AUGUSTINE ON THE SIN OF ANGELS AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR SIN

Résumé

The existence of the blessed angels and evil angels immediately prompts certain questions in our minds like: whether some were created blessed angels and others created evil angels? Whether evil is a thing created by God? How and why some angels sinned? What was the nature of the sin they committed? When did they sin? What was their status before they sinned? Is there a possibility of redemption for the fallen angels? Are the evil angels remorseful for their crimes? Did anything change in them after they sinned? Where are the evil angels now, if they are not in God’s presence? These and many other questions come to our minds when we consider the issue of the rebellious angels. This work attempts to answer the above questions and other related matters concerning the sin of angels as treated by Augustine, using Augustine’s thoughts on evil as a privation of good, the degree of good, the will and the abuse of the will and his actual treatment of the angelic sin.