were idolators, they married gentiles, they failed to observe the Law. God's purposes were centred
on the Jews, but, since righteousness is the greatest of goods, and is achieved through tribulation,
they must first be chastised, and must recognize their chastisement as a mark of God's paternal
love.
Christians put the Church in place of the Chosen People, but except in one respect this made little
difference to the psychology of sin. The Church, like the Jews, suffered tribulation; the Church
was troubled by heresies; individual Christians fell into apostasy under the stress of persecution.
There was, however, one important development, already made, to a great extent, by the Jews, and
that was the substitution of individual for communal sin. Originally, it was the Jewish nation that
sinned, and that was collectively punished; but later sin became more personal, thus losing its
political character. When the Church was substituted for the Jewish nation, this change became
essential, since the Church, as a spiritual entity, could not sin, but the individual sinner could
cease to be in communion with the Church. Sin, as we said just now, is connected with self-
importance. Originally the importance was that of the Jewish nation, but subsequently it was that
of the individual--not of the Church, because the Church never sinned. It thus came about that
Christian theology had two parts, one concerned with the Church, and one with the individual
soul. In later times, the first of these was most emphasized by Catholics, and the second by
Protestants, but in Saint Augustine both exist equally, without his having any sense of
disharmony. Those who are saved are those whom God has predestined to salvation; this is a
direct relation of the soul to God. But no one will be saved unless he has been baptized, and
thereby become a member of the Church; this makes the Church an intermediary between the soul
and God.
Sin is what is essential to the direct relation, since it explains how a beneficent Deity can cause
men to suffer, and how, in spite of this, individual souls can be what is of most importance in the
created world. It is therefore not surprising that the theology upon which the Reformation relied
should be due to a man whose sense of sin was abnormal.
So much for the pears. Let us now see what the Confessions have to say on some other subjects.