Posted on 11/23/2024 9:33:07 AM PST by ebb tide
Editor’s Note: This is the ninth in a series of articles on St. Augustine, one of the greatest of Church Fathers, and how his writings still apply today.
A large mug arrived in the mail the other day, around which I counted twenty or so apothegms written by St. Augustine. It was a gift, anonymously sent by someone who obviously thought I wasn’t getting enough to read from the celebrated Doctor of Grace—or, that being already familiar with Augustine, it might be a nice touch while sipping my coffee to sample a few all over again. Either way, I was grateful to get the mug and have since increased my intake of coffee.
Since most readers may not have such a coffee cup, here’s a sample tagline to suggest where I’m going with this. Think of it as the segue to what follows from the last article: “God provides the wind, but man must raise the sails.”
Neatly put, yes? Notice, too, how it all turns on a paradox, which is that while we depend upon the wind—indeed, without it nothing sails—we’re not wholly passive as if God were the only one piloting the vessel. That would leave us prey to the heresy of Luther, who taught that whatever good we do, we owe wholly to God—man’s will having lost everything in its first headlong plunge into depravity and sin.
Even concupiscence is a sin, he argued, falsely ascribing the idea to Augustine, and never mind whether we act upon its impulses or not. Which would leave us all in a state of corruption so complete, so totalizing, that evil alone would define our condition. What then would God’s first word to the world be? Condemnation. None more sweeping, nor severe.
At the other extreme lies the equally erroneous error of Pelagius, who held that all the good we do is ours alone. “It is the easiest thing in the world,” chirped Caelestius, one of his more exuberant disciples, “to change our will by an act of will.” In short, just say no to sin and, presto, it all goes away. And while the Pelagians will grudgingly acknowledge that, yes, it is God who first stretches out His hand, delighted as it were to dispense salvation, it is always the free individual who takes a firm hold of it. It is not God, therefore, who remains at the helm but the self-directing-self whose adroit captaincy of the ship will keep it all afloat. His destiny is in his own hands.
Rather like two poisonous peas in the same pod, I’d say. Or, as Cardinal Journet will put it in a trenchant little study of the subject, to wit, The Meaning of Grace:
They are like brothers at enmity, both sharing the same parentage. The error common to both is to think that divine and human action are mutually exclusive: either it is man who does the good act, and then it is not God; or else it is God, and so not man.
Who, then, does the good act? “Both man and God together,” he concludes. It is as perfect a symbiosis as the world has ever seen. Two wills coming together, each concerting his own distinct freedom: the infinite God on one side, the finite man on the other, orchestrating together the world’s salvation.
Augustine surely had the sense of it when, in a sentence which perfectly sums up the Church’s long-settled tradition on the matter, he pronounced as follows: “God, who created thee without thee, will not justify thee without thee.”
Only we must, of course, give God top billing, knowing that the performance decisively depends on Him. Although, paraphrasing Chesterton, He takes such an intense interest in all of His secondary characters. Which simply means, once again, that none of us will ever control the wind. Nor is it up to us to try and predict its movements as if we were God’s meteorologist.
Isn’t there a text somewhere in Scripture telling us this? There is, actually, and it’s in the Gospel of St. John, where Jesus speaks to Nicodemus, who has come under cover of darkness to learn the truth about Christ, telling him: “The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or wither it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
Not surprisingly, Nicodemus is wholly mystified by this, not yet having been born of the Spirit. Nor is he less mystified by what follows, although it is sublimely beautiful. The point is that between God and ourselves there exists so great a distance, so stark a disproportion, that none of us will ever succeed in leaping across that gap. Not on our own dime, we won’t. It is an abyss too deep for mere mortals to plumb. Not even the saints could carry themselves to the other side. Indeed, they are especially aware of the sheer incommensurability between the two. How does Christ put it to Catherine of Siena? “I am He who is. You are she who is not.”
Which is why, if I may get back to Augustine’s metaphor for a moment, because we remain utterly dependent upon the wind—blowing the boat, as it were, safely across the storm-tossed sea—it is not our business to presume upon its movements. Or even to take credit for having the wit or the will to raise the sail ourselves to receive it. “When God crowns our efforts,” Augustine reminds us, “he crowns his own gifts.” Or, to quote another saint, one perhaps greater even than the holy man from Hippo, “What have you that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Or old Isaiah for that matter:
Shall the axe vaunt itself over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood! (Isaiah 10:15)
Nevertheless, it is up to us, it being our unique and special lookout, not to let go if, in the happy event God graciously does hold out His hand, He does give us the grace to take hold of it. The part we play is not at all negligible. We may not be the central character in the story; yet, to ensure the best possible outcome we really must try and do our part. To that degree, we are certainly indispensable to the story God is telling. “God never asks the impossible of us,” says Augustine, “but he does expect us to do what we can, and to ask for help to do what is beyond our means.”
Yes, and isn’t that just the rub? Here we touch upon a theme so dear to Augustine, so central to his life and thought, which turns on what Peter Brown has described as his “therapeutic attitude” to the whole vexed question of the relation between grace and freedom. It is one which we dare not solve in a facile or slapdash way. It is the idea, says Brown, “that we depend for our ability to determine ourselves, on areas that we cannot determine.” And if we are so determined that it is God whom we desire, God whom we most long to love, then we shall need great dollops of grace to pull that off.
Tout est grace! (All is grace!), Therese of Lisieux cries out as she lays dying. Like Augustine before her, she too is a Doctor of Grace.
Ping
Martin a HERETIC...?
Take the Good with the bad.
