Augustine of Hippo.

Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo Born in 354 A.D.
Father – Roman Official, but followed the pagan traditions Mother – Monica, fervant Christian, whose prayers for her husbands conversion were answered. It seems that Augustine was not close to his father, because there is very little mention of him in his writings. His mother plays a very important role in his life.

The Early Years of Augustine
Augustine was a very gifted child and his parents sought the very best education for him. Thus, they sent him to the nearby town Madura and then onto Carthage. Augustine was 17 when he arrived in Carthage. He arrived at a time when Carthage was booming politically, economically, and culturally.

Augustine in College Augustine was a good student and was disciplined in his studies, but he was also like any college student. Wanted to have fun as well. He set out to enjoy the pleasures that the city offered. He found himself with a concubine who ended up getting pregnant. They would name the child, Adeodatus – or given by God.

Augustine In College Most of the young men around him were preparing to be a lawyer or public functionaries. Augustine was preparing to be a student of rhetoric. What exactly is rhetoric? This discipline was learning how to speak and to write elegantly and convincingly. There was no time for truth, that was left for professors of philosophy

Augustine In College One of the books or teachers that Augustine was required to read was Cicero. Cicero was a famous orator of classical Rome. But Cicero was also a philosopher. It was while reading Cicero that Augustine discovered that proper speech and style was not enough, but that he needed truth. Thus in his search for truth, it led Augustine to Manicheism.

Augustine’s Search for Truth
What exactly Manicheism? Origin is Persian, founded by Mani in the third century. Mani said that the human predicament is the presence in each of us of two principles. The two principles are: Light is Spiritual and Darkness is matter. Throughout the universe there are these two principles: Light and Darkness which are eternal. According to the Manicheans, somehow these two have mingled and the present human condition is the result of this admixture of light and dark.

Manicheism cont’d: Salvation consists of the separation of these two elements and preparing our spirit for its return to the realm of pure light which it will be absorbed. Any new mingling of the principles is evil, thus true believers must avoid procreation. This was all revealed to Mani through a series of prophets, including Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus and Mani himself.

Manicheism had spread throughout the Mediterranean basin in Augustine’s time. Why was it so appealing? It claimed to be eminently rational. Much like gnosticism earlier, it supported many of its teachings on astronomical observation. It would also ridicule the teachings of Christianity, particularly the Bible, which was mocked for it’s primitive language and materialism.

Augustine seemed to lean towards Manicheism because of the difficulties he found with Christianity. The two issues he had with Christianity were: (1) Being a student of rhetoric, he saw the Bible as a series of inelegant writings – some even barbaric – in which the rules of good style were seldom followed and where there was crude episodes of violence, rape, deceit and the like. (2) The origin of evil. Augustine’s mom taught him that there was only one God.

But Augustine saw evil all around him and wondered what the source of evil was. If God was supreme and pure goodness, evil could not be a divine creation. But on the other hand, if all things were created by the divine, God could not be as good as Monica and the church claimed. Manicheism’s answers both of these on two points, The Bible is not in fact the word of eternal principle of light nor was evil a creation of that principle, but rather a principle of darkness.

Augustine became a Manichee. But Augustine always had his doubts, thus for nine years he would be known as a “hearer,” but did not seek to join the ranks of the “perfect” On one occasion at the Manichean gatherings, he voiced his doubts. He was told that a great teacher, Faustus, could answer these questions. When Faustus arrived, Augustine was ready to seek answers for the questions he had. Faustus did not have the answers to Augustine’s questions and he saw him as no better than the other teachers

Augustine was disappointed and decided to carry on his search for truth elsewhere. Those students who he was teaching in Carthage were unruly and a career in Rome seemed more promising. But a career in Rome did not pan out what he hoped it would. His students were better, but they were slow in paying him. He would eventually move to Milan, where there happened to be a vacancy in teaching rhetoric.

While in Milan, Augustine would become a Neoplatonist. Neoplatonism had religious overtones, which could’ve been the reason why Augustine leaned towards it. Neoplatonism said that through a combination of study, discipline and mystical contemplation, it ultimately seeks to reach the ineffable One, the source of all being. The goal was the ecstasy the one experiences when lost in such contemplation.

