" "Therefore it is recorded of Cain that he built a city, but Abel was
a pilgrim, and built none. For the city of the saints is above, though it have citizens here upon
earth, wherein it lives as a pilgrim until the time of the kingdom come; and then it gathers all
the citizens together in the resurrection of the body, and gives them a kingdom to reign in with
their King for ever and ever."[CD 15:1] "
Shoah Rose Main | writings | Church Fathers |
Anti-Semitism Timeline | Church History | Christian Theologians |
Born in Northern Africa, in Tagiste, Augustine
grew up in the 'neo-Carthage' of the Roman Empire, exposed to the philosophies and religions of
the world. Augustine (354 a.d.-430 a.d.) as a young person, was never dreamed of as a
centuries-enduring theologian: he spent his youth in carnality, with an epicurean attitude.
His mother, though a devout Christian, [his father a pagan] had a great influence, which combined
with an epiphany of Christ after a libertine youth, changed Augustine into the reknown "Church Father"
that he is now known as. As a young man he was a given to Greek philosophies and "Manicheism" a persian
cult which argued for a complete, passive resignation to predestination or determination, in which no
one could be held accountable for actions of the flesh, since such control was given over to 'forces',
or in other words, a denial of a role of free-will. Atonement was not necessary, because the guilt
of the individual was not real. Encountering Christian Scripture, Augustine changed dramatically
in his thinking, although aspects of Manicheism still influenced his interpretations. After conversion,
he devoted himself to the Scriptures, and in 401 he became the Bishop of Hippo in Northern Africa.
Known eminently for his work De Civitate Dei (The City of God) (413-427) and Confessions
he bears the distinction as the theologian founding such principles as amillenialism and purgatory, a
non-scriptural concept, but one which Augustine 'reasoned' based upon his perception of God's attributes.
1
Augustine attempted through "neo-Platonic" logic [logic based upon the Greek Philosopher Plato]to argue through human rationale and philosophy for proof of the existence
of God. He is known also for his clarity and delineation of the position of the division of church and state, in
which the State not only is not to rule over the Church or "reign of God" but in which the secular state
is inferior to and separate from the Church, a principle which has been carried down to this day in
politics, law and doctrine.
