St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430): An introduction

Theologians (Christian)

Philosophy of Religion

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Information: This article gives a brief introduction to the life and thought of St. Augustine of Hippo. A version of this article was originally published on the website www.faithnet.org.uk.

Tiffany stained-glass window of St. Augustine, in the Lightner Museum, St. Augustine, Florida Introduction

Along with St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Augustine is generally regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in the Christian Church. However, despite his sainthood and the high regard many Christians have for him, his life was one of contrasts. Born to African parents in Numidia (modern day Algeria), Augustine was a womaniser, fathered a child outside of marriage and explored several spiritual and philosophical avenues, before embracing the Christian faith.

Influences

Although Augustine was instructed in the Christian faith from an early age (upon his devout mother's insistence), his thinking was greatly influenced by Neo-Platonism (under the influence of Plotinus (204-70CE) and Manichaeism (started by Mani (216-76CE)).

Manichaeism was a form of Christian Gnosticism, which held that matter (or the physical world) was inferior to spiritual realities. For instance, Manichaeism taught that Jesus had not to save people from their sins, but to release 'souls of light' from the prison of their bodies.

After nearly ten years in this sect, Augustine began to question their claim to be able to access absolute truth by rational means alone. In 384CE, under the influence of Bishop Ambrose (339-97CE), he finally left Manichaeism and embraced the Christian faith.

'A light of certainty entered my heart and every doubt vanished.' (Augustine)

Despite his conversion to the Christian faith and his prominent role in shaping its beliefs, his thinking was clearly influenced by these earlier influences. In particular, Augustine continued to hold that inner reflection/contemplation was greater than pursuing sensual gain. In fact, his suspicion of the sensual side of humanity formed a major part of his theological worldview.

Key writings

After his common-law wife's death, Augustine returned to Africa in 388CE where he was coerced into becoming Bishop of Hippo (396CE). It was as Bishop of Hippo that Augustine wrote his two most famous books; the Confessions (a largely autobiographical account of his life and conversion to Christianity) and City of God (a largely apologetic work defending the Christian faith against those who felt it had led to the collapse of the Roman Empire).

The centrality of faith

'Fides quarum intellectum' (Trans. 'I believe in order to understand')

For Augustine, belief was greater than human reason, and when confronting 'heretical' views in the Church he always sought to provide a scriptural foundation for his responses.

For example, against the Donatists (who believed they represented the pure and uncompromised true church), Augustine taught that the Church is a mixture of both believer and unbeliever, and that Jesus Christ alone would divide and judge people in the Last Days. Against the Pelagians (who believed that humans could attain salvation by their own means), Augustine taught that humans are fundamentally corrupt and without hope, apart from the grace of God.

The problem of evil

One of Augustine's widely studied teachings, is the the freewill defence. In response to the question of why God allows evil and suffering to occur in the world (or seems to do nothing to prevent it), Augustine's response was that evil should not be seen as something independent to God, but as that which occurs when beings choose not act as they should but for their own end (something also known as the 'privation of good' (or privatio boni)).

In contrast to Manichaeism, Augustine came to believe that evil was not an independent substance in the world, as God had only created good things (Genesis 1:31). This meant that as evil was not an independent substance, it must have come about by some other means; which Augustine argued was due to the misuse of freewill (i.e. things choosing to be other than God intending them). The most well-known biblical passage supporting this view of things is found in Genesis 3, where human disobedience is said to have corrupted both human and non-human relationships and led things to be other than God intended them to be (see Genesis 3:1-24).

As a result of their disobedience, Augustine believed humans were now bound to serve their sensual desires, and were also no longer spiritually minded. Furthermore, he argued that their rational faculty was now corrupted and they were alienated from God (physically, emotionally and spiritually). This analysis of the human condition has also been an influential teaching in various Christian denominations and sects.

Legacy

Augustine's pessimistic view of the world and fallen humanity, led him to develop and introduce doctrines which had a profoundly 'other-world' emphasis to them. For instance, when challenging the belief that Rome fell because Christianity had led people to neglect the gods, Augustine argued that Christianity was grounded in the notion that true progress was spiritual and transcended the world. He also argued that the world was a battle ground between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the World, and that true (and lasting) salvation can found only in the Church. Beliefs such as these have led many in the Church to focus their gaze more on the next life, rather than this one.

'Some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.' (Oliver Wendell Homes)