Augustines God Vs. Epictetus God :: essays research papers

At first glance, I was immediatly inclined to argue in epictetus favor, because it pains me to argue that Christianity is good for anybody. In the following paragraphs, i go out contrast the paragon of Epictetus, and the God of Augustine, and in the end, my stand will be clear. Epictetus and Augustine both identify God on basic level. Epictetus says,"Where the result of God is, on that point too is the essence of good. What is the essence of God?......Right Reason? Certainly. present then, without more ado, seek the essence of good." He says strive for goodness, live in conformity with it, and you will find God. God is the vital force that creates alone things and the cosmic intellegence that governs it from within.Augustine says"Where I found justness, there i found my God, who is truth itself."He says strive for truth and understanding...In loving God, we love truth. Persons can scrape up to know truth though inner experience and conviction, he holds that y ou cant ascertain true knowledge without faith. you must have faith in God, who is the essence of all truth.Both philosophers address mans powerlessness in the face of God. Epictetus insist that humans are basically limited and irrational beings, but that the universe, govern by God through pure reason, is perfect. Because human beings can incomplete know nor control their destiny, they must cease striving for the attainment of mundane ends and pleasures and instead calmly accept the fact of their own powerlessness in the beginning fate. The only thing in a persons power is their response to events or outlook, namely, their morality. Augustine believed faith preceded reason. He believed people are good, but not perfect. merely in Augustinean theology, each person is predestined to either heaven, or to kidskin like bacon, and theres nothing you can do about it. Salvation is a "free gift" with purchase, but only to every 7,000th caller. This is where i would regard mora lity means squat. If you know God decided when you were born whether or not you were going to heaven, nothing you do makes any difference. You can cadence all over everbody, and run with scissors and it doesnt matter. If you go to hell, you were going there anyway. If youre going to heaven, youve got a few good stories to tell when you get there. On top of allthis, Augustine says that no human mind can circularize the mystery of of Gods wisdom.