Augustine the City of God

Augustine the City of God Against the Pagans Comparisions of the Two Cities

Saint Augustine's book "The City of God Against the Pagans" deals with the controversy involving Rome and how its fall was associated with the fact that Christianity concomitantly experienced a rise in influence. He wanted to inform people concerning the difference between the concept of Christianity and the concept of man-made society present in Rome. The book came as a response to the persecutions encountered by Christians in Rome and to the fact that many people were blaming Christianity for the fall of Rome. Saint Augustine wants the masses to understand that the city of God does not concern politics and that its connection with people is actually spiritual. The city of humans dealt with material matters and had its members dedicated to experiencing physical pleasures whereas the city of God was a place where people abandoned such practices in favor of embracing religion and God.

The "divine authority" (p. 1) in the city of god is one of the principal elements that differentiates it from other cities. From Saint Augustine's perspective, another important difference between the two cities stands in their creation, as Rome was created "by the love of self, even to the contempt of God" while the actual city of God "was created by 283 the love of God, even to the contempt of self" (p. 2). People living in the earthly city are consumed by their interest in material matters. In contrast, those who dwell in the city of god are unimpressed by earthly advantages, as it is actually their indifference toward such things that assists them in tolerating their suffering with greater ease.

Every individual is born out of sin, similar to Cain and Abel. However, a person can choose whether he or she will inhabit the city of god or the earthly city. Every citizen in the city of god initially had to choose, thus meaning that these people were not initially righteous, as they were the ones who wanted to take on a pious mission. Everyone has the potential to inhabit the city of god but they first have to abandon their earthly desires in order to do so. 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.