Augustine's Views On Forgiveness And Free Will

Mercy is defined as “compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.” According to the article, it is pointless to show mercy towards someone who does not realise he is in the wrong and conscious of God. If the person who does wrong does not realise his mistakes and feels sincere remorse for what he has done, mercy would not help him. The person must ask for forgiveness sincerely in order for the mercy shown to have any meaning. If not, showing mercy in that case would make him worse, for he will continue to sin if there is no punishment, some sign that he is wrong.

Augustine agrees with this view. He believes God wants us closer to him, for “Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are
restless till they rest in Thee.” He explains that to be close to be close to God is to be conscious of him, for “no one can call upon Thee without knowing Thee.” To recognise something is inherently wrong -a sin- one must believe in God’s existence, a higher being that determines what is good and evil. Furthermore, an atheist cannot say something is good or bad, because without God there is only like and dislike. Therefore, according to Augustine, to recognise one’s own sins one must be conscious of God and his superior judgement.

Augustine also believes that one must know oneself, his limits, imperfections and mistakes.
One must understand our need for God and our irrelevance without it, for “Nothing could be more pitiful than a pitiable creature who does not see to pity himself” when he is away from God. One must be conscious of ones own sins and want to change them; he obviously advocates for self awareness in every one of us. In his path towards God, he struggles with repentance, which is the realisation of one’s sins. This realisation is supposed to bring pain and guilt. Nevertheless, he asks to God to “grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.” He realises that he is wrong, and he feels guilty for it, but his guilt has not surpassed his burning desire for flesh, an insatiable lust. He himself says he “was wretched, and every soul is wretched that is bound in affection by mortal things”. To be worthy of God’s mercy, one must look inside and assume responsibility for one’s sins like Augustine does. In book eight, when Augustine is in his most vulnerable moment before God, for he is “sick at heart and in torment, accusing myself with a new intensity of bitterness, twisting and turning in my chain”, he is crying under a tree, he is overflowing with guilt and repentance. That is when he is strongest and closest to God, for accepting his sins makes him free and able to embrace chastity, and that is when he receives God’s
mercy.

In conclusion, Augustine would completely agree with the article, as it says what he as experienced. His life has been a path of sin and evil until he became conscious of his mistakes and his repentance is enough for him to change. All the mercy he receives before from his mother is fruitless, and she realises that. He cannot be forgiven by God until he is truly sorry, and that is what worries Monica. In the end, he does realise his mistakes and finds God’s mercy.