6/27/2023 0 Comments St augustine of hippo city of god![]() The idea of free will, however, was not entirely palatable to the Roman mind, which saw much of human events in terms of destiny controlled by the stars (astrology) and the gods. God does not give unqualified and unending temporal victories, nor is that a good measure of which God is true. ![]() Augustine explains that not only did the pagan gods not prevent such suffering, but Christianity also allows for such events as part of free will, and often for our good. 2 Books 1-5: The Effects of Pagan Worship in this LifeĪugustine first responds to the claim that if the Christian God were the true God, he should have protected Rome from suffering foreign attacks, as well and sickness and suffering in general. The concomitant rise of Christianity and abandonment of Rome’s pagan deities were being blamed by many for Rome’s decline, and in response, Augustine not only challenged the value of pagan worship in this life (Books 1-5), but in the next (Books 6-10), and then went on to describe the origin (Books 11-14), progress (Books 15-18), and final end (Books 19-22) of God’s kingdom, the City of God. It would seem hard to fathom that such a kingdom could ever end, but this decline helped Augustine realize that all human kingdoms end, but God’s kingdom does not. ![]() Augustine lived through what became obvious was the end of the millennium-long Roman empire. ![]()
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