Running head: PHILOSOPHER ANALYSIS PAPER ON AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO
Philosopher Analysis Paper on Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
April Yearwood
Union University
Faith and Science
NUR 720
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Philosopher Analysis Paper on Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
Augustine of Hippo has long been considered “one of the greatest theologians in the history of the Christian church” (Hart, 2000, p. 2). Unbeknownst to him, he has drastically influenced the way modern day church thinks and believes about religious doctrines. “Not only did Augustine provide a basis for doctrinal unity, but he presented the Church with a vision for its role in the world (Knowles & Penkett, 2004, p. 6). He is said to have “influenced the development of the doctrine of the church, the doctrine of the Trinity, and the doctrine of grace in salvation” (Sproul, 2000, p. 57). Furthermore, in Garry Wills book,
Saint Augustine, the inside cover states it well…
“
Garry Wills examines this famed fourth-century bishop and seminal thinker whose grounding in classical philosophy informed his influential interpretation of the
Christian doctrines of mind and body, wisdom and God” ("Review of the book
Saint Augustine ,"
1999).
It is hard to overestimate the importance of Augustine’s work and influence, both in his own period and in the subsequent history of Western philosophy. Until the thirteenth century, when he may have had a competitor In Thomas Aquinas, he was the most important philosopher of the medieval period. Many of his views, including his theory of the just war, his account of time and eternity, his understanding of the will his attempted resolution of the problem of evil, and his approach to the relation of faith and reason, have continued to be influential up to the present time. ("Review of the book The
Cambridge companion to Augustine ," 2001, figure i)
Augustine is known as a “thinker who plumbed the depths of the human soul” (Cooper, 2002, p.
2) and through his written works he gives us a ring side seat to his life story and his conversion to Christianity.

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When one reads Augustine’s works, one has a sense of a long lost friend they once knew maybe in their rebellious years. His stories ring true and give us hope that we too can by God’s grace be saved.
Augustine attracts those of us for whom the notion of a universe where one can wander astray and find one’s way again has a familiar, if sometimes discomforting, fee. His experiences, quite apart from his intellectual framework, speak a common tongue. If you have ever known the feeling of being lost in the woods or in a strange city, then you also know the relief of finding your way again. The sense of having been lost and then finding one’s way again strikes the dominant chord, in a grateful key, of the
Confessions .
The thirteen chapters of this book, which might better be translated as Conversations, are the voice of one man’s soul to God, a voice simultaneously calling out to other souls who are also before God. In this groundbreaking piece of world literature, Augustine shows us that to be at all means to be from God, to be oriented to God, and to be brought to God by God. (Cooper, 2002, p. 3)
“Augustine was born in the small town of Thagaste in northern Africa on 13 November
354 (present day Souk-Ahras, in Algeria)” (Green, 2010, p. 235). His parents were Patricius and
Monica, both of whom had a huge influence on him. Patricius was a pagan (but became a
Christian on his death bed) who was poor by all respects but made a living to help provide his son an education. Augustine speaks of his father as a nonbeliever in his famous Confessions:
“I was a believer like all my household, except father: but he could not cancel in me the rights of my mother’s piety….For she tried earnestly, my God, that You should be my father, not him….”
1.11.17 (Chadwick, trans. 1991). Monica was a devout Christian who prayed constantly for
Augustine’s salvation “during his years of spiritual wandering and profligacy” (Green, 2010, pp.

