The following is a graded short paper (A: 94%) submitted for the course Church History 13: Early and Medieval Christianity. The professor is Dr. J. Warren Smith, Associate Professor in Historical Theology:

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Grace and Human Agency in the Writings of Pelagius and St. Augustine of Hippo

How is one saved by grace? Or how does grace work in the life of a repentant sinner? Pelagius and Augustine have different interpretations regarding grace’s operation. In his Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans Pelagius affirms that humans are saved by grace through their faith in Christ’s death and resurrection[i]. Moreover for Pelagius grace is given through Christ so that believers participate in Christ’s righteousness by imitating his example. Augustine gives a detailed examination of the relationship between grace and human agency from his perspective. In his commentary On the Spirit and the Letter Augustine argues that the human will is enslaved to sin. Thus humans are unable to respond to God’s salvation by their volition. Through the agency of the Holy Spirit God gives grace which is prevenient[ii]; this means that God’s grace goes before to free the human will (voluntas) from the bondage of sin. Moreover God gives faith to humans so that they may respond to God’s gift of salvation[iii]. I will argue that Pelagius and Augustine give different perspectives on the relationship between grace and human agency. In order to demonstrate this we will first analyze each theologian’s understanding of sin, justification, and human agency.

Pelagius affirms that none can merit salvation. Human weakness necessitates God’s act on humanity’s behalf. Thus Pelagius appears to affirm Paul’s teaching that Christ’s death procures the salvation of those who believe (Pel. 5.1, p. 88). Believers are justified by faith (Pel. 5.1, p. 89). “None” Pelagius comments, “is saved by his own merit, but all are saved in the same way by God’s grace” (5.1, p. 89). Since believers are declared righteous by God, they are no longer considered sinners, those who imitate Adam’s disobedience. Through perseverance believer will gain full bodily redemption at the Eschaton (5.3;4, p. 89-90). Pelagius also affirms Paul’s teaching that because of Christ’s love for sinners, believers can imitate Christ’s righteousness by following his example of obedience. It is because of God’s love for sinners, it behooves believers to behave in a manner which reflects Christ’s righteousness (5.8, p.91).

Human agency is integral to Pelagius’s understanding of Paul’s typology. Adam is represented in Romans 5 as a type of Christ. However to be clear Pelagius does not assert a federal headship[iv] argument in his commentary. He does however argue that Adam is a sort of model humanity has followed by transgressing God’s commandments. Humanity’s following of Adam’s transgression resulted in death and separation from God.  “As long as [humans] sin the same way, they likewise die” (Pel. 5.12, p. 92) Humanity procured the wrath of God as a result of patterning Adam’s disobedience. Pelagius understands Paul to assert that death came to all who lived in ungodly ways, not that death passed to all who inherited a condition which predisposed them to sin. “Death reigned from Adam” until Christ appeared because of humans’ habitual behavior. Thus Pelagius understands sins to be actions that are external from the soul and are not intrinsic to the human condition. The human nature has been “reunited in peace, because by nature we had been united in peace” (5.10, 91-92). Sins are not passed through the soul in procreation. According to Pelagius’s reading of Paul, Adam is antitype to Jesus Christ, the exemplar of righteous actions.  Righteous actions produce the righteousness of Christ. Believers are given grace to imitate the ways of Christ. Pelagius maintains that Christians should no longer imitate the ways of Adam.

Human agency also is integral to Augustine’s understanding of grace. However it is the agency of God the Holy Spirit is central to Augustine’s understanding of grace. In The Spirit and the Letter Augustine exposits on the subject of the law and the Spirit found in St. Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians and the Epistle to the Romans. From the outset of the excerpt Augustine repudiates any argument for the attaining of righteousness without divine agency (Aug. §4, 151). Although Augustine concedes that God did create humans with free will, he nevertheless asserts that human will is only capable of sinning without illumination which truth gives (Aug. §5, 152). Only the Holy Spirit can free the will to fully desire God and the things of God. Augustine observes that it is the love for God which is only enabled by God’s giving of the Holy Spirit enables to human will to strive for righteousness. “Free choice,” Augustine writes, “is capable only of sinning, if they way of truth is hidden” (Aug. §5, p. 152). God’s love poured out by the Holy Spirit enables humans to desire and to do the good.

