Augustine and the Pelagian Heresy

Marcellino D'Ambrosio explains how Augustine answered the Pelagian heresy and defended the need for God's grace to do good works and avoid sin. In his debates with the Pelagians, Augustine made the enormous contribution of developing the Church's understanding of original sin and its effects on human beings. Contrary to the opinion of some, the Catholic Church has always rejected Pelagius following Augustine.

[crossandcreed]

This makes so much sense. I spent four years in seminary and the struggle to figure these issues out comes down to one thing. The East battled in Christology. The West battled on anthropology. Thanks for sharing these videos!

[NeyTochi]

Ready for my presentation! Thanks a lot!

[wanjirunyambura]

This lecture was of great aid to my project on human nature, sin and grace. Thanks!

[frankdsouza]

Mr. D'Ambrosio, This is staggeringly good. Explained with such clarity that even a simple brain as mine is able to readily grasp what you are telling us. And what must be the hallmark of a good tutor, leaving this student, dreading the end of the Lecture. Hoping you or good Peter Brown (presumably not THE Peter Brown) will be uploading more??

[DvictoryIam]

I never understood much until after this video thanks to you!

[ChaplainPeter]

I grew up Russian Orthodox and attended Catholic elementary school a couple years. I never heard the doctrine of By grace are you saved through faith and not of your selves, it ( salvation ) is the Gift of God, not of works...Eph.2:8, 9. It wasn't till I was 20 years old well steeped in sin that a stranger witnessed the clear gospel of salvation to me. He then opened the Bible to the above verses and asked me to read them. I read them, meditated on the scripture. Suddenly for the first time in my life I understood that the Lord wants to save me not on the basis of how good I was or how bad I was. The offer of salvation is a free gift to be received simply by believing the gospel that The Lord Jesus Christ died for my sins according to the scripture, was buried, and rose the 3rd day from the dead. 1Cor.15:1-4. I realized that the Lord did this personally for me. I was born again by the Holy Spirit. It has been 47 years I am saved. Life has its ups and downs, but I never regretted that the Lord saved me. After my believing the gospel I attended a church that actually teaches the scripture by opening the Bible. It makes a world of difference not just to believe traditions, your priest, your pastor or even the Pope or Metropolitan ( eastern orthodox ).

Faith comes by hearing, and by hearing the word of God. Romans 10:17

On judgment day The Lord will not ask you what church you attended, or if you grew up in a Christian home. You will not be able to blame your parents, your pastors, or popes if they got it wrong and you did not open the Bible to look for yourself. You are responsible for your own salvation. That's why the Lord has the Bible translated into different languages for all to read. If you have Bibles sitting in your house and you never open it, you are missing out on the Greatest Gift of all: To personally know the LORD GOD creator of heaven and earth, and to enjoy Him now and for all eternity.
I recommend to start by reading the gospel of John.
I enjoyed the teaching and have learned from it. Thank you and the Lord bless you all.

[Robgtr.]

Thank you very much what you have said and discussed. I have just realised how much of western society is based on the descions theologians made in the 5th Century. If the ideas of free will and no original sin had been accepted. Schools and education would see, teach, realise and encourage the potential in people!

[calvinpeterson]

One could say Augustine espoused Arminian theology in his earlier life as demonstrated in this video. But after his sharp disagreements with Pelagius, he took certain aspects of grace a step further. He was the first one in Christianity that espoused what is known today as Calvinism.

[T-Rex]

It would be helpful if all the CTT videos were put in order in a playlist.

[dulcamarabuffo]

The reason why the Eastern Church never saw the big issue is because the Orthodox have a totally different interpretation of Original Sin. The West altered this perception with focusing solely on St. Augustine's exigesis of Romans 5. He admits that his Greek was limited and had very little contact with the original Greek patristic tradition. As a scholar you could explore this distinction.

