Dec 03 2008
St. Augustine Article
Wrote for church history last year. I am very busy with homework so don’t want to write a whole new blog. 
Recently, a fairly well-known philosopher and theologian from the town of Hippo, Algeria, came out with a completely new idea of original sin. Published In his “Letters of the Pelagians,” he chose to approach this rather controversial idea from a different perspective. Rather than automatically assuming original sin to be the initial eating from the Tree of Knowledge and thus categorizing it so, he chose instead to wonder what really caused original sin? What truly tainted mankind’s past so much so that all people are born with a dark, inherent evil that broods inside of them like a malignant parasite? He came to the conclusion that sex between Adam and Eve, not the infamous eating of the Apple, caused original sin.
One could come up with a myriad of reasons, I presume, as to why Augustine of Hippo labels the first sexual intercourse between humans as the decisive point for original sin. The most probable, however, is his past. Though not all scholars know this, Augustine had a rather promiscuous past, outlined in his books Confessions, which detail his path from a rather sinful youth to a much more sinless adult. Essentially, he indulged in various sexual encounters as a youth, knowing each time that the results would be fruitless but continuing nonetheless. Bored of his marital life, he attempted to fill the empty hole in his life with more sex, and he found that this only tore the hole wider.
So one can see, obviously, why he would be so opposed to sex, and why it would be natural for him to label it as the original evil, the cause of mankind’s downfall.
Of course, he is not the only scholar to reach this conclusion. Plotinus, who happens to be one of Augustine’s inspirations (he praises the neo-Platonist in his book Confessions), taught that only through “disdain” for fleshly desire could one attain the ultimate state of mankind. In other words, carnal knowledge is sin. Ever since Augustine’s well-constructed theory, the idea has become ever more prevalent. Engaging in lust, says Augustine, makes humanity a massa damnata, which means that sex damages the free will of the people, enfeebling (though not completely destroying) our ability to think for ourselves. The Church has seemed to adopt this idea fairly quickly, even if not officially yet. Christianity is being revolutionized even as we speak. I would not be surprised if this were adopted as a new catechism.
However, we must consider: what does this mean for our everyday lives, especially if this philosophy is adopted? Remember, Augustine is saying that the pure act of sex is wrong. Even lustful thoughts are sinful, but indulging those thoughts is, according to Augustine, the worst sin mankind has ever committed. What does this mean for the people? It means that the beautiful act of creating children is wrong. I am not one to criticize the Church, nor speak heresy, but Augustine’s radical new theories should not control our lives.
All in all, though, it is interesting and enlightening to see his opinion. He is a fresh box of ideas in a world with a fairly closed mind.
Augustine had some good things to say, but he was far too dualistic in his view of the flesh/spirit. I believe the church would have done well to moderate its respect for Augustine, whose overreactions to Pelagius have cost us dearly.
dude my names darnell that guy above me is way to into it yo.
darnell out!