The law which God gave is the mirror which brings humanity the knowledge of sin. Augustine reads Paul’s metaphor to explain how the law is used to lead sinners to God’s grace. The “letter kills” because since the law cannot justify the sinner and if the Spirit is not given the sinner cannot turn towards righteousness.  This is due humans’ lack of freedom of the will (voluntas) to choose to the good. Human volition can only attain righteousness through its cooperation with the action of God.

Augustine warns that the law explicitly forbids any wrongdoing (Aug. §7, p. 153). However without the Spirit’s aid none are able to heed the law’s commandments. The law then “leads us to know sin rather than to avoid it and increases sin rather than lessens it, because the transgression of the law is added to the evil desire” (Aug. §8, p. 154). Here lies the striking difference between how Augustine and Pelagius understand human condition. As aforementioned Pelagius understands sins to be external from the soul. However Augustine describes the human nature to be “diseased” with sin. All sin is inherent in the human condition and thus necessitates healing which grace brings.

Grace is thus the remedy which heals the sinful human condition. For Augustine God is not only a teacher which instructs his creatures in the ways of righteousness, but also a helper whose mercy frees them to obey his will (Aug §9, 154). Grace frees humanity from the shame which sin brings. Grace reconciles humanity back to their source. The law was not efficacious to bring salvation to God’s creatures. Those who obeyed the law, Augustine argues, obeyed out of fear of punishment not out of love for God’s righteousness.

Righteousness then is not a matter of human imitation but one of divine action in Augustine’s thought. God’s righteousness is given to humans in order that humans may walk uprightly (Aug. §11, p. 155). Since no one is justified on the basis on the law and that God’s righteousness is revealed apart from the law (Rom. 3:20-21), Augustine thus concludes that humans are incapable of attaining righteousness. It is by the Holy Spirit God confers righteousness to those who believe in Christ Jesus. Augustine outright rejects any notion that humans are justified through the acts of their own will (Aug. §14, p. 157).

Does grace rid humans of volition? Augustine’s answer is no. Grace is given to heal the wounded soul. Grace strengthens human free will to fulfill God’s law (Aug. §52, p.185). The free will soars to respond to the love which God gives in Christ through the power of the Spirit. Through the Spirit’s power human agency is given the power to will to love God’s righteousness which is in the law through faith.

Though faith is required of humans to respond to the gift of salvation, it is not in the human capacity to believe. So Augustine insists, drawing from the Pauline tradition, that faith is ultimately a gift from God. Augustine refers to Phil. 2:13 to explain that God is responsible for giving humanity the ability to do right. Thus faith is given to by God to do good works by grace.

Augustine and Pelagius both insist that salvation comes from God alone acting on the behalf of sinful creatures. Pelagius understands grace is necessary for humans to respond to God’s gift of salvation. Believers are justified by grace through faith which means for Pelagius those who believe respond by turn away from the habits of sin and escape the penalty of death which befell their progenitor Adam when he transgressed the commandment. Augustine on the other hand sees sin as first ontological then volitional. The remedy for ailing humanity is the grace the Spirit gives to humans because humanity is unable to will to do the good because of inherent sinful condition. God’s prevenient act through the Spirit strengthens the human will and God’s gives faith for humans to fulfill the righteous of the law which gains them justifying grace.

One cannot make an argument that Pelagius’s commentary presents an explicit heretical doctrine. However it is clear that Pelagius emphasizes human volition is not hindered. Humans can freely choose to righteousness through imitation of right behavior. His anthropology would subsequently lead to the development of teachings which bore his name. Augustine’s teachings on human volition and God’s justifying grace stood as orthodoxy among his contemporaries though in a modified version. From Augustine’s teachings the doctrine of original sin took full bloom in later centuries in the West and became a central doctrine in Medieval Catholic and Reformation theologies. It is quite clear that both theologians agree that God alone is the one who justifies the sinner through faith.

