The Church Debate That Shaped History Forever
In the years 411 and 418 CE, there was a debate raging that would forever change the future of theology and alter nearly two thousand years of Church history. Augustine the bishop of Hippo would clash with a relatively obscure monk named Pelagius. Augustine was the celebrity preacher of his time. He had recently published an autobiographical work known as the ‘Confessions’. At the time, nearly every literate person had either heard or read Augustine’s book. Including Pelagius
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Pelagius was particularly disturbed by Augustine’s prayer, “Give what you command; command what you will.” What Augustine was conveying was the belief that mankind does not have the ability to do as God commands, without God making is possible to do so. Augustine took the belief in divine sovereignty to fairly radical heights, believing that God Himself had to work obedience of His creation.
Pelagius was so bothered by this statement he ended up writing his own work refuting Augustine (and mentioning him by name!), called ‘On The Freedom of the Will’. Calling out a man whose popularity rivaled that of the Pope is bound to get attention, and Pelagius enjoyed a fair amount of fame himself. So much so that Augustine himself took notice, and thus the debate began.
Pelagius took the position that man not only had the ability, but the responsibility to obey God. ‘On The Freedom of the Will’ was essentially a theological defense of the belief that mankind was in full control of their will, and therefore was responsible for all actions.
Augustine’s response was profound and would ripple across the waves of time. Augustine authored his own rebuttal, ‘On Nature and Grace’. Mind you, this was all before the age of social media platforms. Back then, you could author an entire book as a way of answering your critic. As you can well imagine, this took some time. It doesn’t appear that the dueling theologians ever met face to face. Yet the debate raged on for several years.
Most people would have given up at this point. We know very little about the life of Pelagius, most of the information we have comes from Augustine, and he wasn’t exactly an unbiased observer. What we can surmise is that Pelagius didn’t seem to grasp the concept of choosing your enemies carefully, as evidenced by his next move. Pelagius took issue with Jerome.
Jerome was one of the most influential of the early Church fathers. By the time Augustine and Pelagius were sparring, Jerome had already completed his magnum opus; The Latin Vulgate. The first time that the entire Bible had been translated into a more common tongue. Jerome was widely regarded and highly respected, and more importantly, a close friend of Augustine. We don’t know for certain if Jerome had paid attention to the theological spat, but we do know that Pelagius seemed to enjoy controversy. He called out Jerome, also by name. Jerome would later respond to this vebal attack by siding with Augustine in the Council of Carthage. (see below)
The Strange Heresy of Manichaeism
Why was this issue so bitter and divisive? Why did both spend so much time arguing over what today seems to be a non-issue? Perhaps the issue can be best explained by the historical times that this occurred in, including an ancient heresy.
Pelagius was concerned by the error of Manichaeism, a strange belief that although the spirit of man was created good, the material world (including our bodies) was fundamentally evil. Pelagius was a firm believer that everything created by God was good, and it was our refusal to obey that made us all evil.
Manichaeism was a pervasive belief in those days, and Augustine admitted in his confessions that for a time he believed in the philosophy but later rejected its core tenet; “I still thought that it is not we who sin but some other nature that sins within us. It flattered my pride to think that I incurred no guilt and, when I did wrong, not to confess it … I preferred to excuse myself and blame this unknown thing which was in me but was not part of me. The truth, of course, was that it was all my own self, and my own impiety had divided me against myself. My sin was all the more incurable because I did not think myself a sinner.”
Despite rejecting the core tenet, Augustine still believed that mankind was incapable of choosing righteousness for themselves. In the original Latin Augustine used the phrase, liberum arbitrium captivatum, literally, ‘captive free will’ to describe what he believed to be man’s inability to choose righteousness.
“Without the Spirit man’s will is not free, since it has been laid under by shackling and conquering desires.” – Augustine, Letters
Does God Judge Us Individually or Corporally?
Now we arrive at the crux between these two theologians. Both were in agreement that God would judge each man for his sin, the disagreement was as to how man could become justified. Even Martin Luther himself would later admit that Ausgtine was confused on the issue, and not to be trusted. “Augustine has sometimes erred and is not to be trusted. Although good and holy, he was yet lacking in the true faith, as well as the other fathers…But when the door was opened for me in Paul, so that I understood what justification by faith is, it was all over with Augustine..” – Martin Luther
Augustine was the first recorded purveyor of the belief in what would later be called ‘irresistible grace’. Augustine believed that when God called you, you came, whether you wanted to or not. Whereas Pelagius was a firm believer that if God was judging man for their sins, and if man was called to righteousness, then that clearly meant man had control over their own will.
Pelagius Condemned, Augustine Takes Victory
Augustine believed that not only was Pelagius wrong, but he was also dangerous. So much so that Augustine wrote letters to Pope Innocent I, attempting to have Pelagius officially condemned by the Church as a heretic. This all came to a head in 418 CE, when Augustine called for the Council of Carthage, a gathering of Church leaders who came together for the express purpose of having Pelagius declared a heretic. The effort was successful, and Pelagius was expelled from his Church and his homeland as well. Pelagius would spend the rest of his life in exile, from everything he had ever known, and doing whatever was in his power to argue his innocence. After the death of Innocent I and the reign of Pope Pius, Pelagius would forever be known as a heretic. His works burned, his name tarnished, and any biographical details completely erased.
For anyone wondering what this has to do with today, it is vital that we understand how such beliefs began. This debate between two theologians echoes throughout two thousand years of theology and Church history. In an amusing irony, Augustine’s views would actually spark the Reformation. John Calvin especially took Augustine’s beliefs to theological extremes. Today, we are dealing with the inevitable fallout of such beliefs. Especially as questions of obedience and whether the commandments of God are hotly debated. What are your thoughts on this debate? Do you believe that Augustine was correct, or do you believe that Pelagius deserves to be reconsidered? Let us know in the comments.
