An Overview of Augustine of Hippo, with Dr. Phillip Cary

I. Augustine's Pervasive Influence on Western Thought.

A. Some sample themes of Augustine's thought.

1. The inner presence of God

a. For Augustine, God was a reality dwelling inside of man.

This was new for his time.

2. Grace as divine inward help!

a. For Augustine, grace was not a forgiving attitude from God but a force that comes from God. Much like the Holy Spirit as a person, so was Grace for Augustine. It will be this concept of Grace that underlies much of his doctrine.

3. Free Will

a. As we will see, Augustine did believe in Free Will.

b. You might ask, how do we reconcile Free Will with Predestination? Wait and see.

4. Outward signs and inner world.

a. You will recognize this doctrine as "Outward signs of inward Grace" in todays denominational world.

B. Some Uncomfortable (but interesting) themes

1. Predestination

a. Augustine borrowed from Cicero in developing his doctrine of Predestination.

b. For the Bible study, the mis-use of Romans 8: 28-30 ought to be uncomfortable at the least. (See Romans 8.ff)

2. Sin as heart's loss: the inability to love what we most desire.

a. Invented to doctrine of Original sin that corrupts the human mind.

3. The Restless heart: our hearts are restless until they rest in God (the opening of the confessions)

4. God as our goal, truth, Wisdom, and Love, etc.

II. Augustine's Location in Western Intellectual History

A. Augustine's period called late antiquity, is the turning point between the classical period and the Middle Ages.

B. Augustine inherits the riches of classical Roman Culture.

C. Augustine is one of the Founders of medieval culture.

III. The Church Fathers (first five centuries A.D.)

A. The Church Fathers are ancient, Authoritative interpreters of the Christian Bible, according to the Roman Catholics.

B. According to the Roman Catholics, The Church Fathers are formulators of Christian doctrine (moving from the Biblical Story to the theological doctrine).

1. Example: the Nicene Creed (Christ is "one of essence with the Father").

2. Example: the doctrine of the Trinity (God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God).

C. Augustine as Church Father

1. Augustine was an inheritor of the doctrine of the Trinity

2. Augustine's early focus on the inner connection between God and the soul.

IV. Augustine's Project: Relationship of the Inward and the External

A. Exploring the inner depths

1. Augustine's Soliloquies: is an inward dialogue.

2. A Must read

3. In Augustine's Soliloquies a mysterious character named Reason enters the scene.

4. Augustine's Soliloquies: Augustine wants to know nothing but God and the soul.

B. External things of the Christian Faith

1. The year after Augustine's death the Council of Ephesus (431) formulates the doctrine that Christ's flesh is "life giving flesh."

a. It ought not take a brain to understand where this doctrine expresses its self.

2. Other examples of the external things of the Christian Faith all stem from the Incarnation i.e., from Christ's life-giving flesh: Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, the words of the Bible (containing the gospel story of Christ), the Christian Sacraments (especially the Eucharist), the Church as the Body of Christ, etc.

C. Augustine's project is to understand how these external things are connected with internal relationship between God and the soul.

V. Some Key Terminology

A. Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity

B. Roman Catholics and Protestants fall under Western Christianity.

C. In Augustine's time, Catholic meant orthodox and hence is broader in meaning than Roman Catholic.

D. orthodox (small o) includes Protestants and Roman Catholics as well as Eastern Orthodox (capital O)

E. Heretic is not equivalent to non-Christian or Pagan: It denotes a Christian who teaches the wrong things about the Christian Faith.

VI. An Invitation to Join Augustine the Explorer

Must Read

Pelikan, The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition, Chapter 4.

The History of Predestination