Church Fathers Do You Find the Most

¶ … CHURCH FATHERS DO YOU FIND THE MOST INSPIRING AND WHY? THE COURSE IS NAVIGATING CHURCH HISTORY. Cairns, Earle. E. (1996). Christianity Through Centuries: A History Christian Church. (Third edition).

Saint Augustine of Hippo

The majority of people have a tendency to perceive a church father as being a person obsessed with religion and dedicated to promoting God's words regardless of the fact that they agree to them or not. However, there are some influential individuals in the history of Christianity who actually went much further than to act in agreement with stereotypes and who challenged most people's understanding of Christian thinking. Augustine of Hippo is one of the most influential characters in the history of Western Christianity and he is largely responsible for thinking in a series of modern-day Christians, taking into account that he made it possible for people to employ rational thinking when coming across Christian ideas.

Background

Aurelius Augustinus was born in the Roman Empire and lived there from 354 to 430, his main influences being Roman thinking and the Roman society as a whole. While he was attracted to religious ideas throughout his life, it was not until 386 that he converted to Christianity. He focused on Macheanan religious thoughts until that time, but the fact that this was a pagan religion influenced him to express interest in other ideologies. He became the Bishop of the City of Hippo as a result of his extensive work in interpreting and producing Christian ideas and thus came to be known as Augustine of Hippo (Augustine).

In addition to being a passionate Christian, Augustine was also concerned about other domains and his writings reflect the complex nature of his thinking. "Augustine's work in metaphysics, ethics, and politics remain important today. Key among these accomplishments are his metaphysical analysis of time, his ethical analysis of the evil, and his examination of the conditions for justified war" (Augustine). This makes it possible for people to understand that this person is not only important because of his contribution to Christianity, as he also played an important role in assisting humanity experience progress by introducing a series of ideas that motivated the masses to become active members of the social order.

The fact that Augustine had a complex background in analyzing moral and rational theories meant that he would be especially proficient in interpreting Christian thinking. This was something very important, given that Christianity was a young religion in the fourth century and that society had a limited understanding of what it was meant to represent exactly. "Augustine produced a sophisticated interpretation of Christian thinking by merging it with the philosophy of Plato and Neoplatonism" (Augustine).

While Christianity had already gathered a significant number of followers until that time, very little of them were actually capable to produce complex thinking with regard to this religious ideology. Augustine virtually managed to take Christianity to a whole new level by introducing ideas that reinforced most of its theories and that enabled people to gain a better understanding of the concepts that the religion was meant to put across (Augustine). Considering this, it only seems natural for someone to consider that this person is one of the most inspirational characters in all of history and that he is largely responsible for changing society's tendency to discriminate Christians. The fact that the social order came to acknowledge the positive ideas present in Christian thinking practically fueled the masses in expressing more and more interest in the religion.

In spite of the fact that he was named a Bishop in the African town of Hippo, Augustine did not think of himself as of a person who knew all there was to know about Christianity. He actually considered that one should never stop learning and that it was essential for him to dedicate a significant amount of time to studying the Bible. This was not something surprising when coming from him, as he was accustomed to portion his time with the purpose of having a lot of time for learning (Green vii).

III. Three of his principal theories

One of the main reasons for which Augustine abandoned Manicheanism in favor of Christianity was the fact that he did not believe that there was an evil God. Instead, he believed that immoral things happened because people wanted them to and that Adam was the perfect example of a person making a bad choice on account of his thinking. Augustine provided a theory regarding how each person is capable to control his or her own life and that his or her life experiences reflect the nature of his or her choices (Von Dehsen 16).

Augustine often came across the presumption that the moral nature of priests made it impossible for them to be able to enact God's words. As a consequence, many believed that priests were not capable to administer sacraments because were sinners and thus unworthy to pose in extremely religious persons. According to Augustine, "the Church would always be a "mixed" community, composed out of the righteous and repentant sinners" (Von Dehsen 16). The Saint largely believed that the masses needed to concentrate on the purpose of the Church rather than to focus on the people who administered it.

Another idea that Augustine focused on regards the inherent sinner attitude present in all people. He considered that it was absurd for people to think that they could actually contribute to their own salvation and that humanity simply needed to accept that everyone is a sinner, regardless of their background or other factors that might be associated with them. He lobbied with the purpose of having people accept that there was much more to religion than they were inclined to think and actually felt that individuals needed to employ open-minded thinking in trying to interpret Christian ideas (Von Dehsen 16).

IV. His thoughts into writing

"Confessions" (397)

"Confessions" is an autobiographical text that is composed out of thirteen books and is meant to provide readers with information regarding how Augustine did not want the rest of the world to perceive him as being a saint. This is largely considered to be among the first Western autobiographies and displays a great deal of ideas that Augustine accumulated before he converted to Christianity. Although it is obvious throughout the manuscript that the Saint was determined to have readers understand that he had a troubled past that was practically in disagreement with many Christian concepts, he emphasized that it was wrong for someone to take on such attitudes, as employing Christian thinking was apparently much more beneficial for an individual.

When analyzing this text, it becomes obvious that Augustine was, in point of fact, more concerned about explaining his past than in speaking with regard to the factors that influenced him to take on Christian thinking. The Saint was not necessarily interested in Manichean thinking or in any other religions before he became a Christian. It was rhetoric and skepticism that actually dominated his thinking during that period.

The fact that Augustine had a complex background and that he was well-acquainted with the material aspect of society makes this person even more intriguing when regarding things from the perspective of someone interested in Church Fathers. This individual did not attempt to portray himself as a pious person and his writing of "Confessions" demonstrates that he wanted people to be familiar with his past. He was more concerned about teaching people concerning moral and rational thinking rather than to influence them in believing that he was a saint and that everything he said was true. He wanted the masses to be actively involved in interpreting Christian ideas.

