Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 7
Augustine applies the wheat-and-tares parable to the church itself and argues that trying to separate wheat and tares is “folly”; how does that challenge modern instincts to “purge” quickly (or to split into the “pure” group), and what did Augustine mean when he said schism is worse than apostasy—does that land as convincing or offensive, and why?
Another way to ask: If the church is always a mix of “wheat and weeds,” how should that change our urge to quickly purge people or split off into a “pure” group? Is Augustine right that causing a split is worse than apostasy, and why does that feel true or wrong to you?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript presents Augustine as challenging quick “purge” instincts by insisting the visible church will always be mixed, and that attempting to perfectly separate true and false believers can become spiritual overreach. He calls schism “worse than apostasy” because division tears the church’s unity—though whether that feels convincing or offensive depends on how seriously one views unity as a central Christian obligation.
- Augustine teaches the church is “visible and invisible”: the invisible church is pure, but the visible church is “mixed.”
- He applies “wheat and the tares” not to the world but “to the church itself,” saying wheat and tares will be in the church.
- The “radical step”: “it’s not actually our job to separate them,” and trying is “folly,” because it resembles separating “sheep and the goats,” which “only Christ can do.”
- He uses Noah’s Ark imagery: “clean animals and… unclean animals… this giant mixture.”
- In that light he argues “schism… is a worse sin than even apostasy,” criticizing Donatist separation.