Will we ever get past Augustine?
Lately I've been doing a lot of reading for my studies and this has included a vast array of writing from the Early Church Fathers, Augustine, Calvin, Wesley and many more. I have to say that there is a clear and distinct turning point around the 5 th century. Prior to this point, theology was extremely optimistic with regard to the possibilities of human life. "Perfection" is a word in the Early Church Fathers that is used with complete liberality, with no apparent fear of misinterpretation or accusation of heresy or otherwise. Then along came Augustine. Or should I say along came Pelagius ? Clearly there were many factors that influenced Augustine in the way that he formed his theology, and his writings against Pelagius held an incredibly pessimistic view of the possibility of human perfection through Christ. I recognise that this is because of completely opposite views of Pelagius and his understanding of the effects of sin on the human person. I get that... ...