St Augustine
Saint Augustine, who lived in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, created a very interesting perspective on the notion of evil. Augustine first views of evil followed the doctrine of the Manichaen Dualists’. Their idea was that there were two omnipotent forces, good and evil, constantly fighting. Both forces, according to the Manichaen Dualists’, were of equal power. Augustine later rejected this idea and developed his own theory on the nature of evil. Saint Augustine’s view concerning evil is, simply put the privation of good. Augustine believes that evil is not a separate force, but a lack of good. This view is contradictory to the Manichaen view. Augustine does not view evil even as a substance, but as a void. This void, sort of like the “Nothing” in the Never Ending Story, takes over the being that it infects. A being that used to contain good becomes empty as evil corrupts it. Augustine believes that all beings were created good and all beings have the potential to become corrupted. Even if a being is partially corrupted the being still only consists of good, since evil, in and of itself, does not truly exist; it is only the lack of good. Beings do possess free will and their goodness may fluctuate: ”But
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Approximate Word count = 1164
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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