Monday, June 30
Book 9
Compassion
I was wondering what we thought about section 5. Augustine speaks of the Stoics who claim emotions, like compassion, "invade" us. he also says that "the holy angels feel.... no fellow-feeling with misery while they relieve the miserable... though they have none of our weakness, their acts resemble the actions to which these emotions move us." So is compassion, and other emotions of feelings, a human weakness, something that invades us, we cannot control? Will we have compassion in heaven, or is there no need for compassion in heaven? We also were talking at CF last friday about "what is emotion?" or "what is feeling?"-- Sir Robert was wanting a definition but such a definition is hard to come to. We were discussing that thoughts can be sinful, but not feelings. The feeling of anger or lust or whatever is not sinful, but when we indulge that feeling, pursue it, think upon it, dwell in it, etc, then it is sinful. So Jesus, on the cross, can "complain" to God by asking "why have You forsaken me?"- these words arising in part of a feeling Jesus had on the cross, of being forsaken, but obviously such a feeling is not sinful especially if Jesus has this feeling... it seems kind of inhuman if one were to say Jesus did not feel forsaken. So what are feelings in relation to sin, weakness, strengths, etc...?
Section 16-Demons
I was wondering in this section if Augustine was saying that the demons become contaminated by men or at least have the capability of being contaminated? I don't understand how a demon can be contaminated if it is already in of itself wicked? You add a drop of oil to a glass of milk and it no longer is pure milk, and can never be pure milk again. Adding more drops to the milk changes a ratio, but it was already contaminated and thus that fact remains unaltered. Just because you sin 100 times a day doesn't make you more sinful than if you sin 10 times a day... you were sinful to begin with, it doesn't change. A murderer is no "more sinful" in the eyes of God than a blasphemer. etc. what do you think?
Book 8
any more thoughts?
I like your point, Dwight, about people not having the same understanding or perspective on certain things, like love or spirituality. A result is that truth gets watered down or abandoned.
