Augustine of Hippo, On Nature and Grace -

Augustine of Hippo, On Nature and Grace
Church History Text in Context Paper


Part I. A description of the historical context of the author
First of all, Augustine was African, but he had been Europeanized . North Africa was the base to provide food for the Roman Empire, because the Roman Empire set it up as a colony.  Culturally, North Africa was a melting pot that was a mixed culture of the Berber and Numidian cultures . Also, for the Church in North Africa, purity was the most important issue because many faithful Christians were persecuted in North Africa, such as Perpetua of Carthage. The secular martyr tradition was already there.   
 Augustine was born in 354. His father who was a Roman minor official and followed pagan religion, and his mother, whose name was Monica, was a fervent Christian.  Augustine’s family was not rich or poor, and not even middle class. Although Augustine’s father converted to Christianity, his father did not play an important role to shape Augustine. Augustine’s mother Monica played an important role in his life.
    Also, Augustine’s experiences of studies in Carthage, which was the center of politics, economics, and culture in the Latin-speaking Africa, cultivated his rhetorical skills. Although he enjoyed many pleasures in the city, he was a good student. He took a concubine. However, he never got married.
When he read Cicero’s writing,  he recognized that he needed to seek the truth. As a seeker, Manicheism  was attractive to Augustine, because it looked eminently rational. However, Manicheism could not give him answers what he wanted. Disappointed with Manicheism, and for other reasons, he left Carthage.
    When Augustine arrived in Milan, he tampered with Neo-Platonism  and Christianity as a skeptic. However, in 384, Augustine listened to Ambrose ’s sermon where he got a clue to solve his difficulties in the Bible.  Before conversion, Augustine had a conflict within his mind between willing and unwilling to be a totally devoted Christian. For Augustine, to be a devoted Christian meant that he had to give up all his joy and social status. Finally, he decided to be a devoted Christian.
    After his conversion, he requested baptism, which he and Adeodatus received from Ambrose.  Then, he started his new life as a Christian. He dismissed his concubine, sold his property, gave some money to the poor and started his first Christian works at Cassiciacum.
    In 391, Valerius, who was bishop of Hippo, appointed Augustine as a minister who would help the bishop. After 4 years, Valerius made Augustine a joint bishop of Hippo. Valerius died a short time later, and left Augustine as bishop of Hippo.  When he was the bishop of Hippo, he had to refute the Manicheists, Donatists , and Pelagians.  


Part II: a discussion of the content of the primary text.
II. 1. Introduction
In 415,  “On Nature and Grace” was written by Augustine in order to respond to Pelagius’ treatise, “To Demetrias.”  The purpose of his treatise was “to demonstrate the power and quality of human nature and to show what it is capable of achieving,”   which means that human beings always have the ability to overcome their sin . On the other hand, Augustine mainly claims the necessity of Grace by appealing to Scripture, “For if justice is through the law, then Christ died in vain.”(Gal. 2:21)  
Augustine constantly appeals to Scripture in explaining why we need God’s Grace, found in Christ . Before explaining the necessity of God’s Grace, he assumes that human beings do not have the ability to overcome their sins by appealing to secular literature that says, “The human race wrongly brings a complaint against its own nature.”  Therefore, human beings need the grace of Christ in order to be saved from their sins.
Also, Augustine quotes Pelagius’ treatise in order to claim the importance of the sacrament. If Christ died in vain, the sacrament cannot be the way to be redeemed from the wrath of God. However, if Christ did not die in vain, the sacrament of the blood of Christ is the way to be redeemed from the most righteous wrath of God.
    Another important issue is original sin. On that issue, Pelagius claimed that there is no such thing as original sin, nor a corruption of human nature that forces us to sin . On the other hand, Augustine claims that even though Adam was created without sin, he committed the original sin. Therefore, human beings need a physician.  He apparently claims, “We were children of wrath” by quoting Ephesians 2:3-5 . Therefore, by the grace of Christ, we can be saved. Continuously, Augustine emphasizes the human failure of bitterness and the necessity of the grace of Christ. Furthermore, this grace of God is already provided for whom he foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified.
    Also, Augustine asks Christians not to dispute the grace of Christ and not to deny that human nature needs a physician, namely Christ . He wished that Pelagius’ thoughts did not spread out.

    II.2. The Nature and Effects of Sin
    In this part, Augustine focuses on how Pelagius tries to present the power and quality of human nature against Scriptures.  In reference to Pelagius’ view on the “wisdom of speech,” Augustine thinks his thought voids the cross of Christ.  To Augustine, the ‘wisdom’ of Pelagius suggests that we trust human nature rather than believe the grace of Christ.
    Augustine quotes Pelagius on his view of how human nature was not changed and was not weakened by the original sin. Augustine claims that Pelagius’ thoughts distort the most salutary words of our Scriptures: “I said, O Lord, be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you” (Ps. 40:5)  According to Pelagius, this Scripture is totally nonsense. First, human beings do not need any healing, because they were not wounded. Second, since the human nature is unwounded, we do not need to say, “I have sinned against you.”  Augustine shows that Pelagius’ thought is totally wrong, because Scripture did not prove it.
    Finally, Augustine quotes from Matt. 9:12-13, “They that are in health need not a physician, but they that are ill…. I am not come to call the just, but sinners.” He uses allegorical interpretation on this Scripture where clearly Jesus calls the just ‘healthy,’ while he calls sinners ‘ill.’

III. connect the meaning of the text to its historical context
    When the Pelagian controversy rose in the Church, Augustine was concerned on how to explain, as a minister and a bishop, the human failing of bitterness.  “On Nature and Grace” shows the necessity of Christ, the sacrament, and the original sin that were debated in the Pelagian controversy.  Augustine approached these issues by using the Scriptures.
    The text mainly discussed the necessity of Christ, where as Pelagian’s argument about moral reasoning voids the need for Christ.  However, Augustine claimed that if human beings wanted to be saved, they needed the grace of Christ. He depended on the Scriptures in order to resolve the Pelagian Controversy.
    During the Pelagian controversy, Augustine wrote his the most important theological works. However, everybody did not agree with Augustine. Indeed, the Pelagian controversy had been going on for several years. His theology on grace, which is irresistible grace, and the doctrine of predestination, had been reinterpreted for 100 years.  
Augustine’s concept the “irresistible grace” is related with martyrdom tradition of Carthage.  The Church of Carthage regards martyrdom as a God’s calling for certain people, not everybody.  Therefore, the martyrdom is a gift of God for whom he foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified.  In the same way, to Augustine, the grace of God is irresistible gift from God for who he foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified. Therefore, Augustine’s writing is not only a responding to Pelagius’ treatise, but also a heritage of the martyrdom tradition in Carthage.
Also, we have to make clear one thing that “On Nature and Grace” focused on not only refutation Pelagius, but also fundamental issue of salvation. As seeing the title of Augustine’s writing, “On Nature” claims that the quality of human beings is not good as to be saved. And “Grace” claims that human beings can be saved by only the grace of God. Augustine’s theology affected not only the 5th century, but also the medieval era. Also, it affects us today.