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The Historic Faith
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Question 3
In responding to the Manicheans, Augustine denied that Jesus’ moral teaching was different from the Old Testament and argued that “killing was just as lawful under the New as it was under the Old”; how does that claim pressure your assumptions about “continuity” between Old and New, and what would early Christian writers like Irenaeus/Tertullian be trying to preserve that Augustine’s approach risks losing?
Another way to ask: How does Augustine’s claim that killing can be lawful in the New Testament challenge your view of how the Old and New Testaments fit together, and what were early writers like Irenaeus or Tertullian trying to protect that Augustine may have weakened?

Direct Answer Augustine’s claim forces you to ask whether “continuity” means Jesus simply repeats Old Testament moral practice, or whether the New Testament brings a higher Kingdom ethic. Bercot says Irenaeus and Tertullian tried to preserve both one God and a “progression of revelation,” with Jesus as the goal, which Augustine’s approach risks flattening.

Support from Transcript:

  • The Manicheans argued Jesus differs from Moses (war vs love of enemies) and used that to reject the Old Testament and even deny the Incarnation.
  • Early writers “already ably defended historic Christianity,” saying “there was no new God…only a progression of revelation.”
  • They taught “The Law of Moses had been a tutor…Jesus’ teachings were the ultimate goal for which the Law was preparing.”
  • Bercot says this did not fit the hybrid, which mixed “New Testament theology with Old Testament morality and lifestyle.”
  • Augustine counters by denying the premise: “the teachings of Jesus were not different…Killing was just as lawful under the New as it was under the Old.”
Discussion Follow-ups Is it possible to affirm one God and one story while still admitting Jesus raises the moral standard? What gets lost if we deny any real moral “progression” toward Christ?

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