[ii]See “grace, prevenient”, Donald E. McKim, Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms (Louisville: Westminster

John Knox, 1996).

[iii] Augustine, “The Spirit and the Letter” in John E. Rotelle, ed. and trans., The Works of Saint Augustine:

A Translation for the 21st Century (vol. 23; Hyde Park, N.Y.: New City, 1997), 144-194.

[iv] Donald K. McKim, Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1996).

“The view that Adam acted as a representative of the whole human race and that through the fall into sin (Gen 3), the whole human race now experiences the consequences of this sinful act (Roman. 5:12, 17-19).”

Hello Brothers and Sisters! I have a quick update: I received my Midterm in OT Interpretation and I earned a B+ (88%). I also received a A (94%) on my second Biblical Hebrew exam. So I’m very thankful. I gotta go. Pax!

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;”

- 2 Corinthians 4:17 KJV

What a roller coaster ride I have been experiencing at Duke Divinity School. This week is I have one midterm exam for Introduction to Old Testament Interpretation (OT 11) and my second exam for Introduction to Biblical Hebrew. I had a five-page paper due tomorrow for Dr. W.C. Turner’s class, but the due date was changed for the second time due to book order conflicts at the Divinity School’s bookstore.

So that means during fall break I will be writing two papers: one 6-8 paged paper reflecting on Abraham J. Heschel’s book The Sabbath and writing a paper on Basil’s treatise On the Holy Spirit.

This is the the middle of the my sixth week here at DDS. Life at DDS is hard yet edifying. I know no one ever promised it would be easy, but good God! I have so much reading to do, and I love to read!

One of biggest challenges for me is to get into a study routine. For some reason I have never been a person who studies on a regular basis. God knows how I got through grade school and college, but this time I’m walking through fire and I better be prepared.

The greatest advantage I have here at DDS are the wonderful fellowship of my classmates. First-year students have formed and are forming study groups to make it through Church History and OT 11. Many profs say that grads at the end of the day don’t matter that much, but hello, we are at Duke!

I got B- letter grade on my first two papers for Dr. Turner’s class and I was slacking on Biblical Hebrew. All of that is going to change. I spent the last few days going over Hebrew lessons which I didn’t understand or I didn’t read at all (bad Jason!). Now I’m beginning to understand these concepts but need to really focusing on knowing the vowel changes and “the rule of sheva” as my instructor Josh puts it.

All in all I don’t regret at all coming to Duke Divinity School though at times I ask myself “should I even be here?” Nevertheless I know that my Redeemer lives and that He is able and has kept me and given me peace which passes all understanding. I know I am suppose to be here at DDS. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now off to finish my Hebrew homework….Pax!

This is my 100th post. What better to post a praise report (black church lingo, y’all). Last week I denied my graduate PLUS loan from a venerable financial institution. I was eligible to re-apply with an endorser to knew that wasn’t feasible. I was stressed because my tuition, insurance, and student fees were paid for by my Stafford Loans, I needed more money for living expenses.

I thought I was going to leave Duke. Yet I knew that God would make a way somehow. I didn’t call myself and I didn’t get into Duke on my own. So last Friday I made an appointment with the financial aid director for this past Monday. I prayed along with others and gave my worries over to the Lord.

Come Monday morning I made it over to the financial aid office. I sat down in the director’s office and explained my situation. Within 10 minutes I was approved for a Perkins loan!

God had already provided and I had to trust Him to see the manifestation of His provision. He is truly marvelous! As I write this I am completely know that His presence is truly with me. God is greatly to be praised. Canticle 9 (The First Song of Isaiah – Ecce, Deus: Isaiah 12:2-6) in Morning Prayer Rite II section of The Book of Common Prayer is more than appropriate to express my gratitude to the great God right now. Join me in singing the praises of our God!