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235-236). His parents recognized that he was smarter than the average boy and “agreed that their gifted son should have a classical education” (Knowles & Penkett, 2004, p. 29). They were
fortunate in having a relative who was willing to help them: Romanianus, a wealthy estate owner and local celebrity. It is he who funded the classical education that unlocked the doors of opportunity for Augustine, and also became his close friend
(Knowles & Penkett, 2004, p. 29).
“His own family background was not one of high culture. That culture he acquired through education” (Chadwick, 2001, p. 1).
In his teenage years, Augustine brimming with adolescent energy, he became part of a group of lads who ran wild in the town, proud of their exploits at drinking, theft and sex. For the son of a devout Christian mother, this was the start of a long struggle against the lure of paganism. Perhaps
Augustine’s famous prayer, ‘Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet’ 2.9.17
(Chadwick, trans. 1991), was born from the conflict of his upbringing, between his mother’s piety and his father’s permissiveness. (Knowles & Penkett, 2004, p. 40)
At the end of his teenage years as a young man, Augustine “went through distinct periods of growth and upheaval” (Sproul, 2000, p. 57). Upon reading and learning by heart, works of
Virgil, Terence, and also Cicero’s, Hortensius (to name a few) in his studies, these works
“inspired Augustine to love wisdom and pursue it. But it was also during his time in Carthage that Augustine ‘joined’ the Manichean sect, and spent some nine years wrestling with their claims” (Green, 2010, p. 236). While at Carthage, he met a woman and was faithful to her for many years. They “had a son, Adeodatus (‘given by God’), born in 372” (Green, 2010, p. 236) whom he loved very much. He was a public speaker and a teacher of literature at Carthage,

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Rome, and Milan. While teaching in Milan, Augustine met Ambrose, the bishop of Milan who became one of a handful of influential figures in his life. Here, he “came under the powerful preaching of Ambrose, whom he heard as an illustration of pulpit eloquence rather than with approval of the message, since he was now under the sway of the skeptical philosophy of the
New Academy” (Walker, 1970, p. 161). He eventually did learn to like Ambrose’s sermons for its message in which Ambrose showed Augustine “that it was faith that led to wisdom and not wisdom that led to faith” (Knowles & Penkett, 2004, p. 65). It was in Milan that he was also exposed to the books of the Platonists and wrote that “he was ‘on fire’ reading these books, and that – similar to the reading of Hortensius – reading these books further inspired him in his question for the truth” (Green, 2010, p. 236). Ambrose was just what Augustine needed to set his mind on the right track as he was becoming disillusioned with the Manicheans. He “found someone who could communicate at his own intellectual level, confirming his rejection of the
Manichees and opening the way for his return to the Christian faith and the Catholic Church of his upbringing” (Knowles & Penkett, 2004, p. 65).
Soon, Monica recognized that her son needed to be married to a more suitable partner in order to have a successful career, so she arranged it (but it never took place). His mistress of many years was sent back to North Africa. This was a very sad time and low point in
Augustine’s life; however, this is when he came in contact with Neo-Platonism which helped further pave the way for him to accept Christianity again (Walker, 1970, p. 161).
There was a defining moment in his life when he finally gave in and was converted to
Christianity which “is perhaps the most famous in history” (Green, 2010, p. 237). “Somehow I flung myself down beneath a fig-tree and gave way to the tears which now streamed from my eyes, the sacrifice that is acceptable to you….For I felt that I was still the captive of my sins, and

PHILOSOPHER ANALYSIS PAPER ON AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO 6 in my misery I kept crying, ‘How long shall I go on saying, ‘Tomorrow, tomorrow’? Why not now? Why not make an end of my ugly sins at this moment?” 8.12.28 Confessions (Brown,
2000, pp. 100-101 ) . As he was walking in a garden in Milan in August of 386, he heard a voice from a nearby house (‘of a boy or girl I do not know’) calling tolle lege, tolle lege (take read, take read). Finding a
Bible, Augustine turned to Romans 13 and read, ‘Not in riots and drunken parties, not in eroticism and indecencies, not in strife and rivalry, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in its lusts’ (Rom. 13:13-15). As he recounts in
Confessions
, ‘I neither wished nor needed to read further. At once, with the last words of the sentence, it was as if a light of relief from all anxiety flooded into my heart. All the shadows of doubt were dispelled.’ 8.12.29 Confessions (Green, 2010, p. 237)
He was overjoyed and told his friend
Alypius what had happened. His friend took the book and read on, finding the words
‘Accept anyone who is weak in faith’ and applied them to himself. Together they found
Monica, to tell her that her prayers had been answered – and to share in her joy.
(Knowles & Penkett, 2004, p. 77)
He was later baptized by Ambrose and wanted to return to Africa. On the way, Augustine,
Monica and his friends stopped for a while in Ostia and this is where his mother Monica died.
Instead of going on to Africa, the party returned to Rome where he continued to write more works.
Throughout his lifetime, he was an avid reader, orator, and writer, constantly putting his philosophies and words on paper and debating them eloquently. “By the autumn of 388 it was time to return to Africa, and Augustine and his son, Adeodatus, did so (Green, 2010, p. 237).

