augustine

Essay on Augustine’s City of God
by Charles Glenn

Book 14, chapters 3 through 28 of St. Augustine’s City of God, deals almost exclusively with human nature and how it relates to the metaphysics of Christianity. Augustine’s view of human nature is a balance between the constrained and unconstrained, revolving around the individual’s faith or lack of faith in God.

In City of God, the author presents his arguments in the form of two cities: the "city of man" and the "city of God." In his philosophy, both are concerned with achieving happiness and peace, but one is doomed to failure while the other is assured of success. In keeping with the traditional teachings of Christianity, Augustine asserts that eternal life, and the eventual perfection of the human spirit, is the free gift of God through faith in Christ.

Only those that accept this gift and choose to live in the "city of God" will reap these rewards. Those that do not accept this gift, and choose to turn away from God during their mortal lifetimes, will suffer an eternal punishment. The author argues that this eventuality is completely just and right by virtue of God’s grace. For Augustine, there is no in-between – one is either in one city or the other.

Based on this metaphysical argument, the author explains that human nature is limited by it’s own sinfulness. In fact, even those that live in the city of God are limited in how far they can progress toward "righteousness," which is Augustine’s ideal of human nature, characterized by a ceasing of the conflict between the soul and the flesh. For the Christian, this limitation disappears after death, as God fulfills his promise by honoring that person’s faith and completing the soul, removing the vices that plague mortal man.

So, in a sense, Augustine is saying that human nature is constrained in and of itself, and cannot achieve perfection, or righteousness, by it’s own efforts.

On the other hand, it is unconstrained, for God created mankind to be perfect, so it must be attainable, for God does not make mistakes.

The difference, for Augustine and for millions of other Christians, is that human perfection is only attainable through faith in God, and it will never be realized until death or until the earthly return of Christ.