In living according to God's will, first and foremost, we should let the love of God permeate our lives. Augustine says,
We are enjoined to love this good [namely, being united to God] with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength, is what we are enjoined to do. To this good we ought to be led by those who love us and to lead those we love. Thus are fulfilled those two commandments on which hang all the law and the prophets: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul;” and “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” For, that man might be intelligent in his self-love, there was appointed for him to which he might refer all his actions, that he might be blessed. For he who loves himself wishes nothing else than this. And the end set before him is “to draw near to God.” And so, when one who has this intelligent self-love is commanded to love his neighbour as himself, what else is enjoined than that he shall do all in his power to commend to him the love of God. This is the worship of God, this is true religion, this right piety, this the service due to God only.6
Note that love of God also involves love for other persons as well a proper love for oneself.
Holy Scripture, the inspired word of God, provides us with a practical guide for directing our lives. We can rely upon the teachings of both the Old and New Testaments. More particularly, we can use the life of Jesus Christ as a guide—because Christ, being both Divine and human, is the Mediator who shows us the proper path to union with God.
The Christian and Civil Authority
Given Augustine's sharp dichotomy between the City of God and the city of man, we may well wonder whether or not a good Christian can submit to civil authority. Augustine resolves the problem by asserting that enough common cause exists between the two cities with respect to “man's mortal nature” for Christians to obey the civil law. He says,
This heavenly city, then, while it sojourns on earth, calls citizens out of all nations, and gathers together a society of pilgrims of all languages, not scrupling about diversities in the manners, laws, and institutions, whereby earthly peace is secured and maintained, but recognizing that, however various these are, they all tend to one and the same end of earthly peace. It therefore is so far from rescinding and abolishing these diversities, that it even preserves and adopts them so long only as no hindrance to the worship of the one supreme and true God is thus introduced. Even the heavenly city, therefore, while in its state of pilgrimage avails itself of the peace of earth, and so far as it can without injuring faith and godliness, desires and maintains a common agreement among men regarding the acquisition of the necessaries of life [emphasis added], and makes this earthly peace bear upon the peace of heaven; for this alone can be truly called and esteemed the peace of the reasonable creatures, consisting as it does in the perfectly ordered and harmonious enjoyment of God and of one another in God.7
Thus, according to Augustine, good Christians need not reject all civil government and can act to improve life on earth―whether by rectifying injustice or doing good works—so long as the actions do not interfere with faith and worship.
Controversies: Some Objections and Possible Replies
(Note About Objections and Possible Replies: You should look upon the objections and possible replies as opportunities for further thought rather than as definitive statements. Holders of the original position are not likely to be overwhelmed by the objections; and critics of the original position are not likely to be convinced by the possible replies. These objections and possible replies accomplish a proper goal if they push you to think more deeply about an issue, leading you to seek more clarity and justification in drawing your own conclusions.)
Some objections to Christianity arise through denial of fundamental doctrines such as God's existence, the immortality of the soul, Divine Providence, and Holy Scripture as a divinely inspired text. Any such denial strikes deeply at the heart of traditional Christianity and has serious implications for a conception of the good life. Instead of taking up these doctrines and their implications here however, we will concentrate on issues more explicitly related to the good life.
The Christian view sets up ideals too far beyond what most human beings are capable of pursuing. Even though people may pay “lip service” to these hopelessly unattainable ideals, they follow different moral principles in practice; and, worst of all, they let unattainable ideals monopolize their discussions of morality—while the real principles governing their actions go unexamined. Thus, for example, they talk about loving their neighbors while the profit motive governs their practices. Moreover, the Christian virtues of love, humility, and obedience are ineffective and even harmful in facing up to the harsh realities of life—namely, human greed, selfishness, violence, and lust for power.
A Possible Reply: Persons on earth cannot act perfectly, but they can strive to attain those ideals that God's will has set before them. If they fail to do so, then their just reward will be eternal punishment; and if they talk about Christian morality while acting differently in practice, then they will suffer the rightful consequences of their actions. As for the ineffectiveness of Christian virtues in dealing with “the harsh realities of life,” it is well for everyone to remember that eternal life, not merely earthly life, must provide the standard for judgment. In the end, the wicked will be punished for their misdeeds and the good rewarded.
(2) Rejecting Human Nature
Human beings cannot reject their own nature. Yet Augustine demands just such a rejection in exhorting everyone to turn away from the city of man. Hence he demands an impossibility.
A Possible Reply: With the help of God's grace, human beings have the power to live according to God's will. So becoming a citizen of the City of God does not lie entirely beyond the capacities of human nature. It is the acceptance of human nature as an end-in-itself, based upon pride of self, that must be rejected.
(3) The Self-Sufficiency of Human Nature As a Source of Good
Augustine presumes that human nature as an end-in-itself entails pride and love of self. But this need not be the case. Love and concern for others, as well as a desire for justice, can be normal expressions of human nature just as much as pride or selfishness. In actuality, human nature is a self-sufficient source for both conceptualizing and producing good.
A Possible Reply: It is human pride that produces these illusions of self-sufficiency. People do not attain lasting, authentic love or justice without a relationship to God. That is precisely why human life is so often characterized by greed, violence, selfishness, and lust.
(4) Rejecting Civil Authority
Although Augustine tries to paper over differences, the dichotomy between the City of God and the city of man is so sharp that a good Christian will not really recognize civil authority or participate significantly in government and secular social activities. The gap between the goals of an earthly life and those of a heavenly one is simply too great. The good Christian will constantly find the activities and goals of civil authority in conflict with faith and worship. For example, the good Christian will expect ultimate rectification of injustice through God's judgment for eternity, whereas civil authority seeks rectification of injustice during life on earth. Consequently, the Christian will shy away from any but the most mild attempts to rectify injustice on earth.
A Possible Reply: Out of love for one's neighbor, the good Christian will want to help the poor and feed the hungry in this life. There are all sorts of actions for the betterment of human life that the Christian takes up out of devotion to God. Thus Augustine does not “paper over” differences. There are areas of common cause for the City of God and the city of man.
3.30 Are you satisfied with the account of the Christian way of life according to Saint Augustine? (Be sure to consider the entire account in the text, not simply the boxed-in summary.) Would you give a different account of the Christian way of life? Why or why not? What additions or subtractions would you make?