Was Augustine monergist?

Augustine, bishop of Hippo (died 430 AD), is considered as monergist in www.monergism together with Luther, Calvin and other Reformed/Puritan prominent figures.   The following is statement of Augustine they claimed to show his view on monergism (the complete text of “Against Two Letters of Pelagians” is available online at www.ccel.org):

Can you say, ‘We will first walk in His righteousness, and will observe His judgments, and will act in a worthy way, so that He will give His grace to us’? But what good would you evil people do? And how would you do those good things, unless you were yourselves good? But Who causes people to be good? Only He Who said, ‘And I will visit them to make them good,’ and, ‘I will put my Spirit within you, and will cause you to walk in my righteousness, and to observe my judgments, and do them’ (Ezek.36:27). Are you asleep? Can’t you hear Him saying, ‘I will cause you to walk, I will make you to observe,’ lastly, ‘I will make you to do’? Really, are you still puffing yourselves up? We walk, true enough, and we observe, and we do; but it is God Who He makes us to walk, to observe, to do. This is the grace of God making us good; this is His mercy going before us.

Augustine , Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 4:15

The title of the works indicates that what Augustine wrote is his objection against Pelagian and Semi-Pelagian (referred as new form of Pelagianism).  Both Pelagian and semi-Pelagian believe that we can take the first step, using our freedom, towards our salvation and then God will give us His Grace. The difference between those two is the former believe that His Grace only serves as facilitator while to the latter it is necessity and is given based on merits.   Catholics, on the other hand, believe that God takes initiative in our salvation by first giving is His Grace.  His Grace will move us to believe in Christ, to obey His commandments etc.  We, in using our freedom, give response by cooperating with it (or rejecting it).  In Monergism God also takes the initiative but His Grace does not require our cooperation – it will regenerate the receivers automatically. A good analogy of monergism is car driving.  Once the driver starts the engine, something that any car cannot do, it will move following the driver’s intention with no resistance (no kicking and screaming whatsoever).

The Catholic Church declares her position against both Pelagian and semi-Pelagian in Council of Orange on 3 July 529 AD (one of the council’s decrees is even cited in www.monergism.com) and reaffirmed it in Council of Trent after Reformation.

If any one saith, that the grace of God, through Jesus Christ, is given only for this, that man may be able more easily to live justly, and to merit eternal life, as if, by free will without grace, he were able to do both, though hardly indeed and with difficulty; let him be anathema.

Council of Trent, Canon II on Justification

If any one saith, that without the prevenient inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and without his help, man can believe, hope, love, or be penitent as he ought, so as that the grace of Justification may be bestowed upon him; let him be anathema.

Council of Trent, Canon III of the Decree on Justification

Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1993 again reaffirms the Church’s position: Without God’s grace, he cannot by his own free will move himself toward justice in God’s sight

There are some who confused what Catholics believe with semi-Pelagianism.   Reformed scholar, R.C. Sproul, for example, accused Catholics to follow semi-Pelagianism (Faith Alone, pages 140 to 141).

The key difference between Monergism and Synergism is whether we can exercise our freewill in our salvation or not.  Note that Monergism believes we do have freewill but to them it is under bondage of sin – it is not really free, i.e. we cannot choose to act rightly.

It would be correct to say man HAS A WILL and that his choices are VOLUNTARY (not coerced) but this does not make the choices free. Fallen man chooses sin of NECESSITY due to a corruption of nature, and this is just as much a form of bondage of the will from which we need to be set free by Christ, and a more properly biblical way of expression.

J.W.H.

http://new.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Free-Will/Essays/

Coming back to Augustine, is the above statement describes his view on human freewill?  In Augustine’s own words (emphasis in bold is mine):

Therefore, my dearly beloved, as we have now proved by our former testimonies from Holy Scripture that there is in man a free determination of will for living rightly and acting rightly; so now let us see what are the divine testimonies concerning the grace of God, without which we are not able to do any good thing.

