Reconciling Faith and Reason...In Christ Alone

"All too frequently the poverty of human intelligence has plenty to say, for inquiry employs more words than the discovery of the solution; it takes longer to state a request than to have it granted, and the hand that knocks has more work to do than the hand which receives. We hold on to the promise, which none can make null and void...(Rom8:31),(Matt7:7-8)...These are your promises, and when the promise is given by the Truth, who fears to be deceived?" (p.247)

I think this passage is key for seekers of the Truth. So many times we are spurred by reason to be skeptical of everything, and by faith to ignorantly accept all words spoken to us. We must find the balance within the sweet dissonance of faith and reason as imago Dei. Always strive for excellence in thought, but at the end of the day, know where your foundational hope is found; in Christ alone!

I commented on Ethan and Hannah's.

O, What A Wretched Man I Am

Augustine points out on page 273 that we are incapable of goodness. Because of God's ever-presence, and His innate goodness, all good works done by humans are in fact null and void, for Augustine says "in any good actions of mine you were there before me; in my merits you were rewarding 'the works of your own hands, by which you made me' (Ps. 118:73)." God does not need us. We can never by our own works balance the scale weighing the glory of humanity and the glory of God, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24). Because of God's goodness and the sacrifice of His son, we have been set free from the death that results from our wickedness.

I commented on Brax's and Wendy's posts.

A Powerful Life Story

Augustine wasn't afraid to expose his faults and shortcoming of being human. Even after he acknowledged howhis own behaviors were not following Gods will for his life. He was not afraid to admit he had faults and that he ran away from God. He wasn't afraid to ask questions and in finding the answers it allowed him to reflect on himself.  Self reflection is key when going deeper into Gods will for your life. There is always room for improvement in how we live and Gods standards will never reflect our way of living. However, to be called a child of God means God accepts your faults and still wants you to be his because he sees the best in us even when we are far from it.

Confession

"O Lord, the depths of man's conscience lie bare before your eyes. Could anything of mine remain hidden from you, even if I refused to confess it?" p.207

Augustine writes on the purpose of his confessions, and what a beautiful picture it is. Pride, guilt, shame, ect. can all cause one not to want to confess or to feel like one should not have to. Augustine made me realize that even though I know God knows all wrong I do or think, I am still made to confess and ask God for forgiveness. When walking with God, I feel it is almost impossible not to have that guilty conscience that tells you to make things right. Augustine says he makes his confession, "with the voice of my soul and in my thoughts which cry aloud to you" (207). Augustine is saying that when he does something displeasing to God, he is displeased with himself and God knows this. He confesses not only with the tongue but with the heart. Confessing with ones heart is a truer form of confession. One can say empty words, but Augustine shows the importance of true confession before God. His heart and soul is set on pleasing God.

I commented on Hannah and Natalie's.

God's Goodness

"To you I owe my being and the goodness of my being"  (pg. 273)


All goodness comes from God. God is pure and holy, and without Him we cannot experience any goodness. Good does not come from within us. We are born totally sinful and apart from Him. This is why we cannot be reconciled to God on our own terms.  He must draw us into Himself. We bring nothing to the table. Therefore, we have no right to boast in anything. It is the cross of Christ and his righteousness that allows us to have communion with such a good God.


I commented on Hannah and Natalie's posts.

True Humility

"I call upon you, O God, my Mercy, who made me and did not forget me when I forgot you. I call you to come into my soul, by inspiring it to long for you prepare it to receive you." XIII lines 1-2



After reading through this entire novel, one theme came to the forefront of the final book. His overwhelming love for the Lord and his awestruck wonder at His goodness is something to take notes on. After seeing all of his questions and different routes he took to finally come to Christ is an amazing journey. He denounces the worlds things and looks towards the Lord for what is pure and good. I can relate very much to this considering my initial walk with the Lord was filled with doubt, questions, and many different ideas of God had swirled around until I fully surrendered to Him. It's cool to get to read this and have a relation to it.

P.S. I commented on Nate's and Abigail's posts

The question of humans

Something that distinctly jumped out to me during the reading was Augustine's questions about why his readers would want to hear his confessions in the first place. He writes that people are "inquisitive about other people's lives, but negligent to correct their own" (180). This is so unbelievingly true in our lives today and convicts my heart. We are always so interested in why people come out to be the way they are but never divulge into why we are the way that we are. So, Augustine is wondering why he should even try to explain his life when won't. But, he explains that it is not for the people's sake that he tells his story. Instead, it always goes back to God. He wants his story to impact unbelievers. And I believe that is what we should be doing today. We are not called to only preach and teach to people that are already believers. We need to preach to those that don't believe so that they will believe.


I commented on Daniel's and Sierra's posts!!!