Surely, it is God who saves me; *
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, *
and he will be my Savior.
Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing *
from the springs of salvation.
And on that day you shall say, *
Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;
Make his deeds known among the peoples; *
see that they remember that his Name is exalted.
Sing praises of the Lord, for he has done great things, *
and this is known in all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, *
for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

-The Book of Common Prayer (New York: Oxford University Press), 86.  The Online Book of Common Prayer. <http://bcponline.org> Retrieved 22 Sept 2009.

Jacob Wrestling with God, Léon Bonnat (French 1833-1922)

As I’m sitting in the Divinity School library reading Peter Enn’s Inspiration and Incarnation, I cannot shake the existential angst I experience when I approach the Bible with a critical eye. I am seriously struggling with the criticism of the Scripture in general, more specifically what comes to mind are how one deals with the depictions of divine violence in the Old Testament.

Before encountering critical scholarship on the subject I did not really question the OT portrayals of God involving himself in the wars of Israel and their enemies, or executing judgment upon Israel and other nations through violence (i.e. Assyrian invasion, Babylonian exile) until I started to come across various modern scholars in articles, books, and theoblogs critically questioning and at times outright repudiating OT portrayals of divine violence. Such passages are dismissed as ancient Israel’s attempt to explain their oppression and political conquests. As a result, these critics (many are respected OT scholars) view that the writers of these passages at the least constructed a misguided theology. The “actual” God is found in the other biblical writers’ portrayals of the God of mercy, justice, and peace in other texts like in the prophetic tradition and in the New Testament. Of course these modern biblical critics cannot be charged with the heresy of Marcionism.

These critics are not arguing for the dismissal of the OT in toto from the Christian canon, but see the OT provides an internal “corrective” so to speak for arguing that these portrayals of the Divine, which many modern readers find problematic, are “chastised” or outright dismissed by the portrayals of God which reveals his explicit mercy and justice, ultimately pointing to the definitive revelation of God in Christ.

My initial reactions: pure horror! I just started seminary about three weeks ago and I can’t get this out of my head. This is an issue for second year M.Div. students or those pursuing doctoral degrees to wrestle with in more advanced classes. Why me? Why now?!!!! It was that damn book I came across in the Cokesbury bookstore that sparked my angst! Why did I even pick it up? Why did I even touch it? I wasn’t looking for it? I don’t want to read that now! Yet I can’t get this out of my mind (heart)! Damn, Damn, Damn!!

Chandelier in the Duke Chapel Sanctuary

This past week was  truly baptism by fire! What a crazy yet exhilarating first week at Duke Divinity School. This first semester in the Master of Divinity program, I am taking for courses. Two required: Introduction to OT Interpretation with Dr. Stephen B. Chapman, Early and Medieval Christianity with Dr. J. Warren Smith, The Holy Spirit and Ministry with Dr. William C. Turner, Jr. and Introduction to Biblical Hebrew with a Ph.D. student, Joshua Vis. This year I am also apart of a Spiritual Formation group led by a local UMC pastor Rich Greenway.

The week started off with Duke Divinity School’s Convocation in Duke University Chapel. The liturgists, lectors, faculty, and staff proceeded down the middle aisle of the sanctuary. Dean L. Gregory Jones preached that morning. An august body of students filled the echoing sanctuary and lifted our voices in praise to the triune God. New faculty and staff were calling down to the front for prayer and anointing.

Over the course of the semester, I will purchase 26 required textbooks. I also have purchased some other textbooks for supplemental reading.

So far the first week was a week of introduction to the material and to each other as a community of learning.  I deeply enjoy the lectures given by Warren Smith and “Chaps” (Dr. Chapman’s nickname). Last Friday I took my first quiz for Hebrew with Josh. My Church History preceptorial class with Ph.D student Colin Miller was great too. During Dr. Turner’s class last Thursday we discussed our spiritual background and as a group wrote down words which we didn’t recognize during our discourse. Dr. Turner’s wants us to keep a vocabulary list and learn about these terms. He says it’s vital to know the language of the Church and the traditions we represent.

