St Pelagius

Pelagius greatly disturbs the church in the 5th century. He was a British monk, visited Rome in AD 400. He was grief/ shock at the sinful life of Christians in Rome. When he asked them about their immoral life they say that it is impossible to live better lives because of the sinfulness of human nature, second excuses they said was that the fall of Adam effected man, so it was not their false. So he began to teach the sufficiency of free will, without depending on supernatural grace. Pelagius rejected the concept of original sin.

His Teachings on Sin and Grace: In 410 AD he came to Africa, where he met Augustine with him he had sharp controversy. The conflicting issues were on three points:

• Original sin
• Freedom of will
• Necessity of divine grace for salvation

Original Sins: Pelagius rejected the concept of original sin. He taught man is born without original sin because God created each soul individually. Adam's sin did not affect the human race, but affected himself/Adam.

Freedom of the Will: secondly Pelagius taught that man is born neutral with the ability and freedom to choose good and evil (i.e. Man is born with freedom of will) each person has the capacity for good and evil. Therefore a sinless life possible.

The necessity of divine grace for salvation: Pelagius denies the necessity of divine grace and help for salvation. Pelagius taught that God's grace is helpful in overcoming evil in life, but it is unnecessary for salvation because man could choose with his own ability. Another thing is that Pelagius also denies the necessity of infant baptism, because he denied the concept of original sin. He said infant baptism was a merely a dedicatory rites.