The Mystery of Three

What is three?
   Describe it. Draw it--Nope, not the symbol for three; draw three. You cannot do it, can you? This is because numbers are not physical entities; they are mental entities. The truest form of numbers is only found in the mind, never elsewhere.
   To prove this idea, think about three. It can be pictured in the mind quite easily--in its entirety. As Augustine mentions the idea of numbers being entities only fully available in the mind (p. 190), he supports his argument of memory-- that not everything can be learned via sensory perception. There is more. The soul itself has a different form of learning.
   As this is pondered, Plato's immortality of the soul concept comes into play. Augustine even uses the idea of "recollection." As I do not have quite enough time or space to fully delve into this correlation, here is a quick thought:
                   Perhaps Plato was only off a little bit on the immortality of the soul/ recollection. As man is made in the image of God, usually discussed as a matter of the soul, then man could have been created with full knowledge of Creation. As man recollects this full knowledge, lost at the fall, he learns more of God and His Creation--namely himself (man's self). Man lost clarity, and in that--lost himself. Only through recollecting, of God and through Him, can man see himself as he was meant to be.
Just some thoughts.

P.S. I commented on Ollie Finley and Hannah Atkins' posts.

Answers

Augustine seems to answer all the questions I didn't know I had. While reading Confessions, many times I have thought "I've never thought about that, but that makes so much sense." In Book IX Section 25, Augustine writes about how if we, as humans, were completely undistracted, disconnected from everything and focused on him, then we would hear from God, through God. We would not see God through "the tongue of the flesh, nor through the voice of an angel, nor through the sound of thunder, nor through the obscurity of a symbolic utterance." God would not need to use these things we love to speak to us, if we were to be unmoving then he would not need a mediator. How cool would it be for God to speak directly to us, without any sort of mediation??? This does not seem like that big of a deal, but it amazes me and sometimes confuses me how Augustine thinks of these things and knows how to put them into words.

commented on Daniel's and Sierra's.

lies

"All these emotions exuded from my eyes and my voice when 'your good Spirit' turned towards us to say: 'Sons of men, how long will you be dull at heart? And why do you love vanity and seek after a lie?'.  For I had loved vanity and sought after a lie.  And you Lord had already 'magnified your holy one', raisng him from the dead and setting him at your right hand, whence he sent from on high his promise, the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth."

This passage made me realize just how messed up we are in this world.  People put their trust in temporary, unreliable things and expect to get great results, we are constantly told by the media that we must be a certain way and live a certain lifestyle.  We chase after these things when we should be chasing after Christ.  "And why do you love vanity and sek after a lie?" this is so powerful to me.

commented on francesca and dallas

Jesus is Sweeter

“Suddenly it had become sweet to me to be without the sweets of folly. What I once feared to lose was now a delight to dismiss. You turned them out and entered to take their place…” (pg.155)

               This reminds me of the verse Philippians 3:8 where Paul says that he “count[s] everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus”. I love that Augustine points to the sweetness of knowing Christ being much sweeter than all that the world has to offer. The follies of the world are counted as garbage in comparison to his relationship with his redeemer. Augustine dismisses his fears of loss. The ability to do this comes from the great confidence he had that he could never lose his greatest treasure, Christ. When Christ fills us, he is enough to sustain us and fulfill our needs. There is much maturity in the way that Augustine is able to recognize this and portray this concept in his writings.


I commented on Dallas and Abigail's posts

Memories of God

In Book 10, Augustine talks about memory, pulling on the Platonic idea that we know all things but forgot them, but can retrieve them. He uses this type of thinking to ask how we may know God without any previous knowledge of God, claiming that, just as with Platonic thought, we already know of God from before we arrived on this earth, and the image of God rests somewhere in the back of our minds. This is an idea I can find merit in, as God created humans himself, so it would make sense that some part of us would remember and be able to recognize God. However, I have trouble believing the Platonic thought on pre-knowledge of the soul. I am a believer of gaining knowledge through experience, as I do not see how one can suddenly gain the knowledge to solve a complex equation without someone first showing them how it is to be solved. Learning through experience also applies to God, as at least for me, it is more logical, and even perhaps better, to learn of God and come to God through your personal experience with God rather than the recollection of God.

I commented on Sierra and Dallas' posts.

Earth and Heavens

In Book Eleven, parts four and five, Augustine discusses the existence of the Heavens and earth. He explains that simply because they exist “proclaims that they were created” by someone. He furthers this reasoning when he states that for the earth and heavens to have created themselves, they would “have had to exist before [their] existence began.” Basically, the heavens and the earth would have had to create themselves out of nothing, and that is not actually possible to do without a Creator. Not only does Augustine take note of these things, but he goes on to thank God for the ability to know these truths. He is humble in admitting that although he has knowledge, it is only through God allowing him to know, and that “our knowledge, compared with [God’s] is ignorance.”

In part five, he continues discussing the fact that “it was [God] who made” it all. He repeats this several times to prove that God made it all, and all the work was by His hands. Augustine states that it is all to “proclaim Your glory as their Creator, O God.” God has made it all, and it is all for Him.

