Discuss Augustines understanding of the relation between human loves Essay

Discuss Augustines understanding of the relation between human necks and the love of divinity, with particular concenter on his experience of the death of his friend (described in Book IV of the Confessions) - Essay ExampleHe emphasized loving the earthling and the immortal was same. paragon resided in the actually heart of humans which stirred love. Self love and love of others coincide with love of god when inserted into the ordered hierarchy of loves (Cavadini and Fitzgerald, 29) Augustine opposed egotism love and termed it as evil, which misguides humans taking them in the opposite direction of the eternal power. For him human existence was a struggle where one copes with sin and salvation.The merriment over salvation could be achieved only through divine grace. For Augustine the concept of proper love was always directed to God as he believed that the very thought of love was incited by God him ego. All we can do is to love God, who is love, for Gods sake.(Boeve, Schrijv ers, Stoker and Vroom, 279) Loving fellow human beings in the right spirit was equal to loving God with full dedication of soul, heart and mind. Augustine implied the desire to find ones inner self was equivalent word to the desire of attaining proximity with the Almighty. Yearning to love ones fellow being was equal to the desire to love God.Augustines theory of love was enliven by Neo-Platonist tradition which encouraged the thought that love was a creation of God in which human participation was very essential for the welfare of humanity. God was the ultimate finishing point and love provided the path to reach that goal. The ultimate vocation of the Christian then is grow in his or her relationship to God. The self must learn how to abandon itself for the sake of participating more and more in Gods love. (Boeve, Schrijvers, Stoker and Vroom, 279) This understanding of love is called kenotic view. Augustine perceived love as the rescue boat which transports the fallen human bein gs to Gods grace. The underline of this thought was the relation shared between a human and God was a central relation,