There is much debate in the theory of the Roman Empire. Some believe it was a catastrophic event that changed Rome forever, while others think Rome never was stopped entirely. Through the readings of the City of God, one can only conclude that Augustine was in fact a continuationist.
Augustine describes the City of God as “those who live according to God”. They are the ones who put God before themselves, and do right on earth to live eternally. They are not focused on events in present time, but what will come from it at the end. Augustine stated that “The families which live by faith look for those eternal blessings which are promised”. Since Earth can make no guaranteed promises, the people who live by faith look to Heaven where they are …show more content…
Augustine’s interpretations of the City of God, shows how important religion was. Rome may have collapsed physically, but it did not collapse emotionally or spiritually. Collins Stated that “Christians would long be tempted to create a Christian world on earth”. Christians did not share the same views with the Earthly City, they were frown upon for believing in something totally different than Rome’s traditional beliefs. The rejection they received, made them want to create there on world, on earth. The Christians desire to spread their religious beliefs shows the change in Rome as a whole. Not only was religion changing the face of Rome, so was Rome’s economy. “ Germans were becoming more like Romans and Romans more like Germans”. Before the collapse of Rome the cities in the West were declining drastically. “They were losing the wealthy, but they were losing other people to”, the wealthy people who once resided in Rome were now moving away from the west and into the east. “The government became less able to extract wealth in the form of taxes, it became less a force to be reckoned with”. Since there was no money flowing into Rome, Rome was beginning to evolve into something new. Collins and Augustine would argue that Rome didn’t collapse because of its civilization, but that the old Rome was being transformed into a new identity and way of life. With the economy declining and Christianity spreading the past life of Rome was evolving with present
Augustine describes the City of God as “those who live according to God”. They are the ones who put God before themselves, and do right on earth to live eternally. They are not focused on events in present time, but what will come from it at the end. Augustine stated that “The families which live by faith look for those eternal blessings which are promised”. Since Earth can make no guaranteed promises, the people who live by faith look to Heaven where they are …show more content…
Augustine’s interpretations of the City of God, shows how important religion was. Rome may have collapsed physically, but it did not collapse emotionally or spiritually. Collins Stated that “Christians would long be tempted to create a Christian world on earth”. Christians did not share the same views with the Earthly City, they were frown upon for believing in something totally different than Rome’s traditional beliefs. The rejection they received, made them want to create there on world, on earth. The Christians desire to spread their religious beliefs shows the change in Rome as a whole. Not only was religion changing the face of Rome, so was Rome’s economy. “ Germans were becoming more like Romans and Romans more like Germans”. Before the collapse of Rome the cities in the West were declining drastically. “They were losing the wealthy, but they were losing other people to”, the wealthy people who once resided in Rome were now moving away from the west and into the east. “The government became less able to extract wealth in the form of taxes, it became less a force to be reckoned with”. Since there was no money flowing into Rome, Rome was beginning to evolve into something new. Collins and Augustine would argue that Rome didn’t collapse because of its civilization, but that the old Rome was being transformed into a new identity and way of life. With the economy declining and Christianity spreading the past life of Rome was evolving with present