A critical investigation of the relationship between death and sin in the labors of St. Augustine

A critical investigation of the relationship between death and sin in the labors of St. Augustine Ghasem kakaie, professor of university of Shiraz Mahbubeh jabbareh naseru, PHD candidate of comparative philosophy University of Qom The question of death is one of the most common and inevitable ones in human life. It has been considered by monotheistic religions, philosophical trends and theological schools as one of the existential and epistemic concerns of mankind among whom one can point to St. Augustine, one of the most sparkling theologians in Christendom. In this article, we delve deeply into the interrelation between death and the concept of sin in the Augustine’s oeuvre. Scrutinizing his works indicates that inspired by some early Christian sources, specifically the Paul’s letters in the New Testament, he is very much more considerate of the mutual relationship between sin and death in comparison with his predecessors. In his various, voluminous treatises Augustine treats original sin as well as daily sins as the main cause of death. He opines that based on the nature of human creation, he would benefit immortality if he did not commit sins. He enumerates three kinds of death, i.e. corporeal death (when soul leaves body), death of soul (when God leaves it) and eternal death (When the soul which has already been left by God leaves the body), contending that the abovementioned kinds of death are brought about due to man’s disobedience. He asserts that the first human couple were punished on the basis of the divine just judgment due to their disobedience. Based on the idea of the presence of mankind in Adam, he extends the punishment to his descendants as well. Accordingly, every single human being suffers from the original sin. We believe that he exaggerates in his emphasis on the idea of the original sin and his outcomes so that he exonerates no one but Jesus Christ and his mother.