The Relation Between Faith And Reason In St. Augustine's Confessions - Essay Example

?Topic: The relation between faith and reason in St. Augustine’s, Confessions. Faith and reason are two aspects of Saint Augustine’s Confessions. Theresearch focuses on Saint Augustine’s six books of Confession. The research delves into the faith and reasons area of the six books of the Confessions. There is a significant relationship between faith and reason in St. Augustine’s Confessions. In book 1, St. Augustine states “...and in Thee live the eternal reasons of all things unreasoning and temporal”1. The verse shows that Saint Augustine God allows everything that happens on a person, community or country. God allows the famines to kill thousands of hungry people in some parts of the world. God allowed the killing of innocent civilians during the September 2001 Osama Bin Laden attack on New York and the Pentagon. God allowed the Muslim Extremists to capture jet planes as battering rams during the fateful ground zero disaster. God also allowed the assassination of John F. Kennedy. God allowed the Watergate scandal. God has a reason for allowing the surprise Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor. God allowed the hurricane Katrina to wreak havoc on Florida’s coastlines. God has a reason for inflicting death and sorrow among the innocent civilians. Faith shows that people should never doubt God’s reason for inflicting such disasters. Likewise, the verse “What I then did was worthy reproof; but since I could not understand reproof, custom and reason forbade me to be reproved.”2 The verse clearly indicates that Saint Augustine had faith reproof or rebuke is a reasonable alternative for violations of moral law, ethical standards, and other societal rules and regulations. Society implements the regulations to create harmony in society. Policies are have been proposed, scrutinized, studied, and approved to preserve the peace and harmony of the state. Policies and regulations contain corresponding penalties to deter or eliminate the actualization and continuation of crimes against the residents. For example, a worker caught sleeping during duty time is initially reprimanded. Another employee is terminated for stealing company property. The courts will jail a speeding car owner for running over an ailing 70-year-old pedestrian crossing the street. The company is closed down for engaging in the selling of heroine within school premises. The court penalized Dr. Murray with a 40-year sentence of intentionally injecting a deadly sleeping medicine on world-famous Michael Jackson. Saint Augustine reminds us that people must have faith in the reasons for implementing punishment for violating rules, regulations, policies, and other legal documents. Another verse states, “Human friendship also is endeared with a sweet tie, by reason of the unity formed of many souls.3 Saint Augustine dictates the people must have faith in the reasons for unity. People live to have someone to hear to their boring stories. One of the reasons for loving another person is to receive love in return. The people are stronger if they bind together. It is not customary for a person to live a hermit life all alone in the mountains of California. It is customary for people to marry and have a family. It is customary for the parents to bring up their child in the best possible way. Saint Augustine expresses the importance of having faith in a person’s reasons for preferring do whatever it takes uniting the people. In terms of faith, the faith verse “Thou alone art God exalted over all... ”4. Whoso enters into Thee, enters into the joy of his Lord: and shall not fear, and shall do excellently in the All-Excellent. I wandered, O my God too much astray from Thee my stay, in these days of my youth....”5 The verse shows that people must praise and worship God at all times. Saint Augustine insists that all human beings must spend some portion of their times praying for God’s blessings, help, and protection from the elements and evil persons. Saint Augustine insists that people should have faith in God’s reasoning in the verse. Saint Augustine ensures that everyone should walk in a way that is pleasing to God. God will prevent the innocent person from being trampled upon, raped, killed, and mugged by gangs plying the danger-laden streets of California, New York, and other gang-infested communities. In addition, the faith verse “...Thou hast sometime forbidden it, and still for the time hidest the reason of Thy command, and it be against the ordinance of some society of men, who doubts but it is to be done, seeing that society of men is just which serves thee? But blessed are they who know Thy commands.”6 Saint Augustine proposed that God has his reasons for prohibiting certain acts. God has reasons for imposing compliance with all policies, rules, regulations, and other legal instructions. God forbids the people from violating the commandments. One of the commandments is to avoid killing other people. One of the commandments is not to covet (steal) the neighbor’s belongings. One of the laws is “do not do unto others what you do not want done unto you”. God forbids setting fire on the school building. God forbids using a handgun to massacre one’s classmates because one’s love objective rebukes the gun- wielder’s sexual approaches. Saint