[HeavenGuy]

Grace comes through faith, which faith a measure has been given to every man that comes into the World. If we all have unexercised faith at birth, in a way we do simply need to "buck up" and believe God. When we do, grace (the power of God from the indwelling Holy Spirit) gives us power to do what faith stepped out to obtain. Communion with God. We are free and empowered to walk in light, holiness, and godliness, without which no man shall see or commune with God. Believing includes that He loved us so much that He gave His son to atone for sin, that we are forgiven for past sins and become Saints when the Holy Spirit takes up residence because of our exercised faith. Only love can place a stronger demand on us than the temptation of sin. It is the new commandment for a reason. Think of marital fidelity. You may be tempted to betray your marriage, the most important thing in your life by an affair, but your love for your spouse constrains you. Understanding how much our relationship meant to God also constrains us from playing the harlot against the love of God as displayed by the cross. Faith works by love. We are in the Father and the Son as Jesus was in the Father on Earth.

[carolwilliams]

Augustin accused Pelagius of 14 points of heresy that Pelagius didnt even espouse. Pelagius was not a heretic, Augustine was just jealous and angry with Pelagius. This video is reinforcing error in fact

[Bogonavt]

Hi! Where does Augustine write about the doctrine of original sin? what book?

[Tubacutie]

Is pronunciation both Aw-gus-steen and A-GUS-Stin? I have been looking everywhere and finding both depending on location and denomination.

[sallymagee]

Please… AA & Al Anon in my experience are God help programs.

[investfluent]

Augustine may have been wrong on most of the big issues, but he certainly was influential. Calvinists have incorporated many of his basic misunderstandings.

[davidford]

It is hard not to notice that power and its distribution are in the background of this whole lecture. Power of the Pope, power of councils, power of the theologians whose doctrine is accepted. If you want power over your followers, telling them that they are inherently sinful, even if they haven't done anything bad, is a good move. Their judgement, after all, is by definition faulty or "fallen", so how could they know anything?

It is interesting that Paul's musing about his behavior in one sentence of a lengthy set of writings was transformed into a doctrine that has caused so many people to think badly of themselves for centuries was promulgated at almost the exact moment that the Church made its bargain with Constantine and thus became part of the Roman empire's Establishment, with all the wealth and trappings associated.

Augustine certainly made Pelagius pay for his differing opinion. He ruined him. I had thought that Jesus mentioned something about loving thy neighbor and doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. But perhaps, because his theological insight was so powerful (and useful!), Saint Augustine was exempt from these petty considerations.

[seanheath]

Pelagius said, "we need Grace for every situation and moment of the day and those who don't believe this are anathema".

[vicm]

Doesn't the teaching of original sin inevitably lead to the teaching of predestination? Does the eastern orthodox church adhere to Augustinian Theology?

[abrahamphilip]

THE REASON FOR HIS RESURRECTION
isaiah : WITH his stripes we are healed", The stripes that man gave him out of sin become his own BURDEN, he who had no sin became sin for us, BY which he REDEEMS unto the Biblical words "I Hurt & I Heal" (Job), " My Burden is light & My Yoke easy" the words that underscore the Communion (Know why Satanists hate/Desecrate the Eucharist, cause Sin cannot withstand pain, other than to give) The Body & Blood of the STRIPED Christ received through FAITH, The GRACE,
FAITH, has its works within, comes through following the TWO COMMANDMENTS of Love (denoted by the Bronze image of St Peter in Peters Basilica, The two Commandments that hang in the two keys of heaven, -- The universal Doctrine of the Church) amounting to picking up ones own cross daily to following him as commanded, thus Equating WITH his sacrifice on the Cross
So, the stripes that man gave him he uses to REDEEM, is the reason why "It pleased God to Bruise him " Not for the bruises itself but for its Fruit, FOR WHICH HE HAD TO RESURRECT that he did, cause the BURDENS of our sins could not hold him down in hell (where Sin & death rules) as he was found stronger than Sin itself, unto his words (I have overcome the world" (its sins) to say there is no sin that he cannot remove
This is basically a Conversion act instead of a Substitution (magical) act as generally believed by Protestants, The Error has its origins through Protestantism's theologically leavening the Faith by Faith Only, that James specifically says is not, unto mis interpretation Paul (the reason why Martin Luther rejected James cause it was a hinderance to his erranous view of redemption) and the philosophies that arise out of the leavens becomes to another Christ another Gospel Incidentally the source of the prophesied Apostasy theologically in the leavens of the Faith, through Protestantization,