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Augustine Vs Pelagius Essay

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It is important not only for a loving God, but also for a God that is personal. The endless outpour of God’s love results in the creation of humanity but does not stop there. For God to be personal there is needs to be a connection between humanity and God. That connection is God creating souls and it through the Holy Spirit dwelling within us that helps us to feel the connection back to God. God creates each individual with a unique soul. Since God crafts each soul, there is a connection and after the arrival of the Holy Spirit on Earth after Jesus death, humans are able to feel the connection on a personal level. Not much is known about the soul. St. Augustine describes it as immortal and created. Many debate about the origin of …show more content…

Pelagius does twist the concepts to fit his idea of the relationship of humanity to God. The major point of difference between Pelagius and St. Augustine is the state of the souls. To Pelagius the soul is pure of sin when it is born; there is only “what God placed there”. To him saying babies were born with sin is monstrous. Men are born mortal and this is not the result of Adam’s sin. It is because of this that Pelagius can make say “man can, if he wishes, be without sin.” William Mallard understood Pelagius as saying in his commentary on Romans; when a person does decide to do evil and sin it does not affect their soul and “possibility of doing well on the next choice.” Later in the paper this will be discussed in full the association to the relationship of humanity to God. To St. Augustine the soul is born in sin as a result of the fall. All of humanity was present when Adam sinned in the garden. “Sin began in an act of the human will- the will of Adam; that in him was the very nature with which we are born.” The key difference between the two is concerning the nature of the soul when it is born and how humanity bears the weight. Pelagius it is a choice to sin and as a result it is possible to be sinless through obedience. St. Augustine sees humanity as corrupt from the beginning and in need of a saving

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