Unlike Manicheism, Neoplatonism affirmed only one principle: all reality was derived from it through a series of emanations – much like concentric circles that appear on the surface of water. Those circles closer to the One are superior and those that are more removed from it are inferior. Evil, according to Neoplatonism, does not orignate from a different source, but consists of moving away from the One and turning one’s gaze to the inferior realms of multiplicity.

This seemed to answer Augustine’s vexing questions to the origin of evil. From the perspective of Neoplatonism, one could assert that a single being, of infinite goodness, was the source of all things, and at the same time acknowledge the presence of evil in creation. Neoplatonism does not deny evil its reality, it does say it’s real, it is a direction away from the goodness of the One.

Neoplatonism also helped Augustine to view both God and the soul in less materialistic terms than those he had learned from the Manichees. However, there was still a doubt in Augustine’s mind: How can one claim that the Bible, with its crude language and its stories of violence and falsehood, is the Word of God? This is where Ambrose of Milan plays a part in Augustine’s conversion.

Augustine and Ambrose Monica, Augustine’s mother, insisted that he goes to listen one of Ambrose’s sermons. Augustine agreed because it allowed him, as a professor of rhetoric, to hear the most famous speaker in Milan. Augustine’s purpose was not to listen to what he said, but how he said it, because he was a teacher of rhetoric. But as time went on, Augustine found that he was listening to Ambrose less as a professional and more of a seeker.

Augustine and Ambrose Ambrose interpreted many of those passages that Augustine had a problem with allegorically. Augustine saw this as perfectly acceptable according the the rules of rhetoric. So at this point the intellectual problems that Augustine had with Christianity. But Augustine still found difficulties in becoming a Christian. He didn’t want to be a lukewarm Christian. If he were to become a Christian, he would devote himself to it wholeheartedly and devote his entire life to it.

Augustine’s Struggles
Due to the prevalence of the monastic ideal and Augustine’s Neoplatonic perspective, Augustine convinced himself that he were to become a Christian, he would have to give up his position as a rhetoric teacher, as well as his ambitions and every physical pleasure. This last requirement seemed the most difficult for Augustine. Later in life, Augustine would write that at that time he would pray, “Give me chastity and continence; but not too soon.” This battle within Augustine would rage internally. It would be a struggle of willing and not willing

Augustine’s Struggles and Conversion
He couldn’t hide from the intellectual difficulties. Furthermore, there was a news that would put him to shame. Philosopher Marius Victorinus, who translated into Latin the works of the Neoplatonists, presented himself to the church and made a public profession of his faith. Then two high civil servants after reading Athanasius’ Life of Saint Anthony, abandoned their careers and honors in order to follow Anthony’s example. After this, Augustine could not tolerate the company of his friends or himself and he fled to a garden, where his conversion took place.

Augustine’s Conversion
While in the Garden, Augustine says “How long, Lord, how long? Will it be tomorrow and always tomorrow? Why does my uncleanliness not end this very moment?” He then would pick up where he left off in a manuscript of the apostle Paul: “Not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” Augustine would soon devote himself to the service of God.

Augustine: The Later Years
After Augustine was converted, he went to Ambrose where he requested Baptism, which he received along with his son Adeodatus He resigned from his teaching post. He would then set out with Monica, Adeodatus and a group of friends, and went to North Africa. Augustine’s goal would be to spend the rest of his life there in a monastic retreat.

Monica asked Augustine to dismiss his concubine of many years, Augustine does not even mention her name. His return to Africa would be interrupted at the seaport of Ostia, because Monica was ill and died. Augustine was so overcome with grief that it was necessary for him and his companions to remain in Rome for several months.

When he finally reached Tagaste, he would sell most of his property that he had inherited, gave some of the money to the poor, and with the rest of the money he settled at Cassiciacum with his son, who soon die shortly thereafter Augustine and his few friends sought not extreme rigorism of the monks of the desert, but rather an orderly life, with no unnecessary comforts and devoted entirely to devotions, study and meditation.

It would be here that Augustine would being his first Christian works. His writings still had a Neoplatonic stamp, but he saw the differences between the two.

