, he never did well with Greek. Saint Augustine was also a man who had a way with words. After his teenage rebellious stage, he found an unorthodox religious group that he decided to become involved with for a while. He traveled the area and ended up staying in Milan for a while. This is where he met Bishop Ambrose and began to listen to his teachings. This caused for Augustine think about his life and ultimately converted him to Christianity. After converting, he wrote books such as: Confessions, The City of God, and De Doctrinia (On Christian Doctrine), along with many others. Saint Augustine was and still is a great Christian influence in the world today.