St Augustine: City of God vs City of Man — Lesson Pack (Years 8–10)
Printable Venn diagram (print/save as PDF)
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Quick content summary (teacher reference)
(Short answers to the listed questions for classroom use)
- Main attributes: City of God — citizens ordered by love of God, oriented to eternal peace. City of Man — citizens ordered by love of self or glory, oriented to temporal power.
- Origins: They arise from different loves: divine vs self-centered. Historically they coexist; individuals and institutions may belong more to one or the other.
- Futures: City of God attains eternal beatitude; City of Man is temporary and may face judgment and dissolution.
- Old Testament tracing: Augustine reads history typologically: Abraham and the faithful (City of God), Cain/Babel/Sauls (City of Man). He sees patterns: Israel’s kings and prophets prefigure the tension between earthly rule and spiritual rule.
- Scripture method: Allegorical/typological and historical reading — unity between Testaments: OT points forward to Christ and the Church; Israel as earthly people foreshadows both the faithful remnant (City of God) and the nation-state (City of Man).
- Flaws of earthly city: Pride, injustice, misplaced loves; earthly goods are good when ordered to God, but twisted when loved for themselves.
- Peace & discord: Peace comes from justice and love ordered to God; discord from pride, envy and competing loves.
- Suffering: Present suffering is not necessarily prevented by God; it may serve divine ends (discipline, testing, or part of fallen order). God heals ultimately in the City of God, but allows temporal suffering for reasons beyond full human grasp.
- Christian engagement: Augustine argues Christians should live responsibly (justice, charity) in earthly affairs without confusing earthly order with ultimate good — some engagement is necessary (care for neighbors, civic duty) but final hope is transcendent.
- Sack of Rome (410): Augustine reframes it: earthly decline doesn’t show God’s abandonment of Christianity — Rome’s fall exposes the limits of earthly glory and points toward the need for spiritual citizenship.
- Relation to Tertullian/Chrysostom: Shares skepticism of worldly glory (like Tertullian), but is more nuanced than an outright withdrawal — he allows civic duty and the ordering of earthly goods.
Compared to Chrysostom, Augustine is more philosophical and historical; he integrates theology, history and political reflection into a larger narrative of salvation history.
Classroom activity — "Two Cities Role Debates" (50–60 minutes)
Learning goals: identify Augustine’s two cities, use textual evidence, compare Old Testament types, and evaluate practical implications for Christians.
- Introduce (5 min): Brief lecture (teacher) with the Venn diagram visible.
- Group formation (5 min): Students split into 4 groups: City of God advocates, City of Man advocates, Mixed citizens (middle), and Judges (evaluate).
- Preparation (10 min): Each group gets short primary-text excerpts (Augustine quotes + OT references e.g., Abraham, Cain, David). Groups prepare 3 arguments and one rhetorical question.
- Debate round (20 min): Each advocate group speaks (4 minutes) and responds to judge questions (2 minutes). Mixed group presents how citizens live in both cities.
- Class reflection (10 min): Whole-class answer two big questions: How should Christians act in public life? What does Augustine say about suffering?
Discussion questions
- How does Augustine’s idea of "love" decide a person’s city membership?
- Which Old Testament figures best represent each city and why?
- Can a Christian be a full citizen of both cities? Give examples.
- How do Augustine’s views help us understand modern political failure or success?
- Is Augustine pessimistic about politics or realistic? Defend your answer with evidence.
