VIII. Augustine and the Pelagians

1
VIII. Augustine and the Pelagians

2
VIII.A. BackgroundGrace and Free Will

• The only great battle so far Gnostic fatalism
• The assumption that Gods action and ours work
  together
• The physician cannot heal the patient if the
  patient does not come to him.
• The influence of Neoplatonism

3
VIII.B. Pelagian Controversy Overview

• The Players
• Priority of Grace Human Responsibility
• Augustine Pelagius
• Jerome Caelestius
• Julian of Eclanum
• Fence Sitters
• Everyone else

4
VIII.B. Pelagian Controversy Overview

• Pelagius
• No excuses for moral laxity
• Grace as moral instruction in the pursuit of
  virtue
• No transmission of sin
• On Nature

5
VIII.B. Pelagian Controversy Overview

• Augustines Concerns
• Gods freedom in saving a person
• We can do nothing to merit the change which grace
  brings about in us.

6
VIII.C. Pelagian ControversyAct I

• 411 Caelestius is condemned at a synod in
  Carthage.
• 412 Augustine writes On the Merits and
  Forgiveness of Sins.
• He has not yet seen Pelagius On Nature.
• He does not mention Pelagius by name.
• He is still hoping Pelagius will change his mind,
  as some of his followers have done.

7
VIII.C. Pelagian ControversyAct I

• On the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins
• Book 1, Chapter 10
• No doubt all they imitate Adam who by
  disobedience transgress the commandment of God
  but he is one thing as an example to those who
  sin because they choose and another thing as the
  progenitor of all who are born with sin. All His
  saints, also, imitate Christ in the pursuit of
  righteousness whence the same apostle, whom we
  have already quoted, says Be ye imitators of
  me, as I am also of Christ 1 Cor. 111. But
  besides this imitation, His grace works within us
  our illumination and justification, by that
  operation concerning which the same preacher of
  His name says Neither is he that planteth
  anything, nor he that watereth, but God that
  giveth the increase 1 Cor. 37.

8
VIII.C. Pelagian ControversyAct I

• On the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins
• Book 1, Chapter 10 (cont.)
• For by this grace He engrafts into His body even
  baptized infants, who certainly have not yet
  become able to imitate any one. As therefore He,
  in whom all are made alive, besides offering
  Himself as an example of righteousness to those
  who imitate Him, gives also to those who believe
  on Him the hidden grace of His Spirit, which He
  secretly infuses even into infants so likewise
  he, in whom all die, besides being an example of
  imitation to those who willfully transgress the
  commandment of the Lord, depraved also in his own
  person all who come of his stock by the hidden
  corruption of his own carnal concupiscence. It is
  entirely on this account, and for no other
  reason, that the apostle says By one man sin
  entered into the world, and death by sin, and so
  passed upon all men, in which all have sinned
  Rom. 512.

9
VIII.C. Pelagian ControversyAct I

• Pelagius, Letter to Demetrias
• Natural capacity to do the good
• True freedom of the mind
• Grace teaching and example

10
VIII.D. Pelagian ControversyAct II

• Ca. 414 Two of Pelagius former followers give
  Augustine a copy of On Nature.
• 415 Augustine responds with On Nature and Grace.
• He still does not mention Pelagius by name.

11
VIII.D. Pelagian ControversyAct II

• On Nature and Grace
• Chapter 12
• It is at once apparent that he Pelagius has
  instanced such things as are by nature effective
  for the members of the bodily structure which are
  here mentioned are created with natures of such a
  kindthe tongue, the wings, the legs. He has not
  here posited any such thing as we wish to have
  understood by grace, without which no man is
  justified for this is a topic which is concerned
  about the cure, not the constitution, of natural
  functions.

12
VIII.E. Pelagian ControversyAct III

• 415 Jerome begins to seek an official
  condemnation of Pelagius in Palestine.
• June 415 At a synod in Jerusalem, Orosius
  (representing Augustine and Jerome) brings
  charges against Pelagius. The trial is botched
  because of the incompetence of the translators,
  and Pelagius is acquitted.
• Dec 415 At a synod in Diospolis, Pelagius
  defends himself against charges brought by
  Jerome, and he is acquitted.

13
VIII.E. Pelagian ControversyAct III

• 416 Pelagius, Jerome, and Augustine all send
  their versions of the events at Diospolis to Pope
  Innocent.
• Jan 417 Innocent condemns Pelagius.
• Aug 417 After Innocents death, Pope Zosimus
  acquits Pelagius of all charges against him.

