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Theories of Soul and Christian Ethics: A Study on Augustine, Aquinas and Martin Luther

Kyoung-Dong Yoo 1

1감리교신학대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper introduces the thoughts of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Martin Luther, asking the nature of souls in relation to Christian Ethics. In the discussion of the comparison and relationship among the above traditional Christian theologians, those issues surrounding souls, will, sin and God’s grace are engaged to explore the meaning of morality and responsibility. For Augustine, soul is immortal but limited because of the disobedience of man to God. Soul in this regard plays an important role as an ontological vehicle to make the mortal to be reborn by the grace of God. Thomas Aquinas thinks soul as immortal and views it as reason that leads man to recover one’s fallen image of God. For Aquinas, soul also acts as epistemological and moral power that cultivates whole beings. On the other hand, Luther points out the total depravity of man by sin and seeks a prevenient grace of God instead of human possibility. For Luther, soul is only meaningful when it is saved by God through faith. Therefore soul changes from disobedience to faith in God. After reviewing above issues briefly, this paper comes to a conclusion that the Christian notion of soul ought to be emphasized when we consider the world of materialism where man endlessly desires desire. To achieve this goal, Christian ethics has a mission to cultivate a sense of morality through stressing spiritual awakening of soul.

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