Scaffolded Cornell notes template (student handout)
Topic: Augustine — City of God vs City of Man
Date: _________ Class: ________
|
Notes (right column) — main points, quotes, examples
(Write lecture notes, evidence from Augustine: "love of God" quote, OT examples, conclusions)
|
Cues/Questions (left column)
(Key terms: amor Dei, typology, Abraham, Cain; Questions to study)
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Marking guide / Short rubric (for debate or written response)
| Criteria | Exemplary (A) | Proficient (B–C) |
|---|---|---|
| Understanding of Augustine’s thesis | Clear, nuanced explanation; connects loves, origins, destiny, OT typology. | Clear explanation with minor gaps; uses correct concepts. |
| Use of evidence | Quotes Augustine and OT figures accurately; ties to claims. | Uses one or two relevant passages; some linkage to claims. |
| Analysis and argument | Evaluates implications (sack of Rome, civic duty) and contrasts other thinkers. | Shows analysis; partial evaluation of implications. |
| Communication | Clear, well-structured, academic tone; appropriate length. | Generally clear, some structure issues; adequate length. |
ACARA v9 alignment (Years 8–10 English — summary)
This lesson supports outcomes such as: analysing and comparing texts; interpreting ideas and themes; using evidence to support arguments; composing structured spoken and written responses; and reflecting on context and purpose. It draws on skills of textual analysis, argumentation and synthesis across Years 8–10.
Teacher comments & 1000‑word rubric in Ally McBeal cadence (proficient → exemplary feedback)
(Read this aloud like you’re half confiding to a camera, half writing in your diary — small sighs, little rhetorical questions, a beat, then a sparkle.)
Okay. You did the work. I can see the effort — neat headings, a couple of quotes tucked in like secret notes. You walked into Augustine’s two cities with curiosity, and that is already a very good start. Now breathe. Let’s make this thoughtful, the kind of piece that rings true when you read it in five years.
Proficient: You explain Augustine’s core distinction — love of God versus love of self — and you show how that shapes the Cities’ origins and destinies. You can point to Abraham as a type of the City of God and Cain or Babel as a type of the City of Man. Your essay or debate used one or two textual extracts; they were accurate and relevant. Your reasoning is generally sound: you know that the earthly city is not condemned wholesale, that earthly goods can be good if ordered to justice and to God, and that suffering in the present world has a complex place in Augustine’s thought. Your paragraphs are usually focused; transitions mostly work. To move from competent to excellent, sharpen your readings: explain how Augustine reads Scripture typologically (OT figures both prefigure Christ and reveal mixed human motives) and how that method shapes his political argument. A clearer topic sentence in each paragraph and an anchor quote — even a short one — will help your voice settle into authority.
Exemplary: Brilliant. You don’t just describe Augustine’s two cities — you inhabit them briefly and then explain the consequences. You show that Augustine’s reading of the Old Testament is both historical and typological: Israel’s history is real history and also a pattern that points forward to the Church and the final City. You cite specific figures (Abraham, David, Cain, Babel builders) and show what they suggest about community, leadership and vocation. You link Augustine’s interpretation to the sack of Rome: instead of seeing Rome’s fall as evidence of God’s ire against Christians, Augustine reframes it as evidence that earthly security is fragile and that Christian hope is to be sought elsewhere.
Your analysis compares Augustine with Tertullian and Chrysostom — you note shared skepticism about worldly glory, but you also explain Augustine’s nuance: he allows for civic responsibility and the proper use of earthly goods, not total withdrawal. Your writing anticipates a reader’s counters: what about politics? you ask, and then answer with Augustine’s insistence on justice as a form of peace, even in imperfect institutions. Your essay demonstrates textual fluency (quotations used sparingly and precisely), structural clarity, and critical distance — you interpret Augustine, you don’t worship him. You also bring in the practical: what should Christians do? Support neighbors, pursue justice, hold false expectations lightly. That’s Augustine in practice.
Final tips (tiny stage whisper): always anchor an interpretive claim with a quote or a specific textual reference. If you name an OT figure, say why — don’t assume the reader sees Abraham as typifying faith; show how Augustine makes that move. Finally, be brave: take a position about Augustine’s politics. Is he hopeful? Skeptical? Both? Make an argument and defend it — that is the hallmark of exemplary work.
Keep going. Keep asking which love orders your own city. (Yes, that’s a lightly rhetorical nudge. Yes, I expect you to answer.)
If you’d like, I can produce a downloadable PDF of the diagram and a printable one-page student handout ready for photocopying — tell me which format (A4, Letter) and I’ll prepare it.