Augustine, A Treatise on Grace and Freewill Chapter 7

When God says, “Turn ye unto me, and I will turn unto you,”[Zechariah 1:3] one of these clauses–that which invites our return to God–evidently belongs to our will; while the other, which promises His return to us, belongs to His grace.

Augustine, A Treatise on Grace and Freewill Chapter 10(V)

“A Treatise on Grace and Freewill” was written in around 426 or 427 AD (English translation is available online at www.ccel.org and www.monergism.com)   What he wrote is in agreement with what the Catholic Church teaches: we do have freewill to act rightly (denied in monergism), though we cannot exercise it without first being moved by God’s Grace.   Thus Augustine noted that the quoted verse (Zechariah 1:3) was also used by Pelagians (and Semi-Pelagian) to support their belief, i.e. we make the first move (turn to God) and then God will turn to us.  Citing other verses he pointed out that we cannot turn to God without His Grace

Now the persons who hold this opinion fail to observe that, unless our turning to God were itself God’s gift, it would not be said to Him in prayer, “Turn us again, O God of hosts;” [Psalms 80:7] and, “Thou, O God, wilt turn and quicken us;” [Psalms 85:6] and again, “Turn us, O God of our salvation,” [Psalms 85:4]  –with other passages of similar import, too numerous to mention here. For, with respect to our coming unto Christ, what else does it mean than our being turned to Him by believing? And yet He says: “No man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. [John 6:65]

Augustine, A Treatise on Grace and Freewill Chapter 10(V)

Monergism vs. Synergism

According to definition given in www.monergism.com (emphasis in bold is mine), Monergism is the belief that in our regeneration, the Holy Spirit unites us to Christ independent of any cooperation from our un-regenerated human nature. He quickens us through the outward call cast forth by the preaching of His Word, disarms our innate hostility, removes our blindness, illumines our mind, creates understanding, turns our heart of stone to a heart of flesh — giving rise to a delight in His Word — all that we might, with our renewed affections, willingly & gladly embrace Christ.  In Synergism, on the other hand, the grace of God that regenerates us requires our cooperation, through our freedom.  Because we have freedom, we can either choose to cooperate or not. 

Protestants and “Bible only” Christians who follow the teachings of Reformers Calvin and Luther are monergist, while the rest, together with Catholics (and Eastern Orthodox, to the best of my knowledge) are synergist.  A good comparison of these two views is when we have faith in Christ as Lord and Saviour.  A monergist will say that our ability to believe in Christ comes solely from God’s Grace – we can do it because we are first regenerated by God, there is no such thing as our cooperation because of our totally corrupt nature. A synergist will say His Grace will first moves us and then we, using our freedom, cooperate by receiving it (or rejecting it).  Such cooperation is possible because our nature, while wounded, is not totally corrupted.  Note that both in monergism and synergism the initiative for our salvation comes from God.

As one scriptural proof, www.monergism.com cites Ezekiel 11:19-20: And I [God] will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.  At first glance this verse seems to give strong support of monergism.  Let’s look at the next verse, Ezekiel 11:21: But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will requite their deeds upon their own heads, says the Lord God. A monergist will say that God chose them (from eternity) not to be regenerated – the so-called double predestination, i.e. God chose from eternity whom He will regenerate and whom He will not. But how to reconcile it with 1 Corinthians 15:22 (emphasis in bold is mine): For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive and for the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men (Titus 2:11)?  Ezekiel 11:19-20 neither explicitly says that regeneration requires or does not require our cooperation and the same applies to other verses cited to support monergism (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 and 1 Peter 1:23).  But does it (1 Thessalonians 1:4) says “he [God] has chosen you”?  Does it prove that God chose some men to be saved?  Yes, but synergists also believe in Election, i.e. God predestines some men (the Elect) for heaven by choosing them from eternity.  But they reject the idea that God predestines the rest to hell.  They end up in hell because they, in using their freedom, decide not to cooperate with God’s Grace and not because God desires them to be in hell (Monergist’ view).  Scripture says (1 Timothy 2:4) God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.