14
VIII.F. Pelagian ControversyAct IV

• Pelagius is condemned --
• by the imperial court in Ravenna (Apr 30, 418)
• by a council in Carthage (May 1, 418)
• by Zosimus and a synod at Rome (summer 418, under
  heavy pressure from Ravenna and Carthage)
• 418 Augustine closes the controversy by writing
  On the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin.

15
VIII.F. Pelagian ControversyAct IV

• On the Grace of Christ
• Capacity, will, and action
• The efficacy of grace
• The freedom of grace

16
VIII.G. Pelagian Controversy Scorecard

• A reluctant condemnation of Pelagius
• He was acquitted by He was condemned by
• A synod in Jerusalem (June 415)
• A synod in Diospolis (Dec. 415)
• Pope Innocent (Jan. 417)
• Pope Zosimus (summer 417)
• A synod at Ravenna (418)
• A synod at Carthage (418)
• A synod at Rome (418)

17
VIII.H. Pelagian ControversyUnanswered
Questions

• Why was the Church so slow to condemn Pelagius?
• What is the truth regarding original sin?

18
IX. Augustine and Christian Theology

19
IX.A. Background to the Enchiridion

• Laurentius questions
• Augustines answer (in 421) Enchiridion on
  Faith, Hope, and Love
• Augustines treatment and Aristotle

20
IX.B. The Enchiridion Structure

• Introduction with Laurentius questions (Chs.
  1-8)
• Faith An exposition of the Creed (Chs. 9-113)
• Hope An exposition of the Lords Prayer (Chs.
  114-16)
• Love The fulfillment of the great commandment
  (Chs. 117-121)
• Conclusion (Ch. 122)

21
IX.C. The Enchiridion Faith

• The Trinity
• The Full Deity of God the Son
• The Son truly united humanity to himself.
• Only the true Son of God could be our mediator.
• The Full Deity of God the Spirit
• The Procession of the Holy Spirit
• The Spirit is fully God.

22
IX.C. The Enchiridion Faith

• Creation and Fall
• Humanitys original calling
• The result of the fall corruption
• Gods decision to bring good out of evil

23
IX.C. The Enchiridion Faith

• Good and Evil
• Substance and accidents
• Good a substance or an accident
• Evil only an accident
• Evil a falling away from the Good / God

24
IX.C. The Enchiridion Faith

• Freedom and Bondage
• Free will destroyed both itself and humanity.
• True freedom comes from being a slave of
  righteousness.
• True freedom is given by Christ.
• Even faith is a gift from God we did not choose
  it freely.
• God gives us a righteous will.

25
IX.C. The Enchiridion Faith

• Church and Sacraments
• Subordination of Church to Holy Spirit
• The Church in heaven and on earth
• The Church and penitence

26
IX.C. The Enchiridion Faith

• Church and Sacraments
• Baptism causes us to die to original sin.
• Without original sin, baptism would be
  unnecessary.
• Penance brings forgiveness of post-baptismal
  sins.

27
IX.C. The Enchiridion Faith

• Grace w.r.t. Christ
• Given by the Son to his own humanity
• He was free from sin, but he was made sin for us.

28
IX.C. The Enchiridion Faith

• Grace w.r.t. Human Beings
• As a relationship
• As forgiveness of sins
• Through baptism
• Through penitence
• Through prayer
• As mercifully bringing people to himself

29
IX.C. The Enchiridion Faith

• Freedom and Grace
• True freedom is given by Christ.
• Even faith is a gift from God we did not choose
  it freely.
• God gives us a righteous will.
• Gods grace, predestination, and will

30
IX.C. The Enchiridion Faith

• Faith, Good Works, and Eternal Life
• Eternal life is the reward of a good life.
• The good life is produced by grace.
• Thus eternal life is produced by grace.

31
IX.C. The Enchiridion Faith

• Elements of Medieval Piety
• Marys virginity in partu
• Purgatory?
• The Mass?

32
IX.D. The Enchiridion Hope

• Asking for what we hope for
• Eternal blessings
• Temporal blessings that are prerequisites for
  eternal ones

33
IX.E. The Enchiridion Love

• The greatest of these is love.

34
IX.F. The Enchiridion Summary

• A strongly legal slant in describing salvation
• Twin foci on salvation as being utterly of God
  and on our own effort to be virtuous
• A strong emphasis on the Church and the
  sacraments
• The beginnings of Medieval piety

35
X. Augustine and theSemi-Pelagians

36
X.A. Semi-Pelagian ControversyBackground

• Lingering Questions
• Has Augustine gone too far in his teaching on
  grace and predestination?
• Is Augustine right on original sin?

