Chapter 3 of Wiley\u2019s book covers St. Augustine and the tradition that followed. St. Augustine lived at a critical juncture in Western history.\u00a0 Between 400 and 700 AD, the sword ended the entire Western world, from England to Persia.\u00a0 Augustine lived at the beginning of the end.<\/p>\n
Augustine defined Original Sin.\u00a0 The question he addressed was: \u201cWhy Jesus the Messiah?\u201d<\/p>\n
His answer, supported by his own life story, was: \u201cTo redeem our own moral impotence.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 (This contrasted with the Pelagius, who argued, in concert with many Pagan philosophers, that we had moral potency.)<\/p>\n
The next question was: \u201cWho is responsible for our moral impotence?\u201d (Because, if we were responsible, then the \u2018Donatists\u2019 were right to humiliate those who had wavered in the face of the intimidating yet waning Roman ideologues).<\/p>\n
Augustine\u2019s answer was: \u201cNot us.\u00a0 And yes us.\u00a0 Because we share the consequences of Adam\u2019s transgression, we are both not responsible and responsible.\u00a0 We are not responsible for the fact that we need the sacraments.\u00a0 But we are responsible for what we do once we are given sanctifying grace.<\/p>\n
Then the question became: \u201cWhy do we share the consequences of Adam\u2019s transgressions?\u201d<\/p>\n
Augustine\u2019s answer was: \u201cWe are descended from Adam and Eve.\u00a0 We are their descendants \u2026 er, children.\u201d\u00a0 Here, Augustine proposed an instrumental rather than a formal cause.\u00a0 The instrument was whatever causes descent, er, children.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever\u201d included copulation, as well as all the seamy machinations that induced the partners to commit the act.\u00a0 How \u201cmaterial\u201d and \u201ctwisted\u201d.<\/p>\n
Human sexuality is so twisted that the machinations may be more significant than the act itself.\u00a0 Hey, I don\u2019t mean \u201cmay be\u201d.\u00a0 I mean \u201care\u201d.<\/p>\n
Some Pagan cults associated sex with \u201cdeath, ignorance and difficulty\u201d and restraint with \u201cimmortality, knowledge, and integrity\u201d.\u00a0 Other Pagan cults relied on ritual sex in order to convert \u201cdeath, ignorance and difficulty\u201d into \u201cimmortality, knowledge and integrity\u201d.<\/p>\n
Does this fit the definition of \u201ctwisted\u201d?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chapter 3 of Wiley\u2019s book covers St. Augustine and the tradition that followed. St. Augustine lived at a critical juncture in Western history.\u00a0 Between 400 and 700 AD, the sword ended the entire Western world, from England to Persia.\u00a0 Augustine lived at the beginning of the end. Augustine defined Original Sin.\u00a0 The question he addressed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-science-of-original-sin"],"yoast_head":"\n