Augustines God Vs. Epictetus God :: essays research papers

At first glance, I was immediatly inclined to present in epictetus favor, because it pains me to argue that Christianity is good for anybody. In the following paragraphs, i will contrast the divinity 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 essence of God is, there too is the essence of good. What is the essence of God?......Right Reason? Certainly. Here 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 all things and the cosmic intellegence that governs it from within.Augustine says"Where I found truth, there i found my God, who is truth itself."He says strive for truth and understanding...In loving God, we love truth. Persons can come to shaft truth though inner experience and conviction, he holds that you cant obtain true k nowledge 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 take a firm stand that humans are basically limited and irrational beings, but that the universe, ruled by God through pure reason, is perfect. Because human beings can neither know nor control their destiny, they must cease striving for the attainment of worldly ends and pleasures and instead calmly accept the fact of their own powerlessness before fate. The solo thing in a somebodys power is their response to events or outlook, namely, their morality. Augustine believed faith preceded reason. He believed people are good, but not perfect. But in Augustinean theology, each person is predestined to either heaven, or to fry 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 think morality means squat. If you know God deci ded when you were born whether or not you were going to heaven, nothing you do makes any difference. You can step 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 jump there. On top of allthis, Augustine says that no human mind can penetrate the mystery of of Gods wisdom.