I appreciate the humble attitude and approach that Augustine takes. He knows how weak and ignorant of a being we are in comparison to God. Too often, I know that I do not view God in all His glory and majesty. Nor do I reflect on how incredible He is for creating everything from the molecule to the stars out of nothing. He spoke it all into existence! I cannot fathom that! And neither can Augustine – that is why I enjoy reading Confessions, because Augustine is constantly in awe at the wonders and mysteries of God.

 

I commented on Francesca’s and Natalie’s posts!

Memory Again

In Book 10, Augustine questions where his knowledge of God comes from. He asks where he learned of God because he knows that he did not have a previous knowledge of him. He does not know how he found God to learn about him. He says that since he learned of God, he has found the Lord in his memory. It reminds me a lot of what we read in Plato. Do we know what virtue is because we learn it, or do we recall it? If we learn it, where do we learn it from? Augustine is asking the same questions about his knowledge of God. Obviously, Augustine believes that God reveals things to us through his word. However, it seems that he is talking about his knowledge of God outside of scripture. Perhaps it is a mystery of God that we will never know or perhaps there is an answer. Any thoughts?

I commented on Francesca and Ollie's posts.

The Meaning of a Testimony

     In churches today, it is easy to fall into the mindset that a testimony without "significant sin" or trials is no testimony at all. Some when telling their testimony seem to focus more on their sin and glorify those actions and minimize the importance of their salvation. Augustine understands the importance of what he is writing. He is not publishing his sins in order to impress or shock the crowds with his sinfulness or knowledge, but he is truly pouring out with lamentation over how his sin affected his relationship with the perfect, sovereign God. In Book X, he opens with discussing the mixed reactions he will receive by publishing his confessions. He hopes that followers of Christ will "take heart from my good traits, and sigh with sadness at the bad ones...Let them take heart from the one and regret the other" (page 181). Yet he realizes that some will be disgusted by his honesty. His true desire is that people will read his story and learn from his mistakes, but also praise God with him for his salvation. We saw this same mindset from Augustine two weeks ago in Book VIII when he says: "Let all who adore you say when they hear these things: 'Blessed is the Lord in heaven and in earth; great and wonderful is His name'" (page 133). Augustine set an amazing example of how we are to rejoice in the redemptive power of the Gospel, and how our life before knowing Christ is a further testimony of Christ's greatness and not our own.

I commented on Francesca and Dallas' posts. 

A College Student's Prayer

First let me say that I have loved reading the Confessions as Augustine puts tow words many things that I am thinking or feeling towards our God. 

On page 222 section 3 , Augustine writes " Let me offer you in sacarafice the service of my thinking and my tongue, and grant that which I am to offer, "for I am poor and needy," .... Circumcise my lips inwardly and outwardly, from all rashness and falsehood. .... From them grant us space for our meditiaons on the secret recesses of your law, and do not close the gate to us as we knock."  As a college student my purpose is to study different areas and my major,  to use my youth as a platform to speak of what I have learned and how I have applied to my life, and to use my time wisely in discovering new things and have new experiences. What is the purpose of it all? I agree with Augustine that I must use to give glory to God and to not speak with rash or harsh words like many of our generation does but speak with the love and wisdom of my God. Its like what I have been learning in my Christian Worldview class that my studies mean nothing if I can not relate it back to the Gospel, my work/career means nothing if its not to be a disciple and witness to the lost God places in my life. This also why I love Honors because I get to intergrate my learning from both classes and see the connections made.  

Extra Credit Though.

Reading up on Augustine for my paper, I kept coming back to the moment when Augustine decides to follow God. I feel as though it's a true sign of surrender, the way he comes to God. Sitting under the tree, thinking of all the paths he took in his life, leading up to felling the Father's loving embrace. Its intriguing to see just how much he revered Plato at first as well. I cannot wait to continue to dive into Augustine's Platonist parallels, and watching how he came to Christ through it all. I love this image, and Augustine's Confessions is easily my favorite reading of the semester.

Infancy and why does it matter?

Augustine seemed to take a keen interest to the early years of his life, especially concerning his infancy years. He made the notion of his early years meant nothing to him, despite others telling him all that he did. He said we were in a state of being truly jailed within the body because the infant's body was weak and small, so it could not carry out the normal bodily desires. He also states that as an infant, you have little ways to express yourself through communication. It's so true, and this brings up the idea of infant baptism for me. Is the practice of baptism really only effective when the individual can make the decision for himself? I think so, as I myself was the one to decide on when I wanted to be baptized or even at all. I believe it would only make sense because an individual that makes the decision himself would have to know to some degree on what the act of baptism does and what it means for the individual. While an infant is barely conscious to what is happening around them, so having an infant baptism seems a bit useless if the individual has little to no idea to why, in essence, being dunked into a pool of water in front of a bunch of people.