Augustine requires the people to have faith the God’s reason for forbidding such bible-banned acts or omissions of acts. The verse “And Thy faithful mercy hovered over me afar”7 clearly shows God’s goodness on the people. The verse shows that God will not hesitate to forgive the repentant murderer who promises to accept society’s punishment for his murderous acts. God is not hesitant to forgive the repentant sinner who insists on undoing the damage one has done on the neighbor’s property. God will surely forgive the repentant sinner who pays cash for the hospitalization of a bystander who is accidentally hit by the sinner’s uncontrollable car. God will easily forgive the unintentionally sinner who Reason dictates that disobeying God’s commands will shove one “Upon how grievous iniquities consumed I myself, pursuing a sacrilegious curiosity, that having forsaken Thee, it might bring me to the treacherous abyss, and the beguiling services of devils, to whom I sacrificed my evil actions, in all these things Thou didst scourge me!”8 The verse shows that doing evil activities will result to punishment. Violating the laws of the land will result to incarceration. Accidentally shooting an innocent civilian will result to jail terms. The law states that accidentally dropping the pot on another person will result to penalties and fines. The law shows that the people will violate God’s laws will be sent to hades. Saint Augustine insists that people must have faith in God’s reasons for punishing the evil persons for violating God’s commandments. Reason also shows that “...rather than confess that my changeable substance had gone astray voluntarily, and now, in punishment, lay in error”9. Saint Augustine insists that the people who sin intentionally sin. A person who robs a store did it intentionally. The rapist committed the act because of the rapist’s intentional desire to commit the legal violation. Saint Augustine insists that people must have faith in the reason that most violations of the law were done intentionally. Reason shows that “...in the nest of Thy Church they might securely be fledged, and nourish the wings of charity, by the food of a sound faith.”10 Continuing, the reason verse “O Lord our God, under the shadow of Thy wings let us hope: protect us, and carry us.11” Saint Augustine insists that the people must have faith in God. The people must have faith that God will protect them at all times. The people must have faith that God will retrieve them from incoming dangers to their person or property. God will watch over every person while here on earth. Saint Augustine proposes that the people must have faith in God reasoning that he will help those who call on his name to help them during their time of crisis or their time of most need. Faith shows “But let my soul praise Thee, that it may love Thee; and let it confess Thy own mercies to Thee, that it may praise Thee.”12 Saint Augustine suggests that people must continue to love God. Saint Augustine insists that all people must obey God’s laws. Saint Augustine theorizes that people who love God must obey all his commandments. Likewise, people who do not comply with the ten commandments of God do not love God. Saint Augustine insists that the people must have faith God’s reasoning that obeying God’s laws is a necessary part of loving God. The reason and faith verse “for hence I believed Evil to be some such kind of substance, and to have its own foul and hideous bulk”13 is good. The verse states that people will receive their due punishment. The people must avoid evil acts to avoid the corresponding punishment. The shoplifter will be penalized for his evil act. The robber will be meted one’s due punishment for robbing the grocery store. The murderer will be given one’s due punishment for killing the bank cashier while hoarding away the bank’s daily collections. The lazy worker will be fired from one’s job for sleeping during working hours. The student who bullies another weak classmate will be correspondingly punished. Saint Augustine analyzes that the violators of the law or God’s commands will receive their just punishment. Based on the above discussion, Faith and reason are some of the aspects of Saint Augustine’s Confessions. The Saint Augustine’s books focus on Confession. The books contain verses on faith and reasons. Indeed, there is an influential relationship between faith and reason in St. Augustine’s Confessions. Works Cited Book 1, Saint Augustine’s Confessions, retrieved 7 December 2011 from < http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/augconf/aug01.htm> Book 2, Saint Augustine’s Confessions, retrieved 7 December 2011 from < http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/augconf/aug02.htm> Book 3, Saint Augustine’s Confessions, retrieved 7 December 2011 from < http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/augconf/aug03.htm> Book 4, Saint Augustine’s Confessions, retrieved 7 December 2011 from < http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/augconf/aug04.htm> Book 5, Saint Augustine’s Confessions, retrieved 7 December 2011 from < http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/augconf/aug05.htm> Book 6, Saint Augustine’s Confessions, retrieved 7 December 2011 from < http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/augconf/aug06.htm> Read More