Philosophy of Religion Assignment

Saint Augustine addresses three theological problems which he has to deal with and provide solutions so that the remaining mankind do not have to deal with. The three problems are metaphysical, ethical and one directly theological. He later discusses the solutions to each. Therefore, this paper will focus on the three problems, the solution and the evaluation of the solutions to see if it has really solved the problems.

The first problem Saint Augustine addresses is metaphysical problems of ethics. He wonders why evil is present in the world with an ever present and all powerful God as presented by the Greek philosopher, Epicurus. Saint Augustine provides a solution to this by saying God is perfectly good and everything that comes from him. Therefore, anything that is evil does not come from God and thus lacks goodness. I therefore agree with Saint Augustine as from his argument anything that lacks goodness is evil like the wounds in an individual; they are evil but once treated they cease to be evil and flesh which god created is good as the way god created.

The second problem Saint Augustine addresses is ethical. He is questioning the fact that God is not only all powerful and can stop mankind from doing what is evil but He does not but He also is free to decide but still wills for evil. He provides the solution by arguing that God is in a position to stop mankind from doing evil but does not because he has given mankind the freewill. Whatever mankind chooses God wills that is why he cannot stop mankind from doing evil. He further states that mankind fails to understand the wisdom of God but with faith they can clearly see his ways. Free will has been given to each and every one of us by the omniscient God. I agree that mankind is in a position to choose either to do good or evil.

Saint Augustine lastly tackles the traditional paradox of mankind lacking the free will since God know what will happen prior to what happens and clearly states that God having prior knowledge of what should happen does not necessarily mean that it will happen. He states that man’s will is the cause of his actions. Therefore, his will determines the actions and thus the events that are foreknown by God. I fully agree with him due to the distinction he places between the knowledge of a cause and the cause itself.

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