Stricken by Sin, Cured by Christ: Agency, Necessity, and Culpability in Augustinian Theology

275 Pages·2013·0.95 MB·English

by  Jesse Couenhoven

Stricken by Sin, Cured by Christ
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Stricken by
Sin, Cured by
Christ
Agency, Necessity, and Culpability in
Augustinian Theology
z
JESSE COUENHOVEN

1
3

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Couenhoven, Jesse.
Stricken by sin, cured by Christ : agency, necessity, and culpability in
Augustinian theology / Jesse Couenhoven.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978–0–19–994869–7 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo. 2. Philosophical theology.
I. Title.
BR65.A9C69 2013
233’.14092—dc23
2012045054

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
This book is dedicated to my parents, from whom I have
inherited much to be grateful for.
Thus soul-sick was I, and tormented, reproaching myself more
harshly than ever, twisting and writhing in my chain[s], until
[they] should be utterly broken. . . . In my inmost heart you
stood by me, Lord, redoubling the lashes of fear and shame by
a severe mercy, lest I give up the struggle . . . .
the confessions of saint augustine, Book VIII, 11.25
(Augustine 1997h, adapted by Couenhoven)
Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Abbreviations xiii
Introduction: Reaping What We Did Not Sow 1
I The Scandal of Original Sin 1
II On Responsibility 10
III Chapter Overview 11
PART ONE: Augustinian Doctrines
1. Peccatum Originale 19
1.1 Reading Augustine Backward 19
1.2 Primal Sin 23
1.2.1 Pre-Lapsarian Innocence 24
1.2.2 The Nature of the Primal Sin 24
1.3 Solidarity with Adam: “In Adam’s fall, we sinned all” 26
1.4 Inherited Sin, Two Ways 28
1.4.1 Inherited Sin as Common Guilt 29
1.4.2 Inherited Sin as Constitutional Fault 30
1.4.3 Concupiscence 31
1.4.4 Carnal Concupiscence and Original Sin 35
1.5 Sin’s Penalties 40
1.6 The Transmission of Original Sin 42
viii Contents
2. The Explanatory Power of Original Sin 46
2.1 The Conceptual Center of the Doctrine of Original Sin 46
2.2 What Is Attractive about Inherited Sin? 48
2.2.1 An Explanation for the Experiences of Little Ones 48
2.2.2 Original Sin and Tragedy 52
2.2.3 Augustine’s “Optimism” 54
2.3 Concluding Thoughts 57
3. Sickness, Sin, and Augustine’s Compatibilism 59
3.1 Collective Responsibility and Human Unity 60
3.2 “God has no enemies in a state of freedom” 65
3.2.1 Divine Freedom and Blessed Necessity 66
3.2.2 Human Freedom: To Be Blessed like God 68
3.2.3 Ingredients of L ibertas 70
3.2.4 Three Clarifi cations 71
3.3 Love’s Necessities 73
3.4 The L iberum Arbitrium of the Voluntas 78
3.5 Necessity, Fatalism, and Force 85
3.6 The Sinner’s Responsibility 89
3.6.1 The Infant’s Responsibility 97
3.7 Responsibility and Grace 98
3.8 Conclusion 105
PART TWO: Ownership and Inheritance
4. An Augustinian Conception of Responsibility 109
4.1 From Ancient Practice to Modern Theory 110
4.2 Personal Responsibility: A Minimal Account 110
4.2.1 Varieties of Responsibility 111
4.2.2 Deep Responsibility 115
4.2.3 A Ledger Account of Responsibility 118
5. Augustinian Compatibilism 126
5.1 Minimal Deep Responsibility and Control 127
5.2 Personal Ownership, Belief, and Love 130
5.3 Responsibility and Proper Function 136
Contents ix
5.4 Proper Function and Reason Responsiveness 142
5.5 Responsibility and Disease 148
5.6 Summary and Conclusion 159
6. Responsibility without Freedom 162
6.1 Responsibility without Freedom-Talk 162
6.2 Involuntary Sins 166
6.3 The Problem of Luck 176
6.4 Responsibility For Character 183
7. Responsibility Under Necessity 188
7.1 Responsibility, Grace, and Original Sin 188
7.1.1 Determinism 188
7.1.2 Responsibility and Grace 191
7.1.3 A Case Study in Original Sin: Sexism 198
7.2 Original Sins 207
7.2.1 Major Tenets of the Doctrine of Original Sins 208
7.2.2 The Doctrine of Original Sins and Sin-Talk 213
7.3 Should We Believe This Doctrine? 217
References 225
Index 247