4. Grace

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we look at how grace has the power to change human nature, focusing particularly on (i) the meaning of grace, and its purpose in human life (ii) the structure of Book 8 of the Confessions: in which a series of stories presented to Augustine, indicate how God provides humanity with new objects of desire by interacting with human society (iii) the theme of memory in Book 8, and its importance for Augustine’s conversion to Christianity, and finally (iv) Augustine’s famous controversy with Pelagius over the nature of grace.

Course

In this course Professor Lewis Ayres (Durham University) explores St. Augustine of Hippo’s views on human nature. In the first module, we introduce Augustine’s views on the experience of human nature, as told through his major works ‘The City of God’ and his ‘Confessions’. After that, we look at Augustinian ideas about the freedom of the will, and the effects of the Fall on the desires of the will. In the third module, we delve deeper into the story of the Fall of Adam and Eve, and look at how original sin shapes Augustine’s views on humanity after the Fall. We then move on to examine the power of God’s grace, to restore true human nature in an ongoing process. In the fifth module, we look at how we might interpret Augustine today, in a secular world, with a new scientific understanding of the evolutionary origins of humanity. Finally, we explore a bit beyond the curriculum, and think about Augustine’s views on desire and human relationships.

Lecturer

Professor Lewis Ayres is a lecturer in Catholic and Historical Theology at Durham University. His research interests are in Trinitarian theology in Augustine and in the Greek writers of the fourth century. His publications include Augustine and the Trinity (2010), and Nicaea and Its Legacy: An Approach to Fourth Century Theology (2004).