Saint Augustine and Classical Education.
In Saint Augustine's deeply personal work, Confessions, he shares the story of his life up to his eventual conversion to the Christian faith. His odyssey through life is, at times, one of bitter inner conflict between his intellect and faith. Augustine's classical education had a profound affect on the way he viewed the world, and eventually had a major affect on the way he approached Christianity. He is definitely an "intellectual" Christian, and viewed many aspects of his faith from this perspective. Augustine's attitude towards classical literature and thought was at times slightly self-contradictory. It is clear, however, that although he was grateful for the education he was given, it was not necessary to his conversion. At many points throughout his life, his education actually seemed to hinder his flight towards Christianity.
Augustine continually incorporated Bible verses and passages into his own writing, artfully blending the Scriptures in with his own views. His attitude toward intellect is best illustrated by this short passage in Corinthians:.
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"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong" -(Corinthians 25-28).
Augustine believed that the pursuit of wisdom without recognizing the importance and the power of God was useless. In his view it was a sin for a man to have that much pride and arrogance about his own intellect. Augustine recalled that as a very young man he himself succumbed to excessive pride. He fervently desired the recognition and prestige that came with being an accomplished rhetorician. He "squandered the brains [God] gave [him] on foolish delusions." (I, 37).
Augustine considered his pursuit of worldly wisdom a futile effort at this point in his life because he did not fully understand the meaning behind what he was learning.
Aurelius Augustine, later known as Augustine of Hippo or Saint Augustine, was one of the most important and well-known theologians in the history of the Christian religion. He was born on November 13, 354 AD, in Roman Empire and died on August 28, 430 AD, in Hippo Regius, Algeria. He was born as a ...
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