The highlight of the week was going to the daily Morning Prayer in the morning. As custom  students, staff, and faculty gather in Goodsen Chapel in the Divinity School for morning prayer using the Book of Common Prayer. Usually as student leads all in the Daily Office.  Also last week’s chapel services included preaching by Drs. Chapman and Willie Jennings. The Divinity School Gospel Choir ministered with “Order My Steps” and there was liturgical dancing. Originally Dean Laceye Warner was slated to preached last Wednesday, but she had take a bereavement leave. I hope to hear Dr. Warner in the months to come.

I am now coming to sign off. I have so much reading to do.  Thank God the Perkins Library is open 24 hours! Peace be with you!

Duke Divinity School’s three-day Orientation for New Students wrapped up this afternoon. I’ve been waking up at 6a.m. to catch the bus to attend the very informative and exciting lectures and presentations from Dean L. Gregory Jones, Dean Laceye Warner, and a host of other faculty and staff members. I also enjoyed the various worship services we had over the last three days.

I especially enjoyed Dr. Lauren Winner’s lecture on the Conduct Covenant and Dean Jones’ lecture on Diversity and Inclusiveness. I met with Dr. William C. Turner, Jr. who is my academic advisor. I am taking his course on The Holy Spirit and Ministry.

I look forward to the first day of class next Monday. My first class doesn’t start until around 2p.m. so I’m thrilled I get to sleep in. I’ve met some new friends and co-laborers in the Gospel.

I am exhausted and a bit disoriented though, still God is good. I’m just waiting on my refund check to come so I can purchase my 26 textbooks. Yay!

I’ll let y’all know how my first week of class goes. May the peace of Christ be with you.

It’s been a couple months since my last real post (aside from the posts featuring pics from my beautiful trip to Durham, NC!). I previously said  that I was going to write a review  of The Shack. I apologize for the delay. I won’t  have ample time to write a full review until I’m settled in Durham, NC. I will first re-read the novel then post my review for you guys and gals. My overall reaction was disappointment. Though I applaud the author for attempting express a theodicy through a  story, the theology lacked depth.

Although I did find the portrayal of the triune persons laudable (Elousia/Papa -  first big African American woman then a man , Jesus – Middle Eastern man, and Spirit/Sarayu-Asian woman). Yet  the expression of intra-relationship of the Trinity (the three persons  ”devotion” time with each other) was like watching a platonic quasi-spiritual threesome.   

 Once I read to the middle of the book, I was anticipated something more theological satisfying.  Then the roller coaster went downhill for me while reading the main character’s Mack’s second conservation with Jesus. The author’s portrayal of Jesus’ disdain for religion and the church was not impressive! I am deeply fed up with the portrayals of Jesus and Sarayu as anti-religion, anti-establishment, and anti-church motif which unfortunately shows up in many a evangelical works. 

Though I can say that The Shack ended with a lesson on forgiveness I couldn’t shake off my disappointment. However, I think the book does stir much needed conversation. So to each his own with this one.

I am not a fan of pop evangelical fiction. But I am doing something that I normally don’t do. I am reading The Shack by William Paul Young upon the suggestion of my co-worker and sister in Christ.  I  bought the book yesterday started the book last night and I am now halfway through the book. I’m witholding my full opinion of the book until I complete it tonight. So far what I’ve read is interesting (my favorite euphemism for various reactions going through my head).

I’m reading this in between my reading of Robert W. Jenson’s Systematic Theology: The Triune God. A rich and complex book that is!  Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to compare these two books.  I have to read Jenson’s book very carefully, because I have a tendency to speed read. I think I’m gonna have to read Jenson’s first volume twice.

As for The Shack, I’ll finish that tonight and will let you know what I think of  the in a later post. Pax!