Augustine: Minister and Theologian
But Augustine’s wishes to remain quiet and just write would not be so. His popularity was spreading and there were some who had other designs for his life. In 391, he went to the city of Hippo to hopefully invite a friend to come join him in the small community at Cassiciacum. He visited a church at Hippo and the bishop is Valerius.

Augustine: Minister and Theologian
On this particular Sunday, Valerius was preaching and saw Augustine in the crowd. He would ask the congregation to pray for God’s guidance for the flock and, then asked the congregation to pray for God’s guidance in case there was among them someone sent to be their minister. The congregation responded to Valerius’ request and Augustine, who was reluctant to become bishop would be ordained to serve with Valerius in Hippo. 4 years later he would be bishop jointly with Valerius, who feared that another church would steal his catch. In this time it was forbidden for a bishop to leave for another church. Thus when Augustine was ordained bishop, he would spend the rest of his life there.

Augustine: Bishop of Hippo
There was also a rule that no church could have 2 bishops though Augustine nor Valerius was aware of this rule. After Valerius died, Augustine would remain bishop at Hippo. He wanted to retain as much of the life he had in Cassiciacum. But he knew his energies had to be directed less toward contemplation and more towards the duty of the pastor. It would be these responsibilities that he wrote most of the works that made him the most influential theologian in the entire Latin-speaking church since NT times

His early writings were attempts to refute the Manichees. He lead many of his friends to this religion and he felt that it was his responsibility to refute these teachings. These early works dealt with the authority of Scripture, the origin of evil and free will.

The question of the freedom of the will was of particular importance in the polemics against the Manichees. The Manichees held that everything was predetermined and human beings had no freedom. Augustine would become the champion of the freedom of the will. According to Augustine, human freedom is such that it is its own cause. When we act freely, we are not moved by something either outside or inside us, as by a necessity, but rather by our own will.

The Freedom of the Wil A decision is free inasmuch as it is not the product of nature, but of the will itself. This does not mean that circumstances do not influence of decisions. What it does mean is that only that which we decide out of our own will, and not out of circumstance or out of an inner necessity, is properly called free.

The Origin of Evil This discussion on the freedom of the will helped solve the difficulties of the problem of evil. Augustine insisted that there was only one God, who goodness is infinite. How is the problem of evil explained? Augustine would simply affirm that the will is created by God, and therefore is good; but that the will is capable of making its own decisions. It is good for the will to be free, even though that means that such a free will can produce evil.

The Origin of Evil The origin of evil, then, is to be found in the bad decisions made by both human and angelic wills – those of the demons, who are fallen angels. Thus, Augustine was able to affirm both the reality of evil and the creation of all things by a good God. The Manichees implied that evil is a substance when speaking of it as a principle of darkness.

Augustine vs. Donatism Donatism was a movement earlier that spread throughout Northern Africa, where Augustine was pastor. Augustine had to deal with various issues raised by Donatists. One of those issues concerned whether ordinations conferred by unworthy bishops were valid. Augustine responded that the validity of any rite of the church does not depend on the moral virtue of the person administering it.

Augustine vs. Donatism If this were so, Christians would live in constant doubt of the validity of their baptism. No matter how unworthy the celebrant, the rite is still valid, although obviously the celebrant is at fault. On the point above, most of the Western church agreed with Augustine. These views on the validity of sacraments became normative in the West. It was during this time that Augustine developed his theory on just war.

Augustine and Just War He saw the Donatists resort to violence in some of their movements. Augustine said that a war can be just if it meets certain conditions; These conditions are: A war is never just when its purpose is to satisfy territorial ambition or mere exercise of power. A just war must be waged by properly instituted authority Even in the midst of the violence that is a necessary part of war, the motive of love must be central.

Augustine vs. Pelagianism
Pelagianism would be where Augustine would devote most of his writings to. Pelagius was a monk from Britain who had become famous for his piety (faith) and simplicity. Pelagius believed that in the Christian life one could overcome one’s sins and salvation attained: he believed one could be perfect and sinless.

Pelagianism Pelagius did agree with Augustine that God did make us free and that the source of evil is in the will. Therefore, he saw that human beings always had the ability to overcome their sin. Otherwise, sin would be excusable. However, Augustine remembered his experience of the time when he both willed and did not will to become a Christian.