"Confessions" is the story of a man who could achieve success in a series of fields, but focused on acting in agreement with Christian thinking in order to do so. His background in rhetoric was especially important when considering that it prepared him to deal with all sorts of situations. However, he abandoned rhetoric in favor of Christianity and started to focus on helping people help themselves rather than on influencing the masses in believing that it was only normal for them to act in accordance with his thinking. Augustine practically wanted people to be capable to interpret theories on themselves instead of to believe what other people are saying simply because these individuals have a higher social status.

Throughout "Confessions" it is visible that Augustine considers rhetoric to be immoral in character and that he is apparently sorry to have been a fan of the domain for a significant part of his life. However, it appears that he is not necessarily interested in criticizing the domain as a whole, as he really wants to address particular aspects of the concept. He acknowledges that rhetoric can influence people to lose touch with themselves and with moral thinking. As a consequence, he feels that it is essential for individuals to be capable to filter information in order to only adopt rhetorical attitudes that reflect positively on themselves and on society as a whole.

From Augustine's point-of-view, rhetoric was immoral because it provided people with the means to win in most debates that they came across regardless if they were right or not. This meant that some could abuse it and that these scrupulous people could actually have a negative influence on the masses. Rhetoric promoted public speaking to the level of it being an art and thus provided liars and individuals who wanted to trick others in general with the opportunity to influence anyone, regardless of the person's background. Christianity thus came to induce ideas in Augustine that were in harsh disagreement with concepts related to rhetoric. It was then when he realized that rhetoric could be particularly harmful if it was used by individuals who were only interested in their personal well-being.

"City of God"

While "Confessions" provided Augustine's readers with the chance to gain a more complex understanding of the wrongness related to only expressing interest in material values, "City of God" takes them to a whole new level by explaining what Christianity actually meant. The fact that this religion had become the new official religion throughout the Roman Empire influenced some in converting because of the political benefits that they associated with this process.

Augustine observed that Romans were generally inclined to consider that it was in their best interest to focus on serving a material leader rather than to serve a spiritual one. As a consequence, many felt that Rome fell because Christianity induced ideas that prevented the masses from understanding the importance of patriotism. People apparently felt less determination to protect Rome, as they believed that it was much more important for them to identify with a higher power.

"City of God" goes at presenting readers with the fact that there are a series of connections between many common concepts and religion. He was mainly inspired by Plato in writing this text, as the Ancient Greek philosopher claimed that it would be absurd for someone to believe that a person could owe complete loyalty to a community that was led by humans. Augustine wanted people to be able to differentiate between their mission to act in agreement with laws promoted by the earthly city that they lived in and their mission to act in accordance with legislations promoted by the heavenly city that they considered themselves a part of.

People need to create a balance between the city of the world and the city of heaven that they aspired to. Even with this, they needed to express more interest in focusing on being able to inhabit the city of heaven, as despite the fact that this location did not provide material values, it made it possible for them to reach a higher status where they would be enabled to differentiate between right and wrong. Augustine wanted "City of God" to provide humanity with the chance to choose which city it wanted to inhabit and he concentrated on complexly describing the benefits associated with each city in order for individuals to be able to understand the benefits and disadvantages connected to each choice.

From Augustine's perspective, humanity had a poor understanding of history and of what it meant to represent. He believed that it was expected to explain God's plan concerning the world and that it was designed like a map that showed each of the strategies that God would use in order to gather souls that would actually be worthy to stay in Heaven.

While "City of God" is largely meant to discuss with regard to history and God's greater scheme meant to filter moral individuals from persons who are only interested in their personal well-being, there is also another reason for which Augustine wrote this text. He felt that Romans were inclined to attribute too much importance to the fall of Rome, as this was, from Augustine's perspective, a small event in God's greater plan.

V. Legacy

Augustine has had a major influence on Western Christianity and has largely shaped the way Europeans thought for hundreds of years. "Augustine's thinking is central to both Roman Catholic and Protestant theology" (Dehsen 16). Many medieval thinkers focused on his ideas and one is likely to observe Augustinian philosophy in the writings of individuals like Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, and Peter Lombard. The fact that he had a strong influence on Catholic thinkers is particularly surprising when taking into account that his theories played an important role in assisting leaders of the Protestant Reformation. "Augustine's teaching that individuals are saved by grace alone was central to Martin Luther's theology, while his theory of predestination strongly influenced John Calvin" (Dehsen 16). This stands as proof that Augustine was determined to have justice dominate all religious circles, regardless of the issues that could arise as a result.

One should not only look at Augustine as being a Christian leader and teacher, as his influences can be observed in a series of fields in the contemporary society. Many of his ideas made it possible for humanity to experience significant progress at certain moments in time. Some concepts present in "City of God" provided the grounds for how people in medieval ages understood politics and the connection between Church and state. While Augustine's thinking assisted Christians throughout history, one is likely to observe some of his teachings in present-day environments. "In recent years the commonality of these ideas has provided an important point of agreement in Christian ecumenical dialogues" (Dehsen 16).

Many are probable to consider that Augustine is no different from other influential Christians who put across metaphysical ideas regarding religion and God. However, these people need to focus on how Augustine made it possible for Christians to look at their religion from an intellectual perspective -- one that influenced them to get actively involved in analyzing Christian thinking and to focus on trying to find a meaning for many Christian theories. A great deal of religious theories was confusing to say the least at the time when Augustine attempted to provide a rational explanation concerning them.