Saint Augustine of Hippo

Saint Augustine lived from 354 A.D to 430 A.D in what is today known as Algeria. During this time Algeria was under Roman rule so he grew up speaking Latin. His father remained a pagan until just before his death, but his mother was a rather devout Christian, who was later recognized as Saint Monica by the Catholic Church. He did not become a baptized believer until 387. After his death he was made “The patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, the alleviation of sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses” (‘Know your Patron Saint’, n.d.). In his early years he was a Manichean, mostly concerned with the doctrine of conflict between light and dark, or good and evil. It was the belief that “one’s soul is pure light in the physical world of darkness, where the soul can be liberated to join the perfect original light” (Livermore, 2009). In the end however, Manichaeism was wholly unsatisfying to Augustine. Shortly thereafter, he encountered writings on the Platonists, which greatly influenced his thinking and would eventually influence his theology, which still exists today (Mendelson, 2010).

Augustine became a theological philosopher and we have much to credit him in the way of theology, the most significant being the doctrine of the Trinity. However Augustine as a philosopher is well known as a Neo-Platonist. Augustine helped merge Greek philosophical tradition and the Judeo-Christian religious and scriptural traditions. He was always concerned with the problem of evil, and how to make sense of a world that was “fraught with danger, a world in which so much of what matters most to us is so easily lost” (Confessions, 1994).  In the Confessions, his autobiography that outlines his journey physically, spiritually and theologically, Augustine tells us about his conversion. Augustine credits Neo-Platonism with allowing him to see faith as intellectually satisfying and credible (Mendelson, 2010). Neo-Platonism states that there is a separation between the physical / sensible and the intelligible / spiritual. However, it is not completely distinct because as you journey up a hierarchy, these two realms come together more and more until they reach perfect unity. Augustine saw this unity of spiritual and material in God. Because of the original sin, we have a tendency to simply see the material world, which is only a small portion of what is real. However, because our souls are rational and intellectual, we can look at the world around us and see it pointing to something greater and more spiritual (Mendelson, 2010). Evil comes when we attach ourselves to something inferior (i.e. something material here on Earth) believing it deserves to be something higher (Mendelson, 2010). Although greatly influenced by Neo-Platonism, he still differed in certain areas as he went deeper in his faith. He stayed on the more biblical side of Neo-Platonism, while others went as far as saying the goal in life was “not just to exist, but to be God” (Cooper, 2002).

“The discovery of the importance of Christ as the only way drove Augustine beyond the Platonic books…While the Neo-Platonist might speak the truth about God’s nature, they lack the means of access to it. Neo-Platonism is incomplete; its underlying weakness is that it is theoretical, without the power to instigate right action” (Rist, 1994). Augustine managed to overcome philosophical ideals and found that the state of his soul was not his alone. Today we can use Augustine as an example of one that was exposed to different philosophies but contributed much to the church. His writings made the gospel very clear to his readers, even those immersed in Greek philosophies. His life outlines several lessons for us as Christians. Augustine demonstrates how worldly knowledge can be used to connect and even lead us to God. Paul stated in his letter to the Corinthians that he had “become all things to all people so that by all possible means [he] might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22, NIV). Augustine’s search through Neo-Platonism pointed him towards God (Mendelson, 2010). However, there also comes a time where we need to move beyond what the world may think. Augustine was influenced by Neo-Platonism but also moved beyond it. A single human idea cannot encompass all of God. We need to be willing to see the Bible for what it is and realize that our ideas may point to truth but are not the ultimate source of truth.

Saint Augustine