St. Augustine City Of God Analysis

486 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: The strengths and weaknesses of augustine’s theodicy essay

St. Augustine’s, The City of God, was the story of feuding between two cities. In the first books of The City of God, the pagans felt that the fall of Rome was the fault of the Christians and their God. The pagans believed that the continued reign of the Roman Empire, the supremacy of Rome and material advantages could only be achieved by them worshipping the old God. St. Augustine began writing, The City of God, after Alaric and the Vandals had sacked Rome. Many pagans blamed the conversion of the empire to Christianity for the sacking of Rome.
In an attempted to defend the church, Augustine traced the history of two cities or states from the beginning of the world. The two cities had two main focuses. One was the city that was earth-like. In this city people were seen to …show more content…

The other was the heavenly city which focused on god and the love of and for him. In the heavenly city, the glory for all the things they had was given to God. In the earthly city man was glorified. The purpose of this story was to give a clear understanding of the choices that we all have to make, whether to occupy the city of earth or to occupy the city of God. This is significant because many Christians believe that the day to day life we live, if lived in Christ will lead us to an eternal life in heaven after we die. The book talks about how Rome suffered trials, tribulations, hardships and tragedies which was believed to be the result of people converting to Christianity. It was believed that the Roman Gods had abandoned them because so many had forsaken him and accepted Christ. St. Augustine said that all of this misfortunes was not because a false God had been put first and worshipped for so long but that this hardship allowed by the true god because it all a part of his plan. He believed God’s plan for us to have free will of choice of which city we shall occupy knowing that whatever we choose that the

Show More
Related

  • The Heavenly City of Eighteenth Century Philosophers

    1789 Words  | 4 Pages

    “the Philosophes demolished the Heavenly City of St. Augustine only to rebuild it with more up-to-date materials.”

    Read More

  • Christianity According to St. Augustine and Machiavelli

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    After reading St. Augustine’s book it seemed to me that he had very little interest in politics as a whole, but he did seem to have a a great interest on the moral problems that plagued them. The books that make up this work come from one of his previous works entitled, The City of God, in which Augustine discusses many different aspects of the city. Augustine’s view of Christianity in regard to politics was due to the moral decline of the Roman Empire and the effect of this decline on the still faithful Christians. Augustine blamed the pagan gods and their lack of concern for the moral character which defined those who worshiped them. He also makes a reference to Plato’s Republic, in regards to the way Plato wanted to banish the poets from his city in speech. Augustine also felt that there should be strong censorship of the poets when writing about the gods because they made fools out of them. Augustine is also very concerned with the amount of people who in past invasions of their homelands escaped by lying about being Christians and then turned their backs on Christ when the danger had subsided. Augustine’s work also raises the question of why mercy is extended to the pious and ungrateful. Augustine responds by reminding everyone that, “The sun rises upon the good and evil, and the rains fall upon the just and the unjust.” The book also discusses Gods patience with humans and how the choice to repent ones sins lies within the man. He tells how some will recognize...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Augustine's Conundrum

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    Augustine begins by debating whether baptized believers of God are indeed sinful or sinless. He says that when one is living in the world they are sinful but if one is baptized into the faith of Christ then their sins are washed clean. Augustine says that once one is born of God they begin to not have sin in their life. But they would have had sin from their past life because a new life begins at baptism. So if one was to say they did not say that they had sin they would be lying and not telling the truth. Therefore here lies the conundrum, Augustine faced.

    Read More

  • The Aeneid by Virgil

    2081 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Virgil’s famous text The Aeneid he writes about the history of the coming of Rome and the journey of its Trojan founder, Aeneas, from the wreckage of his old home at Troy. While this text is extremely supportive of the greatness of the Roman Empire, it also has a distinctly private second voice that talks about loss. We also find that in Confessions by Saint Augustine the author at times addresses God very personally, and at other times does not refer to him much at all. The private tones of these two texts contrast in that Augustine’s is generally positive, while the corresponding voice in Virgil describes loss.

    Read More

  • Impact Of St. Augustine's Worldview

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    A famous bishop of Hippo, St. Augustine, contributes significantly to the foundational establishment and growth of Western Christianity. While Christianity is becoming central to people’s lives, it is also known to be one major cause of the Romans’ downfall. The Romans argue that the God the Christians believe in has failed to uphold the city from falling apart. These background conditions, set up chaotic circumstances that significantly impact his early life. He begins to question everything and recklessly lives a sinful life until one day he encounters Christ. As a person who greatly repents from the world of corruptive morals, Augustine’s worldview is significantly influenced by his discovery about who God is and the redemption He offers.

    Read More

  • St. Augustine as the True Heir of Plato

    1147 Words  | 3 Pages

    St. Augustine has taken Plato’s notions, and have furthered the implications of living a life that strives towards a common good. In the City of God, the purpose of a citizen’s existence is to pursue an alignment with God, rather than to seek a common good. Through an alignment with God, there is no need for political regimes or any form of governance. This solves the issues that Plato and Aristotle disputes concerning the best regimes.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Augustine's Doctrine Of The City Of God

    2211 Words  | 5 Pages

    Within Augustine’s Doctrine of the city of God, he holds a controversial view of slavery in Book 19, of chapter 15. Which is, “The apostle therefore admonishes servants to be obedient to their master, and to serve them loyally and with good will […] they can at least make their own slavery to some extent free” [944]. This particular notion entails that as long as the individual is in good health, and has time to freely practice their faith towards God, then so be their mortal position as a slave. Since the Christian slave will possess eternal peace, and freedom from pain in the city of God. Nevertheless, Augustine’s statement about serving with good will can become problematic, because he does not hold that there is a moral limitation for the

