ST. AUGUSTINE“The City of God”

Kaur|Mercado|PachecoBSP – 301C

Rise of Christianity

• Collapse of the Roman Empire• Christianity as the official religion of the roman Empire.

Who is St. Agustine?

• Born: 13 November 354 A.D.• Thagaste • Father : Patricius

Mother: Monica• He studied Latin grammar and

Arithmetic, Roman prose, philosophy and poetry

• He taught rhetoric in Milan

Who is St. Agustine?

• At the age of 32, he converted to Christianity

• He became the Bishop of Hippo in Algeria in 395 A.D.

• In 413 – 427 A.D., he wrote the City of God

• He died in Algeria in 430 A.D.

THE CITY OF GODS

• To defend Christianity from it critics• The collapse of the roman Empire and the triumph of Christianity coincidentally happened.

THE CITY OF GODS

• For the pagans, the practice of monotheism and the otherworldly principles of Christianity weakened and cause the eventual decline of the Roman empire.

THE CITY OF GODS

• The reversal of roles:1. The Christians, ostracized and

punished under the rules of Roman emperor, we now increasing in number and becoming more dominant.

2. The pagans had become underdogs.

• Plato and Aristotle:–The best rulers and the best form

of government• St. Augustine:–The love of God, righteousness,

justice, faith and salvation

THE CITY OF GODS

• His works was not political • He gave emphasis on the

following: love of God Righteousness Justice Faith Salvation

THE CITY OF GODS

The central idea of the city of God is the distinction between the Heavenly city (City of God) and the Earthly City (City of Man)

THE CITY OF GODS

EARTHLY CITY HEAVENLY CITY

- Its not purely evil.

- It desires earthly peace for the sake of enjoying earthly goods, and it makes war in order attain peace.

- The objective of this city is to gather the citizens of the world into one society of pilgrims.

- It is said to possess peace by faith which allows it to live righteously.

The origin of the state

• Plato and Aristotle:–End of state: attaining self-sufficiency or the good life.

• St. Augustine:–End of state: Peace and Justice

The origin of the state

•Why does state exist?1)Secure and maintain peace2)Expand God’s kingdom by

converting people to Christianity

Good government vs. Evil government

• Good Government–God’s reward for people.

• Evil Government–Interpreted as some form of divine punishment for the people.

• Human society can be divided into two cities depending on how men choose to live.City of Man: Living according to self.City of God: Living according to

God’s design/laws.

TWO CITIES

TWO CITIES

CITY OF GOD CITY OF MAN

Based on love of God, even to the contempt of self.

The greatest glory is found in and with God.

God is the source of its strength.

Consists of those who live according to God.

Based on love of self even to the contempt of God.

Seeks glory from men. Delights in its own

strength as represented in the person of its rulers.

Consists of those who live according to man.

TWO CITIES

CITY OF GOD CITY OF MAN

Predestined to reign eternally with god.

Its princes and subjects serve on another in love.

Its end is eternal life in peace or peace in eternal life.

Predestined to suffer eternal punishment with the devil.

Its princes and nations are ruled by the love of ruling.

Its end is earthly peace.

ON THE TWO CITIES

Both desires PEACE. City of Man: Peace to enjoy earthly

goods. City of God: achieve eternal peace

Both use earthly resources to attain their respective peace. City of Man: waging of war City of God: the use of temporal things

aids in the attainment of eternal peace.

• According to St. Augustine:oCity of man:

- sinful, impious, worldly.oCity of God:

- saintly elect, the angel and godly, among others.

TWO CITIES

“Two cities are entangled together in this world and intermixed until the last

judgment effect their separation”

- St. Augustine

“Earthly city desires earthly peace for the sake of

enjoying earthly goods, and it makes war in order to

attain… this peace”- St. Augustine

• According to Plato:–Justice exists in the state when there is order among its different elements.

JUSTICE AND PEACE

• According to St. Augustine:–Conceives justice in terms of the

proper relations between God, and man on the one hand, and among men on the other.–True justice can only exist in the

state that is founder by God.

JUSTICE AND PEACE

• The peace that the state strives is the means of eternal peace with God, which is the ultimate end.• A way to get more and more

people to believe in Jesus Christ and adopt the Christian way of life.

JUSTICE AND PEACE

• State’s existence is man’s social nature or the natural social condition of humanity.

JUSTICE AND PEACE