Comparing Augustine, Bernard Of Clairvuax, And Julian Of

Understanding God, knowing God, and understanding humanity are many of the topics that Augustine, Bernard of Clairvuax, and Julian of Norwich discuss in their writings. Each writer has a different opinion on how humanity knows and understands God, also how they understand humanity.
How is one supposed to understand God? According to Augustine humans are dependent on God, so if they do not understand God their lives are meaningless. Augustine believes that humanity is dependent on God because without Him they would not know what to do in good or bad situations that require them to think about what they need to do get the result that God wants. Humanity being dependent on God shows how they come to understand God because they always turn to
According to Augustine they know God because they are powerless to sin, so therefore they need grace because they are incapable of doing anything good. Since humans are incapable of doing anything good they need to know God so that they will need to be saved they will need know God. In Augustine’s Confessions he tells a story about how he had stolen from a pear tree and how he had felt guilty because he had sinned. This shows how humanity comes to know God because without there ever being a definition of sin there would be no good or bad. If there was no good or bad then there would be no God, what kind of world would that be? Augustine’s story about the pear tree shows how humanity comes to know God in a way that shows that when one sins they do realize they had done something extremely wrong in the eyes of God that they realize they need help. According to Bernard we know God because grace is embedded in our DNA, he actually said in the fabric of humanity. Since grace is embedded in humanity they come to know God, according to Bernard, because they already have part of knowing God in their blood when they are born. To know God one must have grace and when they are born with grace it may be easier to find God. According to Julian we know God through the relationship with humanity and through the journey with
According to Augustine a relationship with God develops because humans are dependent on God. Since humans are dependent on God they will always turn to God to receive answers any questions that they may have. When humanity turns to God their relationship will be stronger in the sense that they are able to connect to God and know that they are able to talk to Him when they feel that they need Him. When humanity knows that God is there for them then they are more to connect with God because they will feel a sense of protection from God because they know that He does love and care for them, and humanity needs to be reassured that they are loved and cared about. According to Bernard there are four steps to creating the perfect relationship with God. (Confessions) Though these four steps have been discussed in an earlier discussion they still apply to developing a relationship. The first step, loving ourselves for our own sake, helps develop a relationship with God because when humanity loves themselves they will learn to love others. The second step, loving God for our own sake, develops a relationship because every person needs God in their lives and if they love him because they believe they need love then the relationship will grow. The third step, loving God for God’s sake, develops a relationship because if people love God because he is God then He will grow stronger in their lives. The fourth step, loving self for God’s