37
X.A. Semi-Pelagian ControversyBackground

• Cassian, Conference 13
• Part of a mammoth work on monasticism
• Alegedly conversations between Germanus, Cassian,
  and actual monks of the Egyptian desert
• Conference 12 deals with chastity, and Conference
  13 deals with the question of whether one can
  attribute his chastity to his own efforts, or
  only to Gods grace.

38
X.A. Semi-Pelagian ControversyBackground

• Cassian, Conference 13.3
• From this it is clear that the origin not only
  of good acts but even of good thoughts is in God.
  He both inspires in us the beginnings of a holy
  will and grants the ability and the opportunity
  to bring to fulfillment the things that we
  rightly desire . But it is up to us to conform
  humbly to the grace of God that daily draws us
  on. Otherwise, if we resist it with a stiff neck
  and uncircumcised ears, as it is written, we
  shall deserve to hear what Jeremiah says . He
  quotes Jer. 84-5.

39
X.A. Semi-Pelagian ControversyBackground

• Cassian, Conference 13.12
• We must be on the watch lest we attribute all
  the good works of holy persons to the Lord in
  such a way that we ascribe nothing but what is
  bad and perverse to human nature. Gods grace
  works with our wills and demands effort of us.
  Grace seeks occasions whereby the torpor of
  human slothfulness may be shattered and its own
  munificent generosity may not appear
  unreasonable, dispensing it under the pretext of
  a certain desire and toil. And none the less
  does Gods grace continue to be free grace while
  in return for some small and trivial efforts it
  bestows with priceless bounty such glory of
  immortality, and such gifts of eternal bliss.

40
X.A. Semi-Pelagian ControversyBackground

• Cassian, Conference 13.17
• Hence it is that when we pray we proclaim that
  the Lord is not only our protector and savior but
  also our helper and supporter. For, inasmuch as
  he first calls us and draws us to salvation
  unaware and unwilling, he is our protector and
  savior, but inasmuch as he provides us with help
  in our struggle and supports and defends us when
  we seek refuge, he is called our supporter and
  refuge.

41
X.B. Semi-Pelagian ControversyOverview

• The Players
• Gratuity of Grace Varieties of Grace
• Augustine Cassian
• Prosper of Aquitaine Vincent of Lerins
  (Fulgentius of Ruspe) (Faustus of Riez)
• The Mediator
• (Caesarius of Arles)

42
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• Act I, Scene 1
• (North Africa in 427)
• Augustine and the Monks
• of Hadrumetum --
• A friendly discussion

43
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• On Grace and Free Will , Ch. 20
• Since your good life is nothing else than Gods
  gift and grace, so also the eternal life which is
  the recompense of a good life is the grace of
  God moreover it is given gratuitously, even as
  that is given gratuitously to which it is given.
  But that to which it is given is solely and
  simply grace. This therefore is also that which
  is given to it, because it is its reward. Grace
  is for grace, as if remuneration for
  righteousness.

44
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• On Grace and Free Will , Ch. 43
• God works in the hearts of men to incline them
  after the pleasure of His own will, whether to
  good deedsaccording to His mercy, or to
  evilafter their own deserts His own judgment
  being sometimes manifest, sometimes secret, but
  always righteous.

45
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• Act I, Scene 2
• (North Africa in 427)
• Augustine and the Monks
• of Hadrumetum --
• The discussion continues.

46
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• Augustine, On Rebuke and Grace
• The usefulness of rebuke

47
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• Let no one therefore say that a man must not be
  rebuked when he deviates from the right way, but
  that his return and perseverance must only be
  asked for from the Lord for him. For if such a
  one is called according to the purpose, beyond
  all doubt God is co-working for good to him even
  in the fact of his being rebuked. But since he
  who rebukes is ignorant whether he is so called,
  let him do with love what he knows ought to be
  done for he knows that such a one ought to be
  rebuked. God will show either mercy or judgment
  mercy, indeed, if he who is rebuked is made to
  differ by the bestowal of grace from the mass of
  perdition, and is not found among the vessels of
  mercy which God has prepared for glory but
  judgment, if among the former he is condemned,
  and is not predestinated among the latter.

48
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• Augustine, On Rebuke and Grace
• The usefulness of rebuke
• Christ as example of the gratuity of grace
• Freedom and bondage
• posse non peccare
• non posse non peccare
• non posse peccare

49
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• Act I, Scene 3
• (Southern France, 428-429)
• Augustine
• vs.
• Cassian and Vincent

50
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• On the Predestination of the Saints
• Salvation is by grace, from first to last.

