Augustine believes that only goodness is the essence of man. It comes from God, but sin is a lack of goodness. Goodness is absolute, and God is the source of goodness. Evil is relative. God does not create sin in man. Evil is the result of God’s absence, and evil itself does not exist. The reason for sin is that people abuse the freedom that God has given them and deviate from the goodness of God. The things God creates are good, not bad. It is our desire to destroy the grace of God, and only God’s grace can make people regain good will.
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Augustine recalled his life and tried to pursue the truth with all kinds of philosophy and religion and his soul got in touch with God. He understood that the truth of wisdom is God himself – the creator of the universe.
Augustine believes God is perfect, and the creations he creates are all good. Evil is a kind of defect of goodness, and a man’s crime is from discarding the complete goodness, which results in crippled goodness. Without God’s help, one can never return to perfect good without any effort by oneself.