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 ...
What is Evil? From an explanation that that was given to St. Augustine, "the cause of evil is the free decision of our will, in consequence of which we act wrongly" (pg 161). In other words the decision of our will is that we make our own decisions and our destiny is what we make of it. In l...
Evil Cannot Exist. St. Augustine was one of the most influential Christian converts of his time. In his book, The Confessions, he described his life and journey towards converting to Christianity. He addressed many of the issues that arise from infancy to adolescence to adulthood. In each phase of...
According to St. Augustine, sin comes via free-will. ... In Saint Augustine Confession's, Augustine believes he stole the fruit for the mere enjoyment of the sin and the theft which the stealing involved. ... Saint Augustine had a choice, to sin or not to sin. ... When viewing the crime which Augustine committed, it is noted that Augustine acted in self-indulgence or vice. ...
St Augustine had similar beliefs as Plato. ... Augustine states that "one must believe in order to understand." ... So what Augustine is saying is that we shall love all things even if the seem to be evil, because they to severe a purpose in life. ...
St. Thomas Aquinas supports and accepts the notion of Augustine that evil is not something positive and God is not the cause of evil, because evil is not a thing. His whole answer on the problem of evil is related to God. St. Thomas Aquinas believes God did not will moral evil in any sense but only...
St. Augustine: The City of God According to St. Augustine, there have been many people and events that have helped in the establishment of philosophy and natural theology. He mentions many great thinkers before him that have contributed, such as Thales of Miletus along with his disciples Anaxim...
The Confessions of St. Augustine was not, as some scholars have claimed, the work of a weak-willed or self-indulgent man. Rather, it was the work of a very determined and self-sacrificing individual who was looking back into his sinful past. When Augustine wrote the Confessions he had already been a...
