POL200Y1 : AUGUSTINE READING GUIDE (#5).doc
Document Summary
Book xix: 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 21, 23, 24. Context: augustine is writing the city of god at the beginning of the 5th century ce. The two most important events are 1) christianity has recently become (380 ce) the official religion of the. Roman empire and 2) rome falls to the visigoths (410 ce). Naturally, many people made a connection between the rise of christianity and the fall of rome. Augustine sets out a comprehensive defense of christianity against this accusation. Hint on interpretation: i have assigned a lot about evil and how it comes into the world. Augustine believes that if there were no evil in the world, there would be no politics. What does the story of adam and eve have to do with politics: st. augustine"s description of human life is pretty grim. This is usually thought to be an expression of augustine"s.
