Augustine's Contributions to Christianity and Philosophy

Introduction

Augustine of Hippo contributed greatly to Christianity. He was a man whose beliefs transcended his turbulent beginnings and manifested into insightful philosophy. That philosophy became deeply embedded in Christian thought and would open the way for further examination of Biblical text in the centuries that followed. This essay discusses Augustine's beliefs through his contributions to the Church's doctrines and practices, as well as through the broader philosophical ideas he introduced to Western thought.

Philosophical Contributions: Time, Language, and Belief

Augustine contributed not only in the religious sense but in the philosophical sense as well. One of his principal contributions was his Theory of Time, developed in Book 11 of the Confessions. There he articulated what many regard as a challenging and original concept of time. From that foundation, he examined and sought to explain how young children acquire and express language—an early instance of philosophical reflection on cognition and learning.

One of Augustine's most celebrated statements, "Believe in order that you may understand," recurs throughout the Confessions. A clear illustration of this principle appears in his reflection on crime and motivation: "When, then, we ask why a crime was done, we believe it not, unless it appear that there might have been some desire of obtaining some of those which we called lower goods, or a fear of losing them" (Augustine 28). Augustine possessed a remarkable ability to convey his thoughts in a way that offered a deeper look not only into the ideas expressed in Scripture but into ideas contemplated by the self.

Works Cited

Augustine. Confessions. Authentic Publishers, 2012.

Murphy, Andrew R. The Blackwell Companion to Religion and Violence. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.