Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Augustine (Part 2)
City of God vs. City of Man
City of God—the city of the righteous. It is a city of the Universe, but not including the whole universe. City of God excludes the fallen angels, the souls of the unrighteous, and the unrighteous who are living on earth.
—It is an invisible city; it can’t strictly be identified with the Church, because the Church has baptized members who belong to its society, yet are not righteous, therefore don’t belong to the society of the city of God.
—City of God contains earthly membership—most, but not all, members of the Church, plus people from other ‘tribes’ who strive to live righteously.
City of Man—the “earthly” city. In strictness, no formal, visible, enumerable society.
—Is simply all the unrighteous, wherever they be in the universe: fallen angels, souls of the unrighteous, the unrighteous who are living on earth.
—CANNOT be identified with any actual society. NOT a synonym for Roman Empire.
—It is both more and less than the earthly society. More because it includes fallen angels as well as fallen men; less because it does not include the righteous men living on earth.
“Two loves have created two cities: love of self, to the contempt of God, the earthly city; love of God, to the contempt of self, the heavenly” (XIV. xxviii)
“The only true basis and bond of a true city is that of faith and strong concord—which is, in its highest and truest character, God Himself—and men love one another, with full sincerity, in Him, and the ground of their love for one another is the love of Him from whose eyes they cannot conceal the Spirit of their love…and these two cities, and these two loves, shall live together, side by side, and even intermixed, until the last winnowing and the final separation shall come upon the earth in the day of judgment.”
Remember: (1) The earthly city (City of Man) does not equal the Roman Empire or any form of actual state.
(2) The heavenly city (City of God) does not equal the Catholic Church.
**The earthly and heavenly cities are ideal conceptions. To be more exact, the earthly city is an ideal negation, or antithesis of the ideal.
—The earthly city (City of Man) is a city of unrighteousness. The actually state, as it really exists, is something different. It is not absolutely unrighteous.
—The actual state can aid, be a coadjutor, of the City of God.
Absolute Righteousness vs. Relative Righteousness
Absolute Righteousness—system of right relations to God; relations which are at once religious, moral, and, if you will, legal: relations that are total.
—does not have to deal with sin, because sin has been swallowed up.
Relative Righteousness—system of right relations mainly in the legal sphere. Reckons with, and adjusts to, the sinfulness of human nature.
—It is the best available considering the defect of sin. Still, it is only a 2nd best to Absolute Righteousness.
—State institutions are forms of dominium: of government over subjects, owners over property, masters over slaves.
—dominium is a form or ordo, and to that extent good, but it is relative to the sin it has to correct, and as such, only relatively good.
Example: ideally, all Christians would share all things in common. Because of sin, we have greed, and to partly remedy this, it is necessary for the state to allow private property. But, this is only a relative, not absolute, good.
—God wills the state, but He wills it conditionally; as a propter remedium peccatorum (a remedy for sin).
*The state runs somewhere between the City of God and the City of Man. It is a city of both the righteous and unrighteous.
Augustine vs. Donatist and Pelagian heresies
Donatists—Bishop Donatus. Turned their back on the church of the masses as too worldly and unholy.
—taught that all baptisms & ordinations by bad bishops and presbyters (those who were unworthy, lapsed into great sin) were invalid. Also, baptisms and ordinations by their successors are also invalid, since, even if the successors were good, they were ordained by bad men, making their places as bishops and presbyters invalid.
Augustine’s rebuttal: people who are baptized and ordained should not be penalized because of the sinfulness of the person conferring the sacrament upon them. Validity of the Sacrament is not dependent on the performer of the Sacrament’s personal holiness, but on whether the Sacrament is performed correctly.
Pelagianism—lay monk Pelagius. Facing a lax nominal Christianity among Rome’s well-to-do elite, he attached great importance to morality, human will, freedom, responsibility, and practical action. God’s grace not as important.
Augustine’s rebuttal: Grace is a force that works inside of us. Comes from God, not deserved or warranted. We are saved by God’s Grace, not by good “works.” Pelagianism struck at Augustine personally, since he had been caught up in sins of the flesh and lust.
Did the City of God set the groundwork for the Medieval Papacy?
—Some medieval Popes, such as Hildebrand, saw themselves as heirs to the City of God. As for Augustine’s understanding himself, it’s a little more complex.
Augustine—believed in a universal church comparable to the moon & individual churches comparable to the stars.
—an especial authority resided in the particular Churches founded by the apostles.
—among these, a primary, or more especial, authority resided in the Roman Church.
—Roman Church is to be consulted for authoritative pronouncements on disputed questions, but a ‘plenary Council of the Church universal’ has primary authority.
Relation of the Church to the City of God
—remember: Church and City of God are not quite the same. Not all who have been baptized and confirmed are righteous.
—But, the fervor of faith may sweep away the difference. The Church sometimes glows with the greatness of the city of God, and sometimes falls short.
Relation of Church and State
—Augustine does not deal strictly with the issue of a ‘concordat’ between Church and State or a State ‘establishment’ of Church.
—Church is a pilgrim society, living by faith and looking to the hereafter.
—lives on earth by the side of the State; it acknowledges the divine institution and relative righteousness of the State.
—Recognize the State for what it is worth, but move on, always looking elsewhere. Acknowledge the king, give him due obedience, then pass on.
**—also a little subversive; ancient Romans thought of the Roman Empire as the one and only great society. Augustine says the State is only a small part; there is a greater society, the City of God.
—ultimate goal: elimination of the State, enthronement of the Church (or the heavenly city that is more and more identified with the Church) as the one and only final society. Rome has fallen: Christ has risen.
