Saint Augustine: The Teacher; The Free Choice of the Will; Grace and Free Will
Overview
The Teacher, written in the form of a dialogue between Augustine and his son Adeodatus, discusses linguistic philosophies, such as the association of words and their corresponding signs and the nature of that arrangement. This exposes the natural miscommunication that occurs between two conversing humans, establishing his concluding point: we are all called to listen, as God is the source of all true and substantial knowledge.
The second work, The Free Choice of the Will, also written as a dialogue, defends man’s free will to choose right and wrong against the Manichaean view of man as a battlefield in a spiritual war between good and evil.
Finally, Grace and Free Will, written against Pelagius to defend the necessity of grace (and simultaneously deny the sufficiency of free will), demonstrates that grace and free will are not mutually exclusive concepts.
For The Fathers of the Church series in its entirety, see Fathers of the Church Series (127 vols.).
Key Features
- Connects everyday life to spiritual truths
- Contains direct defense of Christianity, addressed to a recipient deemed to be heretical
- One of 127 published volumes in a well-respected series on the Church Fathers
Top Highlights
“‘in crowning our merits, God does nothing more than crown His own gifts.’” (Page 246)
“The Pelagians imagine they know something important when they assert ‘God would not command something that He knew man was unable to do.’ How could anyone be ignorant of that? But God does give commands beyond our power precisely in order that we may know what it is we ought to ask of Him. For it is faith itself which accomplishes through prayer that which the Law commands.” (Pages 285–286)
“We are faced with the conclusion, then, that nothing else can make the mind the companion of evil desire except its own will and free choice.” (Page 93)
“In another passage, too, God makes it very plain through the same Prophet that it is He who brings about such changes, not by reason of any good merits found in men, but for His own name’s sake, where He says: ‘It is not for your sake that I will do this, O house of Israel, but for my holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations whither you went.” (Page 283)
“The Jews, he says, seek to establish a justice of their own that comes from the Law; not that the Law was established by them, but rather that they had placed their justice in the Law which comes from God, by supposing that they were able of themselves to fulfill this Law.” (Page 277)
- Title: Saint Augustine: The Teacher; The Free Choice of the Will; Grace and Free Will
- Author: Augustine of Hippo
- Series: The Fathers of the Church
- Volume: 59
- Publisher: Catholic University of America
- Print Publication Date: 1968
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Pages: 330
- Era: era:nicene
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Free will and determinism › Early works to 1800; Teaching › Early works to 1800; Language and languages
- ISBNs: 0813214149, 9780813214146
- Resource ID: LLS:TCHRFRCHCWLLGRC
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:59:58Z