In the City of God, Augustine endeavors to explain the distinction between living according to God and living according to man using an analogy between two cities. With this distinction he shows that living according to God is superior because it offers the promise of salvation and true happiness after death, which according to Augustine cannot be achieved if one decides to turn away from God and live according to man. He makes this argument by defining the three parts of the human being and explaining their role in a person's decision to serve God or themselves. He also uses his interpretation of original sin as evidence of the repercussions of turning away from God. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Augustine begins by defining the composition of a human being. According to Augustine, every man is composed of two parts, the flesh and the spirit. The flesh consists of both the soul and the physical body, while the spirit is the rational part of the human being that has free will to serve the flesh or God. Augustine does not believe that the soul is intrinsically better than the body, stating that "not only because of the flesh is the soul moved by desires and fears, by joy and pain, but it can also be agitated by these same emotions that well up in the soul itself" (303). This means that the soul is influenced by emotions and is corruptible in the same way that the body can be controlled by its appetites and desires. Since the soul is as fallible and imperfect as the body, Augustine does not consider it superior. All three parts - soul, body and spirit - constitute a human being, and no part alone can form a man in the absence of the others. Having established the two parts of the human being, that is, the flesh and the spirit, Augustine creates an analogy between two cities, each of which represents a way in which a man can live. The first is to live in the City of Man, that is, to live "according to the flesh" (295). This way of life results when man lives for himself, rather than for God. He has turned away from God, thinking that it is better for him to concern himself only with the needs and desires of the flesh, resulting in him not serving God. Augustine he sees this as an arrogant and self-centered way of living, because he believes it happens when a man thinks he can live a more fulfilling and enjoyable life without God. He condemns the decision to live this way, saying that "there is an evil that man, satisfied with himself as if he were the light, distances himself from that true Light which, if man had loved it, would have made him a participant in the light" (311). This suggests that Augustine equates living according to man with complete estrangement from God due to the belief that the human being is complete without Him. He criticizes the man who chooses this way of life as blind to salvation and wisdom of God, in which he could participate if he accepted God into his life. The City of God, in contrast to the City of Man, is a state in which man lives according to God. This lifestyle arises when man embraces and serves God, to the point of self-denial. By this Augustine means that man chooses submission to the body and worldly desires to orient himself towards God. This is done in the hope that denying oneself in this life will lead to eternal peace in the next life. In this metaphorical city, the spirit looks above the flesh to exist for the purpose of serving God and controls the pleasures of the flesh to honor Him. The two cities represent two different loves, one that loves itself and the other that loves God. The City of Man is a “selfish love” (321) in which man rejects the need for God to achieve true happiness and salvation and instead believes thathappiness can only be achieved through human wisdom. In contrast, the City of God recognizes that God is the highest form of truth and knowledge; it is only through Him that humanity has any hope of eternal peace and holiness. Although Augustine recognizes that man has been given the ability to choose whether or not the spirit should serve God, it is clear that he thinks that humans can only live righteously by living according to God. He reasons that only through a life of service to He can gain access to His kingdom and eternal bliss after death. Even the most virtuous and wise men in the city of man live according to man (322), meaning that although they may live respectable lives, they will still be condemned to damnation after death because they fail to receive salvation from God. Not only will living in God's service allow for peace after death, but it also eases the minds of His followers while they are alive because it gives them hope for a better existence after death. Augustine states that human beings, “now forced to feel the misery of so many grave evils on earth, can, through the hope of heaven, be made happy and secure” (442). This means that although life can be unpleasant, sometimes even miserable, there is always hope of serenity in heaven if one lives in service to God. Those who choose to believe that the greatest happiness is found during a worldly existence and they selfishly indulge in bodily pleasures are excluded from the peace of mind that comes from the hope of eternal existence and subsequently “will not attain the kingdom of God” (297) after death. Denying the ultimate power of God in favor of a life according to man is precisely what happened in the case of Adam and Eve, which Augustine considered to be original sin. Eve turned away from the power of God when she decided to eat the forbidden fruit, and Augustine believes that this act was committed because Eve thought she knew more than God. Her actions were disobedient and represented the misconception that humans can be more knowledgeable about God and self-sufficient without Him. Augustine uses this example to show how not living in God's service has serious and negative consequences. After all, Adam and Eve, like all other human beings who choose to live according to man, had each made themselves a “deserter of eternal life” and “condemned to eternal death – from which nothing could save [them] except grace” (313). Choosing to live according to man, therefore, means choosing to be exiled from heaven and God's salvation. Although human beings may seem to be naturally sinful creatures who cannot resist the urge to satisfy bodily pleasures while choosing to neglect their duties towards God, Augustine maintains that this is not the case. If the human body were intrinsically sinful, this would imply that the Creator made humans fundamentally evil. Since Augustine believes that all things made by God must be good, the flesh cannot be blamed for the sins of humans. This is why Adam and Eve's original sin was not caused by “a corruption of the body” (299), but was instead their choice to disobey God's commandment. For this reason their bodily desires were not alone responsible for their Sin; rather, it was a flaw in their spirit. Since the spirit has free will, it is up to each person to decide whether to live according to man or according to Him. Adam and Eve's inability to obey God was caused by the spirit turning away from Him in an act of pride. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay Augustine proposes two ways in which a human being can live: according to man.