This essay discusses 'grace' in the theology of Saint Augustine (354-430) and as contained in his Confessions. Basically, Augustine believed that mankind was originally created without sin and had free will, a situation which enabled the first man to choose between good and evil. However, by his fall from grace, Adam caused all future generations of humanity to become tainted with this evil. Consequently, it is only through Divine Grace that a person's will can become free to know the truth and serve the good again. Good works do not help because some individuals are predestined by God to be saved; and so, grace, through Christ, is the one blessing from God that can redeem a person. This approach is in direct opposition to the teachings of Pelagius, with whom Augustine was in theological conflict.
Pelagius (c. 360-420) took the position that there is no such state as original sin. Consequently, the will is free in
spite of previous behavior. According to the viewpoint of Pelagius, death is a natural happening, having no connection with the fall of our first parents in the Garden of Eden. Thus, Adam's sin is his alone and does not affect the whole human race. Grace is identical with the general cleansing of the person through baptism. Therefore, grace has no purpose after baptism because individuals are able to find their own salvation through free choice and the pursuit of their own spirituality.
Paul Tillich states about Augustine and the Pelagian conflict: "Against these views of Pelagius we have Augustine's doctrine of sin. Augustine agreed with Pelagius that freedom is the original, essential quality of man, so that Adam was free when he fell. Originally, man's freedom was directed toward the good, and the good is the love with which God loves himself. In this sense everybody is free. But this freedom is dangerous, so dangerous that man could change his direction toward God and direct himself instead towa...