The City of God - Book 1

"Augustine censures the pagans, who attribute the calamities of the work, and especially the sack of Rome by the Goths, to the Christian religion and its prohibition of the worship of the gods."

In this book, Augustine talks about the reasons the good suffer along with the bad in calamities.  "Christians should humbly consider those very sins which have provoked God to fill the earth with such terrible disasters."  Every man not matter how strident they pursue holiness falls short and and "yields in some points to the lust of the flesh." 

When the Christian suffers in these calamities do they loose "Their faith? Their godliness? Their possessions of the hidden man of the heart, which sight of God are a great price?"  Under persecution, no one looses Christ by confessing him.

Man lives every day under the casualties of life and is not certain that he will be blessed with another day.  Man should not inquire what death they are to die but where that death will usher him.  One thing is for sure they will only have to go through that ordeal once, because  after that is eternity in the presence of God.  "...Since Christians are aware of that death of the godly pauper whose sores the dogs licked was far better then of the wicked rich man who lay in purple and fine linen, what harm could these terrific deaths do to the dead who had lived well.

Later, Augustine goes on to discuss whether or not a virtuous, Christian woman who is attacked by a ruthless evil soldier and raped can maintain her virtuosity.  Would this soldiers sin be counted against her also.  Of course the answer is no.  As long as she did not desire for the action to take place then she is not culpable.  Because of this she should also not consider suicide to rid herself of the sin because she had not sinned in the first place and because she would be committing a greater sin.