I commented on Jessica's and Olivia's.

Coerced Learning

"I learnt Latin without the threat of punishment from anyone forcing me to learn it" Pg. 17

When you are forced to do something it takes the joy out of the thing you are forced to do. Augustine experienced this in learning Greek and Latin. He loved Latin, but he hated Greek. In my own studies, I have noticed that there is joy in learning the subjects that I actually care for. Subjects that I am less invested in are more difficult to enjoy and learn. This helps me relate to Augustine more. He was a very real person that had a profound transformation in his life. The reality is that we can have the kind of relationship with God that he had.


P.S.: I commented on Dallas and Hannah's posts.

Thank You Saint Augustine

I have a confession... I really wanted to put a pun in this somewhere. Also, one of my favorite lines so far comes from the first page. Saint Augustine says "You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." What a truth to be read during the week of the CPA's Christmas Spectacular. As part of the tech team and rhythm section, as well as battling illness, everything outside of classes has been extremely stressful. While stress is a pain and fact of life, it can easily become consuming. St. Augustine's words are so soothing to hear because though life may be crazy right now, that is all the more reason to praise Christ. He has allowed me to be a part of a production that is beyond my understanding, and nothing I have ever been apart of matches up to the scale of such a production. The goal of the production is to bring glory to the King who deserves it. Without Him, I would not be here. The stress may seem overbearing at times, that is until I do exactly as Augustine suggests. The moment I praise and rest in Him, my heart finds rest among the chaos.

P.S. I commented on Briana's and Sierra's posts.

The Wrong Path

In Book IV, Augustine speaks on his going astray, something I think most of us can relate to. His descriptions of the many sins he was living in gave a big picture perspective in his thoughts at the time. I found the fact that he called himself out as a hypocrite very intriguing. Many self righteous people will refuse to admit that, and only true surrender and repentance unto the Lord can bring bout that honesty. Many times we are feeding our own weaknesses.

(pg72) "But, O God of my heart, it was not from a pure love of you that i rejected this wickedness. I had not learnt how to love you, for when i thought of you i imagined you as some splendid being, but entirely physical."

"But while I would not let this man offer sacrifice for me to his devils, all the time I was offering myself as a sacrifice to them because of my false beliefs."

P.S. I commented on Hannah and Francescas posts!!

Identity of God

Augustine discusses the identity and some characteristics of God. He raises questions such as, can God be contained? Who are we to try and contain Him simply so that we may be able to try and understand/fathom Him? Our earthly minds cannot comprehend His nature or capabilities. “Do heaven and earth contain [Him]” or does He “fill them and overflow them” with His presence? What does His presence look like exactly? And who has “anything which does not belong to [Him]”? He is the ruler of all things, and is complete authority. All things and all people belong to Him and submit to His authority. I love the way God is described as “deeply hidden, yet most intimately present.” It highlights His mysterious nature and also describes how He is still present and deeply involved in our lives. I find this refreshing to read about the deep affection God gives to us.

I commented on Natalie and Wendy’s!

Required and Unrequired

There were many things in 'Confessions' that I could relate to but this one took the cake.  Page 17 book I:

" I learnt Latin without the threat of punishment from anyone forcing me to learn it.  My own heart constrained me to bring its concepts to birth, which I could not have done unless I had learnt some words, not from formal teaching but by listening to people talking; and they in turn were the audience for my thoughts.  This experience sufficiently illuminates the truth that free curiosity has greater power to stimulate learning than rigorous coercion."

I can relate to this so much.  I LOVE reading; books are my best friend.  And having a required reading (especially if I dont like the book) when I'm currently reading my own book irritates me and makes me not want to read the required book.  It's interesting because I may have wanted to read the book outside of the curriculum in my free time but after I get an assignment to read it, I lose interest.

I commented on Francesca and Ollie

The Church as a Spiritual Mother

I seriously enjoyed reading Augustine's Confessions, as the prayers resonated deeply with my own thoughts and faith. There was a small area that caught my attention that I loved and is a beautiful analogy for Christ and His Church. As Augustine recounts his baptism as a young boy, he speaks on his mother's steady faithfulness.
"You saw, my God, because you were already my guardian, with what fervor of mind and with what faith I then begged for the baptism of your Christ, my God and Lord, urging it on the devotion of my mother and of the mother of us all, your Church." (pp.13)
Though this is a small point, the choice words Augustine uses in this passage presents a picture of the church being like a mother; tender, caring, and loving, yet stern and disciplinary when needed. It donned on me that the church, the collective body of Christ, the bride of our Lord, is indeed also the mother and encourager in our faith. Because of this point, there is much to be said about the role that the church should play in our lives and the growth of our faith.