    Read More

  • Constantinople

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    Numerous were the reasons that gradually led to the movement of the empire to the East. Initially, Rome was very far from the regions of the shores of the Bosphorus and the river Euphrates and thus unable to confront effectively the empire’s most significant enemies (the Goths and the Persians) that had made their appearance from the 3rd century. Additionally, Rome, a centre of paganism, with its memories of municipal traditions and “republican sentiment, with its aristocratic, educated and fiercely traditionalist senators ”, had begun to annoy the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (337-362). He, himself, was a vigorous supporter of Christianity and especially after the prolonged period of his successful confrontation with Licinius (314-323), he was convinced that the future belonged to the Christians and for that reason, he decided to turn decisively towards the East, which was the main source and origin of the new religion. Furthermore, from the 3rd century onwards, most of the emperors originated from provinces and did not share significant bonds with Rome. What Constantine visualised instead of sacrifices to pagan deities and four emperors with irregular courts and capitals, was an empire with one emperor and one established capital, along with a splendid innovative church devoted to the glory of the one true God . He therefore regarded the foundation of a new city as the most important symbol of his deeper aim, the renewal of the empire.

    Read More

  • St Peter's Basilica Analysis

    1030 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Papal Basilica of St Peter in the Vatican, or simply St Peter’s Basilica is one of the largest church’s in the world with a total area of 44000 square meter, with 219 square meter of the basilica itself. (Dupre’, J., 2001, p.65) Located in Vatican City, the papal enclave within Rome, St Peter’s Basilica is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture. There were 4 main architects who contributed to the project Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Construction began on the new basilica on 18 April 1506 under Julius II, who also laid the first stone and was completed on 1615 under Paul V.

    Read More

  • Saint Augustine’s Confessions Outline

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    This paper will outline specific points in Saint Augustine’s Confessions that highlight religious views following the fall of Rome. Though Augustines views on religion may not reflect that of most people in his time period, it still gives valuable insight into how many, namely Neoplatonists,, viewed God and his teachings.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of City Of God

    1429 Words  | 3 Pages

    A raw glimpse of desperation, poverty and violence, the 2002 film City of God showcases the brutal and harsh realisms of Brazilians living in the oppressive confines of favelas. The story is told through the eyes of the main character, Rocket, a poor, black youth who grows up in the hostile environment of the hood but manages to break away to become a professional photographer. Oddly, the way of life in the City of God is anything but heavenly. The violent and fast paced film begins in the 1960s when Rio de Janeiro was just a new housing project and the main characters were children and petty thieves. The story then ends in the early 1980s when the favela is a war zone where most of the protagonists are either dead or engrossed in bloody drug war. Life in the favelas, urban poverty, violence and gender roles demonstrate a great deal of importance to the overall message of City of God. Although the film fails to propose an alternate way of life, it gives viewers a glimpse of the gruesome truths of a world they would have never imagined existed.

    Read More

  • Plato's Explanation Of Christianity By St. Augustine

    1069 Words  | 3 Pages

    St. Augustine’s was one of the most profound philosophers regarding Christianity, he defined Christianity in a unique way that had not been done since the religion had surfaced. At the time this religion was only four centuries old making it much younger then it’s competing religions. As a new religion, before, God had only been perceived, as a metaphysical substance however had no ties to more familiar philosophical notions. For example his literary work Confessions, he revealed his interpretation of Christianity on a personal level while producing a sophisticated interpretation of God’s word by merging it with widely spread Platonic ideas. Augustine states, “The utterance of Plato, the most pure and bright in all philosophy, scatters the

    Read More

  • Augustine’s Journey to the Truth in The Confessions of St. Augustine

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    Augustine was born into the world with Original sin. As a baby, if another baby was nursing he also wanted to nurse. As a boy at school, he would find it hard to discipline himself and would often criticize his teachers for making him read fictional stories. Other than the teachings from his mother, Augustine felt like he was malformed at an early age. This behavior carried into adolescences, as he was addicted to sex. He also had an episode where he and a few friends stole pears from someone else’s pear tree out of mischief. This was an act of rebellion and he then compared this act to that of Adam and Eve. He questioned the act of destruction, “What are...

    Read More

  • What Was Life Like In Ancient Rome

    509 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Christians' refused to worship Roman gods, it was seen as a rebellion. Christianity's appeal to slaves, women, and Gentiles also alarmed the Romans.’’ then i asked him another question about the rich and poor. “How did life differ for the rich and poor in Roman cities?” he said “The rich citizens (patricians) were wealthy landowners and high government officials. Poor people (plebeians) could vote but not become government officials.” ‘’that sounds very interesting i said to him.’’ then a another question came to mind that i thought was very interesting and really wanted an answer.’”What economic and political problems weakened the Roman Empire?” he said a very very long but great explanation “Some economic problem was that the empire stopped expanding in the 100s C.E. The government raised taxes in response. War decreased agriculture and overuse

    Read More

  • The Two Forms of Love in the City of God by St. Augustine

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories in itself, the latter in the Lord.” (14.28) Love, in a present-day definition is normally a good thing. According to the brilliant St. Augustine, that would depend on the nature of the love in understanding. In his book, The City of God, Augustine skillfully drew upon two loves: on one hand, a love which is holy: agape, unselfish love, and on the other hand a love which is unholy: distorted love of self; selfishness. Augustine identifies with unselfish love, which is holy love, the love of God, and following God’s rules according to the bible. As contrasted to its opposite, love of self is to the point of contempt of God and neighbor in which these two loves conflict. In this essay, I will give a brief background of the author; I will be discussing the topic of love in The City of God, but more specifically, Augustine’s perception of self-love.

    Read More

More about St. Augustine City Of God Analysis

Open Document