Augustine's Understandings of Grace and Salvation

Augustine's Understandings of Grace and Salvation

Introduction

An extremely influential Christian writer of late ancient time, Augustine has been an inspirational figure for Reformation, medieval, Counter-Reformation, and conservative political thought. Political figures as diverse as Martin Luther in the 15th century and Hannah Arendt in the 20th century have studied Augustine closely and reclaimed his theoretical vocabulary in their own work (Fitzgerald, 1999). Augustinian political theology has been predominantly appropriate to the discussion of: the function of divine will and predestination in man's history; the role of human nature and sinfulness in political structures; the relationship of church and state; the theory of just war and the nature of justice and punishment. Different historical periods have highlighted different sides of Augustine's thought. In medieval political thought, neo-Augustinian approaches developed, especially in relation to the question of papal-secular authority. By contrast, Reformation and Counter-Reformation writers tended to look to Augustine for guidance on the role of divine grace in human affairs (Markus, 1970). In contemporary political philosophy, Augustine has had resonance for theorists who argue that a realist outlook on politics is desirable; for instance writers like Hans Morgenthau and Reinhold Niebuhr.

Discussion

Augustine was the very first prominent political thinker within the Christian convention. Highly intellectual and politically astute, Augustine was a North African bishop during a period that experienced immense modifications in the political landscape (Chadwick, 2009). Following the conversion of Emperor Constantine's to Christianity in the mid 4th century, Christianity was settling in to become a state religion. The process was complicated by two pressures: the external risk of invasion by barbarian forces and, internally, the legacy of persecution, which had left hatred between communities that had renounced their faith and those that had been steadfast despite the dangers. Augustinian political thought tackles the problem of living a Christian life amid these worldly pressures. Augustine's major political work, The City of God describes two cities: one worldly and one heavenly. The earthly city is motivated by self-interest, whereas the heavenly city is a community of true believers. The cities portray a spectrum of the best and worst human behavior; the heavenly city, the City of God, provides a guiding symbol for Christians as to how they should live their public and private lives. The City of God also talks about the nature of the justice, state and good kingship.

Augustine wrote no systematic political philosophy, and his political views need to be reconstructed from a body of work containing more than 1,000 works, sermons, and letters (Kerr, 2010). Augustine's first works reflect his early affiliation with the Manicheans (a quasi-Christian sect) while he was working as a professor of rhetoric in Milan, as well as his subsequent arguments refuting Manichaeism following his conversion to Christianity. The Confessions presents in autobiographical form an account of Augustine's conversion and decision to withdraw from the world and to form a small contemplative religious community with friends in North Africa. Writing continuously for the rest of his life, Augustine tackled particular questions of ...