St Auguestine Flashcards
What is privation?
The loss of a quality of something that is normally present. St Augustine said that evil is a privation of good.
What was St Augustines first point?
St Augustine says that the existence of evil helps people to appreciate the good in the world.
For example, being unwell helps us to appreciate when we are healthy.
What was St Augustines second point?
St Augustine says that evil is just the absence of good things. This is called privation.
God does not cause or permit evil because evil isn’t a thing.
He thought that there was a lack of goodness and evil is not a thing in itself. Not enough Good decisions and actions are happening and if people made no bad decision then there would be no evil. (how can people learn from their mistakes?)
What was St Augustines third point?
He says that God allows suffering because he is omnipotent and good. He allows evil because in his goodness and power he is always able to bring a greater good out of suffering/ it can be beneficial.
quotes from St Augustine
“For what is that which we call evil but the absence of good?”
“God would never permit the existence of anything evil, if he were not so omnipotent and good that he can bring good even out of evil.”
How can this change a Catholics life?
Catholics will try to use the gift of free-will from God to make good decisions, using the teachings of Jesus like “love thy neighbour” to help inform their choices.