We Must Be Careful Among Friends

In Book 2 when Augustine tells of when he and his friends went into a pear orchard and stole a bunch of pears, he then goes on to explain that in his adolescence there were two main sins that he was involved with: the sin of misdirected love and the sin of desiring to do wrong for wrongs sake. These seem trivial and youthful but towards the end of book 2 he raises an interesting point that peer pressure did play a role in his stealing the pears. He had no desire for pears or any motive other than the pure thrill of doing something wrong. He wouldn't have done this had he not been with a group of friends. It's interesting to me the idea that we must be careful in our friendships just as we are careful with our relationships with enemies and maybe even more so. We are instinctively careful and vigilant of our enemies whereas when we're among friends we feel safe, we feel like we can trust those around us. If an enemy tells us to do something, even if it's good, we're likely to be suspicious and wary to heed their advice. If friends encourage us to do something, we're likely to do it regardless of if its right or wrong because we're being pushed on by people who supposedly care for our best interest. Even if we know it's something wrong, we're consoled by the fact that it's friends wanting us to do it. Although it is good to have people with whom your guard is down, we must be careful to not become so suggestible as to compromise our morals by assuming those who care about you can't or won't lead you astray.

I commented on Nate's and Darby's!

Sin Feels Good

On page 29 we see Augustine wrestling with the sins of his boyhood and how it has caused a fall in his life. His reasoning behind these sinful actions is that he "had no motive for [his] wickedness except wickedness itself." He loved sin and treated it as an idol. There was no good inside of what he was doing other then creating temporary feelings that left a want, a addiction to something of only worldly nature. He says that " I loved my fall, not the object which I had fallen but my fall itself." Its not the end goal that was so desirable but the steps that lead him to a dark abyss of sexual impurity, theivery, and a distance from the Lord. I too can relate to Augustine as the more I have fallen into a temptaition the harder it is to resisit and to stop and to admit what I'm doing is actually worng because in a perveretd sense it seems right. Though there is redemption for everyone including a sinner like me and I enjoyed reading Augustine work through the many questions one has and speak of his own relationship with God.

I commented on Dallas and Daniel's post.

Augustine's Questioning

Honestly, if I wrote down my prayers and my questions that I have for God, it would probably look a lot like Augustine's. His, of course, sound much more intelligent and put together than mine would, but still. In the first book, he starts his prayer but then suddenly jumps to questioning what comes first, calling upon God or praising Him? Then whether you must know Him before calling upon Him... but how can we call upon Him if we do not believe in Him? Really, these questions don't seem that important in the big picture because anyone can believe in God and pray to Him, there isn't necessarily a "right" way to do it. Although I question the same sort of things (not to this extent), Augustine's curiousness and sincere need for understanding is very interesting to me.

I commented on Wendy's and Darby's.

Grieving Sin

     I love how vulnerable Augustine is throughout Confessions. However, I can't help but find his introspection slightly comical. He not only talks about the depravity of his adolescence, he goes all the way back to infancy. "I have personally watched and studied a jealous baby." Yet, I must admit that the degree to which his sinful nature grieves him is convicting. Throughout the entire first four books, he laments his mistakes even though he couldn't control some of them (back to the infancy thing)! I don't think I have ever lamented over something I did in infancy--laughed, yes, grieved, no. Augustine had a very clear idea of what he deserved for his sins and a very clear reverence for what the cross accomplished.

I commented on Briana and Darby's posts.

Augustine and Aristotle

Personally, I love how all of the works we have read this semester are all tying together and I'm even making connections to things we read last year. On page 14 Augustine says, "No one is doing right if he is acting against his will,even when what he is doing is good." This I feel is basically restating what Aristotle said in Nicomachean Ethics. Essentially that, your act of good needs to come from the heart. If you're doing something good but you secretly hate it or it becomes a burden to you then it's not a good thing. I remember thinking about the same story that Nate told I just didn't know which book in the Bible it came from. When the rich men are all praying loudly and donating copious amounts of money but the widow comes and tithes her last two pennies. The difference between the two being that she did it willingly and with a pure heart; whereas the rich men did it from a place of obligation and showmanship.

I commented on Nate's and Dallas'!

Honest Ramblings

For many Christian philosophers and writers I have read in the past, there was a certain rawness lacking in them. All their works had been edited, revised, and rewritten so much that they lost a certain natural power that comes with stream of consciousness writing. For Augustine, however, I feel that raw majesty remains in a larger quantity than in other works. There is definitive signs of editing and revision, sure, but despite that, Augustine still manages to keep that power of his immediate thoughts through his questions toward God and repetition of certain phrases that gives Augustine's writings a feeling that is only understood in moments of revelation. I feel I can appreciate Augustine more now, knowing that he managed to keep hold of the sense of revelation in his writing despite post editing.

I commented on Nate and Dallas' blogs.

Ever Innocent?

