History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution — Volume 1MacCaffrey, James
Religion
History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution — Volume 1
MacCaffrey, James
Catholic Church -- History -- Modern period, 1500-
Like Baius Jansen refused to recognise that in the condition of
innocence, in which man was constituted before the Fall, he was
endowed with numerous gifts and graces, that were pure gifts of God in
no way due to human nature. Hence he maintained that by the sin of our
First Parents human nature was essentially corrupted, and man fell
helplessly under the control of concupiscence, so that, do what he
would, he must of necessity sin. There was therefore in man an
irresistible inclination impelling him towards evil, to counteract
which Grace was given as a force impelling him towards good, with the
result that he was drawn necessarily towards good or evil according to
the relative strength of these two conflicting delectations. It
followed from this that merely sufficient grace was never given. If
the Grace was stronger than the tendency towards evil it was
efficacious; if it was weaker it was not sufficient. Yet, whether he
acted under the impulse of Grace or of concupiscence, man acted
freely, because, according to Jansen, absence of all external pressure
was all that was required to make an act free and worthy of praise or
blame.
The book /Augustinus/ created a profound sensation among theologians.
It was hailed as a marvel of learning and ability by those who were
still attached secretly to the school of Baius as well as by the
enemies of the Jesuits. A new edition appeared in Paris only to be
condemned by the Holy Office (1641) and by Urban VIII. in the Bull,
/In Eminenti/ (1642). Various difficulties were raised against the
acceptance of the papal decision in Louvain and in the Netherlands,
and it was only after a long delay and by threats of extreme measures
that the Archbishop of Mechlin and those who followed him were obliged
to submit (1653).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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