Book VII, The Confessions of Saint Augustine

Oct. 5, 2012

Students are grappling with the big, existential and philosophical questions.

The Problem of Evil

Book VII of The Confessions of Saint Augustine is absolutely fascinating!

Augustine's considerations of the problem of evil have immense ramifications for man.

Questions students are considering and discussing:
1.    Did God create evil?
2.    Is Satan/Lucifer evil?  Was he created as evil?
3.    Is evil a substance?
4.    Is God material or pure spirit?  Why?
5.    Are created things evil or good or a combination?  Why/how?
6.    Can human persons choose to do or love evil things?  Why/why not/how?
7.    From what does evil come or originate (according to Augustine)?
       a.    What do you think of Augustine’s answer?
8.    How does human freedom and God's providence fit into Augustine's consideration of evil?

DeJak's latest: "For University Students..."

Dear students,

After panning the modern academy, Mr. DeJak's musings in his latest article also wisely apply to high school students, and so you are advised to read and pay attention to his recommendations from "How to Survive the Academic Environment: A Practical Guide":

4. Have a Right View of Education.  Reject outright the pragmatic notion that education is job-training. If that is your notion of education, then stay at home and “train for a better career” with Sally Struthers and her correspondence schools. True education is about the apprehension of truth, goodness and beauty—in a word, about seeking the ultimate reality—God. Indeed, reading Cicero or Shakespeare will not bring you money, but it may bring you happiness and provide you a habit of mind that will make you successful in any terrestrial endeavor.

St. Augustine of Hippo

5. Read Augustine and Aquinas.  No modern master can surpass these guys. (Indeed read modern masters, such as Chesterton, as well!) In order to cultivate common sense and a solid grounding in authentically Catholic thinking, no Catholic can afford to be ignorant of these thinkers. To start out, gather your cadre and read together Augustine’s Confessions. Later, read Aquinas on anything—might I suggest selections from the Summa on God’s existence and law.

6. Read Good Poetry and Literature.  C.S. Lewis once said, “If you must read the newspapers, be sure to give yourself a good mouthwash with [J.R.R. Tolkien’s] The Lord of the Rings.” I don’t think that I can improve upon that statement.

7. Shun Technology, Engage the Human Things.  I will be accused here of contradiction by the very fact that I have posted this article online. The point is not to condemn technology or to become a full-fledged Luddite; rather, it is to maintain one’s sanity and freedom in a world that is increasingly made up of robots. No IM-ing will ever take the place of a real face-to-face conversation, nor will email ever have the same savor or feeling as a handwritten letter, nor will a fake fireplace on a screen come close to the real thing. Take walks and converse with your friends—preferably in wooded areas. Look at a tree. As I have written elsewhere: “Today it is easy to be taken with the advanced mechanical things of man’s intelligence: iPads, iPods, and the world wide web. Aren’t lily pads, pea pods and spider webs equally—if not more—fascinating?”

In the Capstone Seminar we've read Augustine.  And we're gonna read Aquinas... after we read Anselm, of course!

Read the rest of Mr. DeJak's post at the Wanderer Forum Foundation blog.

Ideology: the Tie the Blinds

Another excellent article from the Director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, Jason Adkins.

Adherence to Ideology: the Tie that Blinds

"The 2011 legislative session is finally drawing to a close.
Many were surprised by the inability of legislative leaders and the governor to reach a compromise agreement be­fore a shutdown occurred. When the two parties did finally produce a budget framework, neither side was pleased with an outcome that few believe represents the beginning of a long-term solution to the state’s fiscal woes.
The inability to compromise, however, was not based so much on stubbornness or sheer partisanship as it was on adherence to ideological principle.
On one level it is refreshing to see politicians stake out principled positions and stick to them. But on another level, an almost slavish adherence to ideology in politics can and does inflict harm to the very people public officials claim to serve. And it was ideology that marked the 2011 legislative session.
‘The Catholic mind’
An ideology typically involves building an intellectual system around a particular idea or truth, but to the exclusion of other ideas or information.
It is a lot like a theological heresy.  In many cases, an ideology represents an “ideal” system whose adherents are often, you might say, religiously devoted to it.
By contrast, what the Jesuit philosopher James V. Schall calls “the Catholic mind” is a radical intellectual openness to “all that is.”  It recognizes that truth and reality are not so much ours to create but instead are gifts to be received. We flourish as human beings only when we conform our actions to the truths around us, which we must first have the humility to recognize and receive."

Read the rest of the article at The Catholic Spirit.

The content of this article fits in well with our discussions about St. Augustine's Confessions.  Recall the section in LIBER X (Book 10, chapter 23, pg. 217) which Augustine takes to task those who even "hate" the truth because it exposes themselves to others.  Those men suffer from ideology.  See what Augustine says; it cuts to the heart of every one of us:

This is how we read our texts - with notes and markings in the margins for in-class discussion.