Augustine speaks on the innocence of babies, which I felt was done in a blunt manner. This has always been a particularly interesting topic for me to study. When I look at a baby, that is one of the clearest pictures of innocence to me. I believe most people would say that they do not look at an infant on the day it was born as a dirty sinner. Augustine says, "if babies are innocent, it is not for lack of will to do harm, but for lack of strength" (28). He compares this to a baby throwing a tantrum for something that he desires, but will do him harm. Augustine goes on to say, "where, I ask you, Lord, where or when was I, your servant, ever innocent?". This question stuck out to me because I know Augustine believes in total depravity (aka The Pear Tree), but I had never thought of this in the way his thought process moves through this question. This is the beginning to questioning it. I see a baby, and I see innocence. It would be interesting to me to pursue the thought of innocence in the womb. The baby is alive, the baby is a being. I feel it cannot be anything but innocent. Is Augustine saying that as soon as you enter the world (a baby being born), that that is when you lose your innocence? Can you even ever be innocent? How could a baby in the womb not be innocent??

I commented on Nate and Darby's.

Self-Injurious Sin

Augustine's Confessions has been slowly approaching all semester, and finally, we have reached it. Augustine, on page 47, depicts sin as a self-inflicted wound against man's own soul. It does not hurt God, it hurts the perpetrator by tainting his soul from its purpose. This is different than the God we see pictured often in our culture today. Today, God is often seen as hurting, crying, whimpering when we sin; He weeps at our fall, for He is hurt that His beloved would reject Him. Though God does love His children, I think that Augustine was closer to the reality of sin than most would be. He says that it hurts the sinner, not the lawgiver. God is above man; we cannot injure or hurt Him. If we could, how lowly a God would it be that we serve! Sin is a perversion of self; no one is hurt more than the sinner...

I commented on: Darby Callicut and Hannah Atkins' posts.

Askin' all these questions

In my opinion, it sounds as if Augustine is trying to figure why everything in his life occurred. He questions why he acts the way he does as a baby, as well as why he acts the way he does in boyhood. Shouldn't he not ask these questions? Aren't we as humans, as creations, not supposed to know why God does the things that he does? We are not supposed to know all the mysteries of the universe and of God because then we would be just as intelligent as God. Therefore we would be putting ourselves on God's level when we have no right to be.

I commented on Hannah's and Dallas's!

Let Me Die

“Lest I die, let me die so I may see it.” (page 5)

This phrase is quite telling of Augustine’s view of salvation. He had just finished pointing to the character and nature of God. He acknowledged God’s goodness and majesty. This immediately pointed him to how deficient he was of goodness. He proclaimed “What a wretch I am!” and begged God to tell his soul that his salvation came from God alone. Augustine understood that he could contribute absolutely nothing to his own salvation. He came broken, begging to die to sin, that he may not die in hell. This is a very solid understanding of who God is and who we are as humans. His prayer was so genuine, and enjoy his transparent writing very much!

I commented on Dallas and Darby's posts! 

A Conversation with God

I love the fact that Augustine is meditating on God's Word and just talking to Him about it. He confesses many of his sins to God. He is having a long conversation with the Lord about various subjects, including some that he can't fully comprehend. However, he is continually thankful to God for everything. It reminds me of the Psalms, which he addresses often in his prayer. God wants us to tell Him how much we love Him, and thank Him for His grace and mercy. He loves for us to tell Him about what He has done in our lives. I think that Augustine understood this well. It appears that He had a great prayer life.

I commented on Hannah and Nate's posts.

Jealousy wont fly here

The Early Christian Wrting book gave me some knowledge I was unaware  go jealousy played an large part in it. Both Miriam and Aaron were  expelled form the camp because of their jealousy towards Moses. God does not view jealousy as something you can have and still enter into God's kingdom. Even though many of the people who we're jealous of another weren't killed by God immediately after. The punishments they suffered we're still great and most likely spiritually painful. The writings plead for the Corinthians to stop such things from falling on them. because having jealousy was not a characteristic that Christian people are supposed to have. To be unrighteous and to love is key. and you can't love God and man with Jealousy in your heart towards anybody.

The Wrath of God

"and the total absence of any friction that marks the ordering of His whole creation." Pg. 31

Throughout this work, I think Clement is talking about a god who is free from wrath. This does not line up with what the Bible teaches. In Romans 1:18, Paul writes "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth", also in Psalms 7:11, David writes "God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day". I think Clement has a very skewed perception of who God is and what characteristics God possesses. Can a person be a Christian if they have a skewed concept of who God is? If God had no wrath why would Jesus need to die for our sins. How wrong can your perception of the character of God be and still be a Christian?


P.S.: I commented on Wendy's and Hannah's Posts.

