Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 4
Augustine’s famous line, “Command whatever you will, God, and do what you command,” becomes a flashpoint; how do you hear that prayer now in light of David’s explanation, and what does it reveal (or conceal) about God’s character and the nature of human responsibility?
Another way to ask: After hearing David’s explanation, how do you understand Augustine’s prayer, “Command what you will, and do what you command”? What does it show about God and about how responsible we are?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
In the transcript, that prayer can sound like a plea for divine help, but it also became a doorway into Augustine’s later extreme where human responsibility is effectively erased. It reveals dependence on God, yet it can conceal (if taken to an extreme) the truth that God commands obedience and holds humans accountable while still empowering them.
- Augustine’s line is quoted: “Command whatever you will, God, and do what you command,” meaning “tell me…then give me the power to do it.”
- Pelagius objects: “God gives commands, he assists us, but he doesn’t just do it for us.”
- The speaker frames Pelagius’s criticism as “mild,” implying the conflict didn’t need escalation if Augustine had been humble.
- Augustine later moves to “we can do nothing…We cannot believe…cannot obey…0% human / 100% God,” which the speaker calls “heresy.”
- David’s sixth point about Romans insists ongoing faithfulness is required, yet not “solely on our own strength,” because of the Spirit’s “empowerment.”