Augustine the City of God Essay

Individuals in the city of god are "predestined to reign eternally with God" (p. 7) whereas people living in the earthly city are fated to "suffer eternal punishment with the devil" (p. 7).

Order in the city of God is different from how it is in the earthly city, given that people in the former respect each-other and God and because they are not motivated by fear or by their desire to rule. In spite of the fact that Augustine aimed at associating the city of God with the Christian church and with Christianity in general while the earthly city was a reference to Ancient Rome and to the part of society that was driven by material values, he does not actually want readers to relate to a physical matter when discussing the two cities. His perspective in regard to the psychological fight between people focused on material values and those who were more interested in spiritual concepts is practically translated in "The City of God Against the Pagans." Saint Augustine did not necessarily want to say that all people in the earthly city were wrong in their actions, as he actually intended to demonstrate that they were capable of much more and that the city of God could provide them with much more benefits.

Augustine created these two cities in his mind in order for him and society as a whole to gain a better understanding of the contemporary situation. His intention was not only related to defending Christianity from being held responsible for events in Rome, as he also saw the opportunity in harshly criticizing the "earthly city" and practically everyone who showed a particular interest in respecting material values. In spite of all the differences between the cities, they "are in this present world commingled" (p. 1).

Works cited:

Cory, Catherine a. Hollerich, Michael J. Cunningham, David S. "The Christian Theological Tradition." (Prentice Hall, 2008).

Saint Augustine. "The city of….....