Return to Love

“We must fall on our knees before the Master and implore Him with tears graciously to pardon us, and bring us back again into the honourable and virtuous way of brothers who love one another.” (pg. 43)

Love is said to be the pathway to righteousness. One cannot hope to be on the pathway unless they repent of their lack of love. This is so crucial in the Christian faith, and it is not emphasized enough in the church today. Our society hungers for love, but the church often finds itself too divided to function in the capacity it should. Many of the social issues we see today are a result of this heart problem. The church needs to turn back to love with broken hearts. If we return to the love God commands us to lavish on others, the world will change. Until that happens, the world will continue dissolving into chaos and confusion.

I commented on Natalie and Francesca’s posts.

Translation and Interpretation

I struggled with some of Clement's translation and interpretation of scripture. He quoted scripture on page 24 as saying, "At this Cain took offense, and his face grew black." I just question the translation and what exactly he means there. Is it referring to the mark that God put on Cain, or simply saying that his face was downcast? That is what I have found in other translations. I have heard of a false teaching in the church that claims the Lord made Cain black as his mark. I know that this is false, but I wonder if this could be where people claim to have the evidence for such a belief. Also, when referring to Noah and the flood, on page 26, he said that those who repented and believed after Noah's preaching were saved. However, there were no people saved when Noah preached. If they had been saved, God would have spared them also.

I commented on Wendy and Hannah's posts.

Early Christian writings- Clement and the brokenness of Corinth

Clement addresses first in his letter the disputes among the Corinthian community. He is straightforward when confronting them with their issues in argument. He calls it the "odious and unholy breach of unity among you". Personally, it seems to me as if he is saying that because of this, they are not (or are not acting as) God's people. They had fallen from a strong faith that had been well known by others around them, and he attempts to convict them in order to help them pinpoint the cause of disagreement, therefore showing how to fix it. Ther troubles seem to be coming from an unholy pride issue rather than holy disagreement (example- Jesus at the temple, flipping tables and running merchants out.)
Are disagreements always bad? Is it okay to have them within the church?

PS- I commented on Sierra's and Francessca's posts

Amazing grace

“All those who were ministers of the grace of God have spoken, through the Holy Spirit, of repentance… He has confirmed His desire that repentance should be open to every one of His beloved” (Section 8, page 26).

I like this passage because Clement is talking of God’s grace, and how it is “open to every one.” Forgiveness and repentance are for all people ,from sinners to saints. We are all capable of receiving His grace as long as we have sought repentance. We get to freely know and experience His unending grace and that is so incredible and unfathomable. God’s desire is a “sinner’s repentance,” and simply wants His people to turn and run to Him, realizing their weak state. Not only does God offer us grace, but He calls us to act on our convictions and respond to Him. He asks us to obey His sovereign commands to bring glory and honor to His name in response to living in such a beautiful and free state of grace.

I commented on Darby and Francesca’s posts!

Clement And The Election

"It is surely ore right and reverent for us, my brothers, to obey God than to follow people whose insolent unruliness has made them the ringleaders of this odious rivalry."(28)
When I read this, I immediately thought of the 2016 election and the unfortunate candidates, one of which we will soon be calling our leader. The words "insolent unruliness" and "odious rivalry" are ones that I think characterize Donald trump and Hillary Clinton quite well. While their are people on both sides of the divide; Hillary supporters who think Trump is the scum of the Earth, die hard Trump supporters who are certain the United States will crash and burn under to reign of Clinton. I think it is dangerous to have so much faith in either candidate. Clement says to lend ourselves to the ideologies of one "who [is] plunging into strife and sedition to divert us from what is right" is  not just a risk but running towards "the most deadly peril"(28). This whole election, campaign on both sides have been the picture of strife and division. Neither leader is directing this country towards what is "kindhearted" or "innocent." Neither leader is concerned with directing this country back towards the will of God. While this is a great reminder to Christians that we cannot put our faith in a human leader, look at what the election has done to interpersonal relationships. People have become consumed with defending their candidate and amidst their allegiance to a political party have let loving the people around them, including fellow Christians take a back seat. Clement gives us a much needed reminder that our job is to obey God above all else, to be kind hearted and innocent, and to "ally ourselves with those who work for peace out of genuine devotion, and not with men who only pay lip service to it"(28).

I commented on Hannah's and Nate's!

Body of Christ

On page 38 section 38 I am drawn to how the speaker talks of the different people inside the body of Christ and how one must act with their spirtual gifts and blessings. The speaker is speaking about humilty and unity as " the strong are to not ignore the weak and the weak are to respect the strong. Rich men should provide for the poor and the poor should thank God for giving them somebody to supply their wants..." so forth and so forth. Then I think about well what has God given me that I can use right now? Who wants help from a college student who can barely keep it all together in one day?  I refelected over it and reaped personal application. My spiritual gifts are like no others and it is not for me to determine when I use them because I have to remember who gave them in the first place. He has a divine appointment for me to use what He has given me for His glory. As it says in the last paragraph " To Him we owe everything, and therefore on every count we are under obligation ro return thanks to Him." We must use what He has given and what better way to start then help our brothers in sisters in Christ who in return could help us as well.