No thanks.
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor and gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. Matthew 3:12
The feud between Augustine and Pelagius is an interesting episode in church history, but it’s important to remember that the only real record we have of Pelagius’ position comes from his theological opponents. We have Augustine’s arguments but we really don’t have Pelagius’ words or defense of himself.
Most likely Pelagius wasn’t a heretic and didn’t hold most of the beliefs attributed to him. Augustine though definitely was a heretic (he was a follower of manichaeism), though he later converted to full Christianity and repented of his heresy. Unfortunately later in his life his manichaeist past began to seep back into his work (possibly as an overreaction to his battle against the full synergism attributed to Pelagius and his followers) and he ended up much closer to the Calvinist/Lutheran position than many in the Catholic church would like to admit.
As far as heresy goes, all three probably had heretical beliefs as do most christians today without really knowing it. Whether it’s word of faith, strict monergism, modalism, purgatory, the treasury of merit, etc. there is plenty of heresy to go around.
people love to put Augustine’s writings above those in scripture of the Holy Spirit; they like the patina of intellectual rigor they believe it lends them. They are foolish and it always comes out
Cherry pickers do pick cherries.
16 And one of you say to them: Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; yet give them not those things that are necessary for the body, what shall it profit? 17 So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself. James Chapter 2
Your funny: arguing Pelagius wasn't a heretic but St Augustine was one.
I didn't know you Pelagians were still around.
No student of church history denies that Augustine started out as a heretic and repented, which is exactly what I wrote. I didn’t argue that Pelagius absolutely wasn’t a heretic, just that we only have the word of his enemies that he was.
Would you want to rely only on the word of Protestant theologians to accurately convey Catholic doctrine?
Are you now claiming St. Augustine was a Protestant?
You seem more interested in conflict than actual discussion, so I’ll leave you to your echo chamber.
You.
See Post #9.
simply believing the Gospel when it says that the work of Salvation is God's alone (no works of man)
*****
Romans can't see the forest because of the trees.
They don't realize that unless it is God Who acts people don't come to a saving faith.
In Romans 5, when one looks at the verbs through the lens of the Greek, one will realize it is God Who is saving the person....not us calling out to God.
Why? Because in our fallen state we are unable to do so.
And the part where Romans will fail is believing they have to go through Mary or that somehow Mary is the one approving people to be saved. Not even close. Just one of the many errors of Roman Catholicism.
The Catholic Church teaches that salvation is entirely a gift of God’s grace, initiated and sustained by Him alone. Human beings cannot earn salvation through their own efforts, as it is fundamentally a work of God’s mercy. Ephesians 2:8–9 is fully embraced by Catholic theology, but Catholics interpret it in the broader context of Scripture, which includes passages about the role of works in the life of faith.
1. Salvation by Grace Through Faith
The Catholic Church wholeheartedly affirms that salvation is by grace through faith, a gift from God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states: “Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God” (CCC 1996). No one can merit the initial grace of faith or justification; it is God’s free gift.
Faith as a Response: Catholics understand faith as more than intellectual assent; it is a living, dynamic response to God’s grace that involves trust, obedience, and love. This aligns with Hebrews 11:6, which describes faith as believing in God and seeking to please Him.
2. The Role of Works in Catholic Teaching
The apparent “twist” you mention likely stems from the Catholic emphasis on works in the context of salvation. Let me clarify this:
Works Flow from Grace: Catholics do not believe works earn salvation. Rather, good works are the fruit of a living faith empowered by God’s grace. As Ephesians 2:10 (the verse immediately following your citation) says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Good works are part of God’s plan for those justified by grace.
Faith and Works Together: The Catholic Church teaches that faith and works are inseparable in the life of a believer. This is rooted in James 2:17, 24: “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead… You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” Works, such as acts of charity, obedience to God’s commands, and participation in the sacraments, are expressions of faith, not a means to earn salvation.
The term “merit” in Catholic teaching can cause confusion. Catholics believe that, by God’s grace, humans can cooperate with His will, and their good works, performed in grace, are rewarded by God (Philippians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 3:8). This merit is not a human achievement but a participation in God’s grace, as the Catechism explains: “The merit of man before God in the Christian life arises from the fact that God has freely chosen to associate man with the work of his grace” (CCC 2008).
3. Grace and Human Cooperation
Synergy of Grace and Free Will: Catholics believe that God’s grace initiates salvation, but humans are called to respond freely to that grace. This cooperation does not diminish God’s sovereignty but reflects His desire to involve human freedom in His plan (2 Corinthians 6:1: “We entreat you not to receive the grace of God in vain”). For example, in Philippians 2:12–13, Paul urges believers to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you.”
And to your reference to Ephesians 2:8–9
Let’s return to the passage you cited:
“It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Catholics fully agree that salvation is by grace through faith, a gift of God. The phrase “not by works” refers to works apart from grace, such as attempts to earn salvation through human effort alone (e.g., following the Mosaic Law without faith, as some in Paul’s time tried to do). The Catholic Church rejects this, teaching that all salvation comes from God’s grace.
Paul’s argument in Ephesians 2 contrasts the new life in Christ with the old life of sin, emphasizing that no one can boast of earning salvation. However, Paul elsewhere affirms the importance of works as a response to grace (e.g., Romans 2:6–7: “He will render to each one according to his works… to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life”).
Catholics seek to integrate the entirety of Scripture, which includes both faith and works, grace and cooperation. This can appear complex compared to a streamlined emphasis on sola fide, but it reflects the Catholic commitment to the full biblical witness.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.