51
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• If God works our faith, acting in a wonderful
  manner in our hearts so that we believe, is there
  any reason to fear that He cannot do the whole
  and does man on that account arrogate to himself
  its first elements, that he may merit to receive
  its last from God? Consider if in such a way any
  other result be gained that than the grace of God
  is given in some way or other, according to our
  merits, and so grace is no more grace. For on
  this principle it is rendered as debt, it is not
  given gratuitously for it is due to the believer
  that his faith itself should be increased by the
  Lord, and that the increased faith should be the
  wages of the faith begun nor is it observed when
  this is said, that this wage is assigned to
  believers, not of grace, but of debt.

52
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• On the Predestination of the Saints
• Salvation is by grace, from first to last.
• Grace, merit, and predestination

53
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• God chose us in Christ before the foundation of
  the world, predestinating us to the adoption of
  children, not because we were going to be of
  ourselves holy and immaculate, but He chose and
  predestinated us that we might be so. Moreover,
  He did this according to the good pleasure of His
  will, so that nobody might glory concerning his
  own will, but about Gods will towards himself.
  He did this according to the riches of His grace,
  according to His good-will, which He purposed in
  His beloved Son, in whom we have obtained a
  share, being predestinated according to the
  purpose, not ours, but His, who worketh all
  things to such an extent as that He worketh in us
  to will also.

54
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• On the Gift of Perseverance
• It is NOT certain that one will be given the gift
  of perseverance, just because one has been given
  the gift of faith.

55
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• I assert, therefore, that the perseverance by
  which we persevere in Christ even to the end is
  the gift of God and I call that the end by which
  is finished that life wherein alone there is
  peril of falling. Therefore, it is uncertain
  whether any one has received this gift so long as
  he is still alive. For if he fall before he dies,
  he is, of course, said not to have persevered
  and most truly is it said. How, then, should he
  be said to have received or to have had
  perseverance who has not persevered?

56
X.C. Semi-Pelagian Controversy

• Of two infants, equally bound by original sin,
  why the one is taken and the other left and of
  two wicked men of already mature years, why this
  one should be sl called as to follow Him that
  calleth, while that one is either not called at
  all, or is not called in such a manner,--the
  judgments of God are unsearchable. But of two
  pious men, why to the one should be given
  perseverance unto the end, and to the other it
  should not be given, Gods judgments are even
  more unsearchable. Yet to believers it ought to
  be a most certain fact that the former is of the
  predestinated, the latter is not.

57
X.D. Semi-Pelagian Controversy after Augustine

• Act I, Scene 4
• (Southern France, 431-432)
• Prosper
• vs.
• Cassian

58
X.D. Semi-Pelagian Controversy after Augustine

• Act II, Scene 1
• (Southern France and North Africa, 475-523)
• Fulgentius
• vs.
• Faustus

59
X.D. Semi-Pelagian Controversy after Augustine

• Act II, Scene 2
• (Southern France, 520-531)
• Caesarius and the
• 2nd Council of Orange

60
X.D. Semi-Pelagian Controversy after Augustine

• 2nd Council of Orange, Canon 8
• If anyone maintains that some come to the grace
  of baptism by mercy but others attain it through
  free choice which stands vitiated in everyone
  born of the transgression of the first human
  being, he is shown to be a stranger to the true
  faith. In saying this, he either asserts that not
  everyones free choice is weakened through the
  first persons sin, or he obviously thinks it is
  wounded, but only in a way that still allows them
  the strength to search out the mystery of eternal
  salvation by themselves without Gods revelation.

61
X.D. Semi-Pelagian Controversy after Augustine

• 2nd Council of Orange, Definition of Faith
• According to the Catholic faith, we also believe
  that once grace has been received through
  baptism, all the baptized, if they are willing to
  labor faithfully, with Christs help and
  cooperation can and should fulfill what belongs
  to the souls salvation. Not only do we not
  believe ourselves that the divine power
  predestines anyone to evil, but we also
  completely detest and condemn any who choose to
  believe such a terrible thing. We also vigorously
  proclaim and believe that in every good work we
  do not first begin ourselves and subsequently
  receive help by Gods mercy, but that without any
  preceding good merits he first inspires in us
  both faith and love of himself.

62
Concluding Retrospect on

• Augustine

63
A Retrospect on Augustine

• Two surprising starting points
• The good life (rather than justification)
• The sacraments (rather than individual salvation)

64
A Retrospect on Augustine

• Whose hero?
• Pieces of a puzzle