 I commented on Daniel's and Wendy's post.

Humility

This particular part caught my attention because of the references he uses. He shows us how Christ was treated, and how David responds to God. The humbleness portrayed makes me ashamed of myself. David addresses his wickedness and sinful state. He gives all the glory and honor back to God for being made new. Clement shows how important it is to be humble to point every good thing back to God, rather than boasting in what you have done or accomplished for God.

I loved how he referenced Job. Job was upright and blameless, yet knows that no one can be completely good. I have struggled with Job's blamelessness. Job throughout wonders what he has done wrong, yet still proclaims that God is sovereign and does not curse him. I feel he was humble in this sense as well.

I commented on Nate and Natalies.

Phoenix?? And other stuff...

Maybe I read that part wrong, but I was surprised to see Clement use Greek Mythology to somehow showcase the "magnitude of His promises for us". Very odd to see that pop up in a writing that is supposed to be in veneration of God and His teachings. However, I digress. I would very much like to know more about to know more about the lineage of those who were very influential in the early church. Most of the time, church history has been overlooked in lots of classes. How can we be prepared to lead the church if we don't know the many routes their thoughts took?

P.S. I commented on Nate's and Natalie's posts.

Work, Work, Work

   Work--that dreaded 6:00 alarm every weekday morning. Work--that aggravating person who sits beside you in class/the office every day. Work--why did God give us this curse? Of everything He could have cursed us with....work?
  Sadly, the statements above define a generic modern view of labor. It is seen as a painful, little rewarding, aggravating,means to an end (of pleasure or prosperity), yet work is not the curse our culture portrays it to be. Similar to many other blessings, it is twisted by our fallen world to seem a negative aspect of life as opposed to the way Clement depicts it-- beautiful.
   In pt. 36, Clement paints a picture of what work was meant to look like when he says, " Even the Architect and Lord of the Universe Himself takes a delight in working." God Himself works...for FUN! For joy, for glory. He created the universe, joyfully, with "delight" as Clement says.
   So, what are the implications? One, work ethic and the joy found in one's work cannot truly reach their fullest potential and power, separated from their true origin--God. Two, Christians have no reason to not pursue good works, once "saved" as we Baptists so often say, for work is not a necessary evil but a good (And he who knows what is right and does not do it, for him it is sin. James 4:17). So, we should work-- both in our faith and in practice-- with joy and without hesitation or whining. This is massive! It affects how one studies, pursues their career, serves their community, practices hobbies and skills, and even relationships. We are called to joy in work, found in seeking the truest form of work seen in our Creator.


P.S. I commented on Abigail Brock and Darby Callicut's posts.

Back to the Basics

     Clement wrote this in the height of the Gnostic movement--a time when thinking above and beyond was the best (and only) route to achieve knowledge. Yet while this is going on, he constantly argues that the best way to achieve knowledge and holiness is through going back to the basics of the Gospel. He implores the readers to focus on what really matters and get past the petty disagreements that come from becoming complacent and passive. The church was forgetting what mattered and was losing sight of telling people about Christ and pursuing sanctification. Even though this was written thousands of years ago, it echoes much of the problems in the church today. Especially in light of the election season. We are so caught up in the logistics and semantics that we have lost sight of what really matters--telling people about Christ and pursuing sanctification.

I commented on Darby and Abigail's posts.

The Good Works and Workers

Throughout of the entirety of this work, the only thing I can get from it is that Epistle really likes the saints of the Bible. From what I can tell, the entirety of this work was made simply to praise those saintly folk of the Bible who obeyed God and Jesus himself, of course. Perhaps I am missing a deeper meaning to it all, and I can see from the other blogs others have found something, but all I can find is Epistle is glorifying the faith of these other prophets.

I commented on Darby's post.

"IF there is true Christian love..."

Page 43 of Early Christian Writings, talks about the love a Christian man should have. Something that caught my eye while reading was the fact that the author said if. He writes, "if there is true Christian love..." which sets up a question about love. Both Christian men and non-Christian men can demonstrate love. But, there is and should be a difference in the kind of love a Christian man exemplifies. The author then goes on the list all of the ways that a Christian man can love. I just thought this was super interesting and cool that he wrote it in such a way. The author knew that both types of men can have love and show love. But, IF a TRUE Christian has love, then there should be no doubt in one's actions that he or she is a Christian.


I commented on Daniel's and Jess's.

Humility

On p.29-31, the Epistle describes the humility of Jesus and those he worked through.  This particular passage stuck out to me because of how many of us lack humility this day in age.  Everyone is so consumed with themselves and obsessed with attention and praise that they will showcase just about anything that they think will gain them some kind of elevation.  I love how this passage goes in description of the response several prophets and leaders, including David gave to God when he chose them to work through.  They were not haughty and proud from God's praise but kept humble and gracious.