St. Augustine

Here are a couple of lectures on St. Augustine from the University of Sydney:

Augustine, City of God, download, listen. [Augustine thinks not in opposites but in terms of an order with many levels. Manicheanism; his theory of evil. Structure of the City of God. Some themes: Fate, foreknowledge and free will; the greatness of the Roman empire, honour as a simulacrum of virtue; the two cities; the possibility of cooperation between citizens of the two cities.]

Augustine on Freewill and Predestination, download, listen [Augustine's conception of free choice. According to Pelagius, living the good life is up to you. Augustine's dissatisfaction with Pelagius' doctrine. According to Augustine, after the Fall, human beings need God's help for each and every good act of choice. This help is gratuitous, not earned or deserved as a right. Needed also is the gift of perseverance; salvation or damnation depends on the state in which one dies. Predestination. Adam's sin attributed to all human beings. The basis for Augustine's doctrine in the bible (see extracts from bible). Later contests over Augustine's doctrine: Ockham, Bradwardine and Gregory of Rimini, Luther, Calvin, Molina, Jansen, Arnauld, Arminius.]