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Authoritative Ideas in Augustine

Augustine's work emphasizes the Bible as the ultimate truth, yet the complexity of its interpretation requires careful consideration of revelation, textual authority, and personal experience. He highlights the significance of wisdom in connecting holy souls with God, and stresses the arbitrary nature of human fate based on individual choices. The duality of body and soul presents a hierarchy of being, challenging us to confront the sins of the flesh and spirit. This discourse forms a foundational aspect of Medieval Catholicism, proposing that our actions can purify the soul and guide us toward salvation.

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Authoritative Ideas in Augustine

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  1. Authoritative Ideas in Augustine “The Creation and Fall of Man”

  2. Status of Scripture • Ultimate arbiter of truth, but how do we interpret it? • “And this Wisdom, entering into holy souls, makes of them friends and prophets of God and reveals to them, silently and interiorly, what God has done” (18). • Sources of knowledge: 1. Revelation (Bible, true visions); 2. Textual Authority (like Augustine, ancient philosophy); 3. Experience (including senses) • Multiple levels of interpretation: • literal/historical • symbolic/allegorical

  3. Freedom of the will • Human fate (salvation or damnation) is not pre-determined because we choose dis/obedience, and are rewarded or punished as the case may be. • Medieval Catholicism: we can performs actions that will purify our souls and earn merit towards salvation (e.g., charity, penance).

  4. Ontological Hierarchy • Ontology = theory of being • God’s dominion over the created order: a place for everything and everything in its place. • Also known as the Great Chain of Being…

  5. The Great Chain of Being

  6. Body/soul dualism • Mortal body, immortal soul • Animal body, divine soul • Sins of the flesh (lechery, gluttony, avarice/covetousness/greed) versus sins of the spirit (pride, envy, wrath, sloth/accedia) • Symbol and word, “spirit” and “letter,” revelation and law, “chaff” and “wheat”

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