City of God—the city of the righteous. It is a city of the Universe, but not including the whole universe. City of God excludes the fallen angels, the souls of the unrighteous, and the unrighteous who are living on earth.
—It is an invisible city; it can’t strictly be identified with the Church, because the Church has baptized members who belong to its society, yet are not righteous, therefore don’t belong to the society of the city of God.
—City of God contains earthly membership—most, but not all, members of the Church, plus people from other ‘tribes’ who strive to live righteously.
City of Man—the “earthly” city. In strictness, no formal, visible, enumerable society.
—Is simply all the unrighteous, wherever they be in the universe: fallen angels, souls of the unrighteous, the unrighteous who are living on earth.
—CANNOT be identified with any actual society. NOT a synonym for Roman Empire.
—It is both more and less than the earthly society. More because it includes fallen angels as well as fallen men; less because it does not include the righteous men living on earth.
“Two loves have created two cities: love of self, to the contempt of God, the earthly city; love of God, to the contempt of self, the heavenly” (XIV. xxviii)
“The only true basis and bond of a true city is that of faith and strong concord—which is, in its highest and truest character, God Himself—and men love one another, with full sincerity, in Him, and the ground of their love for one another is the love of Him from whose eyes they cannot conceal the Spirit of their love…and these two cities, and these two loves, shall live together, side by side, and even intermixed, until the last winnowing and the final separation shall come upon the earth in the day of judgment.”
Remember: (1) The earthly city (City of Man) does not equal the Roman Empire or any form of actual state.
(2) The heavenly city (City of God) does not equal the Catholic Church.
**The earthly and heavenly cities are ideal conceptions. To be more exact, the earthly city is an ideal negation, or antithesis of the ideal.
—The earthly city (City of Man) is a city of unrighteousness. The actually state, as it really exists, is something different. It is not absolutely unrighteous.
—The actual state can aid, be a coadjutor, of the City of God.
Absolute Righteousness vs. Relative Righteousness
Absolute Righteousness—system of right relations to God; relations which are at once religious, moral, and, if you will, legal: relations that are total.
—does not have to deal with sin, because sin has been swallowed up.
Relative Righteousness—system of right relations mainly in the legal sphere. Reckons with, and adjusts to, the sinfulness of human nature.
—It is the best available considering the defect of sin. Still, it is only a 2nd best to Absolute Righteousness.
—State institutions are forms of dominium: of government over subjects, owners over property, masters over slaves.
—dominium is a form or ordo, and to that extent good, but it is relative to the sin it has to correct, and as such, only relatively good.
Example: ideally, all Christians would share all things in common. Because of sin, we have greed, and to partly remedy this, it is necessary for the state to allow private property. But, this is only a relative, not absolute, good.
—God wills the state, but He wills it conditionally; as a propter remedium peccatorum (a remedy for sin).
*The state runs somewhere between the City of God and the City of Man. It is a city of both the righteous and unrighteous.
Augustine vs. Donatist and Pelagian heresies
Donatists—Bishop Donatus. Turned their back on the church of the masses as too worldly and unholy.
—taught that all baptisms & ordinations by bad bishops and presbyters (those who were unworthy, lapsed into great sin) were invalid. Also, baptisms and ordinations by their successors are also invalid, since, even if the successors were good, they were ordained by bad men, making their places as bishops and presbyters invalid.
Augustine’s rebuttal: people who are baptized and ordained should not be penalized because of the sinfulness of the person conferring the sacrament upon them. Validity of the Sacrament is not dependent on the performer of the Sacrament’s personal holiness, but on whether the Sacrament is performed correctly.
Pelagianism—lay monk Pelagius. Facing a lax nominal Christianity among Rome’s well-to-do elite, he attached great importance to morality, human will, freedom, responsibility, and practical action. God’s grace not as important.
Augustine’s rebuttal: Grace is a force that works inside of us. Comes from God, not deserved or warranted. We are saved by God’s Grace, not by good “works.” Pelagianism struck at Augustine personally, since he had been caught up in sins of the flesh and lust.
Did the City of God set the groundwork for the Medieval Papacy?
—Some medieval Popes, such as Hildebrand, saw themselves as heirs to the City of God. As for Augustine’s understanding himself, it’s a little more complex.
Augustine—believed in a universal church comparable to the moon & individual churches comparable to the stars.
—an especial authority resided in the particular Churches founded by the apostles.
—among these, a primary, or more especial, authority resided in the Roman Church.
—Roman Church is to be consulted for authoritative pronouncements on disputed questions, but a ‘plenary Council of the Church universal’ has primary authority.
Relation of the Church to the City of God
—remember: Church and City of God are not quite the same. Not all who have been baptized and confirmed are righteous.
—But, the fervor of faith may sweep away the difference. The Church sometimes glows with the greatness of the city of God, and sometimes falls short.
Relation of Church and State
—Augustine does not deal strictly with the issue of a ‘concordat’ between Church and State or a State ‘establishment’ of Church.
—Church is a pilgrim society, living by faith and looking to the hereafter.
—lives on earth by the side of the State; it acknowledges the divine institution and relative righteousness of the State.
—Recognize the State for what it is worth, but move on, always looking elsewhere. Acknowledge the king, give him due obedience, then pass on.
**—also a little subversive; ancient Romans thought of the Roman Empire as the one and only great society. Augustine says the State is only a small part; there is a greater society, the City of God.
—ultimate goal: elimination of the State, enthronement of the Church (or the heavenly city that is more and more identified with the Church) as the one and only final society. Rome has fallen: Christ has risen.
# posted by SeanPatrick @ 7:48 AM 
