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Christmas and Christmas season, is not theologically about celebrating the literal calendar day of the birth of Christ. As in celebrating a friend or family member's birthday.
Rather similarly, as with Easter and the death of Christ, Christmas is celebrating the birth of Christ because of his atoning work and resurrection associated with his Gospel ministry and first advent.
A second advent to culminate the Gospel work and leading to the resurrection of believers (1 Corinthians 15) and the New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21-22). There is also judgement for humanity in and out of Christ (Revelation 20, 2 Corinthians 5).
Augustine notes that in Adam’s first sin all of humanity died. Augustine deduces Adam, who he believed was the first man as a Biblical position, sinned and therefore the fall took place that corrupted humanity and enslaved all of Adam’s biological descendents to sin. Augustine (398-399)(1992: 197). He describes a literal fall and corruption of humanity that led to the literal problem of evil. Augustine (426)(1958: 254-255).
This connects to Romans 5, as Christ is the second and last Adam.
Augustine assumed God to be perfectly good and that everything God created, including the nature of rational beings, to be perfectly good in origin. It was Augustine’s belief that due to wrong choices made by humanity the race was fallen. Augustine (388-395)(1964: 3, 116-117).
There is a debate on whether Augustine was an incompatibilist or a compatibilist. I reason he seems unclear in his writings, but to be fair he does not translate well. He probably should be in the incompatibilist camp as even though he supports a strong view of the sovereignty of God, he still holds to libertarian free will of a sort.
I would add to his statement, 'It was Augustine’s belief that due to wrong choices made by humanity the race was fallen.' As God is the first cause Biblically and theologically (Genesis 1) and can be reasoned from a theistic perspective to be the first cause philosophically, God caused the fall as well. Not as in force or coercion of Adam and Eve, but in willing it to take place. This is so even if he as sovereign, infinite and omnipotent merely allows the fall.
And I reason his involvement was far more than simply allowing.
He was committed to the course of action as the Gospel was eternally intended as the remedy. The atoning and resurrection work of Christ.
Augustine understood humanity as losing its dominion over creation, and that dominion has been awarded substantially to Satan who he calls the prince of this world. Augustine (388-395)(1964: 111). Augustine thought if God had created creatures that only did right actions, then these creatures would not have the option to commit wrong actions against God’s will. Thus their obedience to God would be meaningless and not truly righteous or, to Augustine, worthy of membership in the Kingdom of God. Augustine (388-395)(1964: 36).
I reason God could create significantly free physical creatures that would worship God and not fall.
The angels that did not fall I reason are significantly free and worship God, yet are immaterial.
If God can create immaterial as such, he can material.
Why did God will humanity to take the course of the fall? As I just noted, the atoning and resurrection work of Christ was intended as remedy and this was the sort of humanity he want to develop, or even evolve in a theological sense.
Person's with a mature, experienced knowledge of evil, suffering and salvation.
Augustine viewed the atoning work of Christ as a means by which humanity can be brought back to a proper relationship with God. Augustine (398-399)(1992: 178). Christ would mediate humanity back to God. Augustine (398-399)(1992: 219). He reasoned the resurrection would save believers from everlasting death. Augustine (400-416)(1987)(2004: Book 4: Chapter 13: 11).
Christmas season and the atoning and resurrection work of Christ is therefore more of a spiritual, objective celebration of theological truths, spiritual truths. There is not a guarantee of a happy Christmas time or life, or a significantly fulfilling life, as it is a fallen world, but there is the triune God to pray to even in times of suffering.
AUGUSTINE (388-395)(1964) On Free Choice of the Will, Translated by Anna S.Benjamin and L.H. Hackstaff, Upper Saddle River, N.J., Prentice Hall.
AUGUSTINE (398-399)(1992) Confessions, Translated by Henry Chadwick, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
AUGUSTINE (400-416)(1987)(2004) On the Trinity, Translated by Reverend Arthur West Haddan, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series One, Volume 3, Denver, The Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130104.htm
AUGUSTINE (421)(1998) Enchiridion, Translated by J.F. Shaw, Denver, The Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.knight.org/advent
AUGUSTINE (426)(1958) The City of God, Translated by Gerald G. Walsh, Garden City, New York, Image Books. AUGUSTINE (427)(1997) On Christian Doctrine, Translated by D.W. Robertson Jr., Upper Saddle River, N.J., Prentice Hall.
AUGUSTINE (427b)(1997) On Christian Teaching, Translated by R.P.H. Green, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
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| Happy little tree, not enough for a huge family, but sufficient for our condo. |
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| Lake Geneva-Earth The Incredible Planet |
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| I just found this in my mailbox. The only item that did not go directly into the trash mail bin our complex features. I post this as Hon's I assume has excellent food, is in Coquitlam and is claiming free delivery for those of us in Maple Ridge, which is a thirty-minute drive away in decent traffic. Maybe twenty minutes at a good time. I can just hear the (fictional) guarantee in a Chinese accent: 'We guarantee your order in fifteen minutes or free!' Call me skeptical about the free delivery to Maple Ditch... Marketing error? I can see easily waiting an hour for delivery. |