According to Augustine, there are times when the will is powerless against the hold sin has on it. The will is not always sits own master, for it is clear that the will to will does not always have its way The power of sin is such that it takes hold of our will, and as long as we are under its sway we cannot move our will to be rid of it. The most we can do, according to Augustine, is that struggle between willing and not willing, which does little more than show the powerlessness of our will against itself. The sinner can will nothing but sin.

Augustine vs. Pelgianism
However, this does not mean that freedom has disappeared. The sinner can still choose between various alternatives. But all of these are sin, and the one alternative that is not open is to cease sinning. In Augustine’s words, before the Fall we were free to both sin and not to sin. But between the Fall and redemption the only freedom left to us is the freedom to sin. When we are redeemed, the grace of God works in us, leading our will from the miserable state in which it found itself to a new state in which freedom is restored, so that we are now free both to sin and not to sin. When in heaven, we shall still be free, but only free not to sin.

This does not mean our freedom is destroyed. On the contrary, in heaven we shall continue to have free choices, but none of them will be sin. So, let’s apply this to the moment of conversion, how can we make the decision to accept grace? According to Augustine, only by the power of grace itself, for before that moment we are not free not to sin, and therefore we are not free to decide to accept grace. The initiative in conversion is not human, but divine. Furthermore, grace is irresistible and God gives it to those who have been predestined to it.

In contrast, Pelagius claimed that each of us comes to the world with complete freedom to sin, or not to sin. There is no such thing as original sin, nor a corruption of human nature that forces us to sin. Children have no sin until they, on their own free will, decide to sin. So, according to Pelagius, we come into the world with a clean slate. There is a possibility to him that one could possibly not sin.

This controversy would last several years, before being rejected. Pelagianism simply did not take into account the terrible hold of sin on human will, nor the corporate nature of sin, which is manifest even in infants before they have an opportunity to sin for themselves. But Augustine’s view did not gain wide acceptance either. He was accused of being an innovator.

Vincent of Lerins, of Southern France, where the opposition was strongest, suggested that one should believe only what has been held “always, everywhere, and by all.” Many contested Augustine’s view that the beginning of faith was in God’s action rather than in human decision. These opponents of Augustine’s doctrine of predestination were called Semi-Pelagians. Through the years, Augustine was reinterpreted, they would call themselves “Augustinian” while rejecting his views on irresistible grace and predestination.

In 529, at the Synod of Orange upheld Augustine’s doctrine of primacy of grace in the process of salvation, but left aside the more radical consequences of that doctrine.

Augustine’s Most Famous Works
Two of Augustine’s works: Confessions and The City of God. In Confessions, Augustine recounts his spiritual autobiography, which is addressed in prayer to God. In it, it tells how God led him to faith through a long and painful pilgrimage. It is unique in its genre in all ancient literature, and even to this day it witnesses to Augustine’s profound psychological and intellectual insight.

The City of God was written shortly after the fall of Rome in A.D. 410. Many thought that the Roman empire fell because they abandoned their pagan gods and turned to Christianity. It was in response to this that Augustine wrote The City of God This was a encyclopedic history in which he claims there are two cities: the City of God built on Love and the city of man built on love of self.

In human history, the two cities always appear mingled with each other. In spite of this, there was a war to death and in the end, only the city of God will remain. There have been multiple nations and kingdoms throughout history but at the end of history, the kingdom of God will stand. In the case of Rome, God let it flourish so they could serve their means of spreading the Gospel. But now that this purpose has been fulfilled, God has let Rome follow their destiny of all human kingdoms, which is no more than just punishment for their sins.

Augustine: the Final Years
Augustine was the last of the great leaders of the Imperial Church in the West. When he died, the Vandals had surrounded the gates at Hippo. Yet his work is not forgotten among the ruins of a crumbling civilization We’ll see in the middle ages, that Augustine is the most quoted theologian and he became one of the great doctors of the Roman Catholic Church, but also a favorite among Protestant reformers. Thus Augustine becomes one of the most influential theologian in the entire Western church, both Protestant and Catholic

Augustine of Hippo.

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