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After returning “Against his will he was forced into ordination in 391 and five years later became bishop at Hippo for the remaining thirty-four years of his life” i (Chadwick, trans. 1991).
Augustine spent the rest of his days in Hippo serving as bishop, and his writings ere voluminous and wide-ranging. He lived to be seventy-six years of age, dying in 430. He had certain psalms copied and hung on the walls in the room where he lay dying.
According to Possidus, Augustine ‘wept freely and constantly’ as he read the sacred words. Augustine died without a will, for, as Possidius notes, except for his books (left for the church at Hippo) Augustine had no possessions. (Green, 2010, pp. 238-239)
One of Augustine’s greatest and most original works was the
Confessions
. It’s mostly an autobiography of his life and of his soul’s journey, as he told it to God. The title Confessions may be understood on one account as his confession of sins in light of his Manichean past,
(which the Donatists accused him of remaining a Manichean), but on the other hand as
“expressed in terms of the utmost praise to God” (Knowles & Penkett, 2004, p. 138). He is basically baring his soul to God after turning to Christianity from paganism which is what makes him so accessible to us today. As humans, we love when others expose themselves so that we can feel normal about ourselves. Augustine is rejoicing in his present because of his past.
The key to the entire work, which includes Augustine’s past and his move towards God, may be found in the first few lines of the work: ‘You have made us for yourself and our heart is restless until it rests in you.’ 1.1.1 (Chadwick, trans. 1991). The work in its entirety is a description of the theme of return to and rest in God. (Knowles & Penkett,
2004, p. 138)
What a true and deep rooted statement that gives comfort to those who need salvation and for those who need to be set free. “By revisiting his past, sometimes with great wrestling and

PHILOSOPHER ANALYSIS PAPER ON AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO 8 difficulty, to capture the truth of a situation, Augustine believed he would discover the mystery of God within himself” (Knowles & Penkett, 2004, p. 138).
Augustine was always seeking truth that was “not merely probable but eternal, immutable, and independent. He was aware of the limitations of sensory knowledge and of the propensity for the senses to deceive us, which he illustrated by the example of a boat oar: From the eye’s perspective an oar in the water is bent, but in reality the oar is straight” (Sproul, 2000, p. 58). He did not take truth at face value until he could educate and immerse himself and then claim it for himself as truth. That is a quality we all should admire and aspire for.
This leads to the discussion of our mere existence and of today’s view of how we came to be. Augustine has given us some very good ammunition by which we as Christians can defend modern thoughts such as evolution to science. He wanted to know where life comes from and even had the thought of pre-existing souls being within Christ before creation and the fall.
Augustine argues here that our very existence is something given to us in such a manner that a giver beyond our physical parents must be assumed…everyday things conceal the riches of the Giver – God – at their base. This kind of vision is for those whose eyes have been spiritually opened. Only then can we see what is not apparent to the naked eye, which sees only the outside of things. In order to really see, says Augustine, we need faith. (Cooper, 2002, p. 22)
Cooper goes on to say that the mystery of where we came from is “ultimately unfathomable, no matter how much science unravels the processes of our beginnings” (Cooper, 2002, p. 21).
In Confessions Augustine takes up the question ‘What was God doing before He created the world?’ His answer: Before God made heaven and earth, he was not doing anything; for if he was doing or making something, what else would he be doing but creating? And

PHILOSOPHER ANALYSIS PAPER ON AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO 9 no creature was made before any creature was made. I wish I could know everything that
I desire to know to my own profit with the same certainty with which I know that. There was therefore never any time when you had not made anything, because you made time itself. (Green, 2010, pp. 243-244)
What else can be said as he has answered so well? He searched for the truth so deeply in everything he did, which is one reason his works are so well received by so many today.
His thoughts in his work The Trinity has given our present day churches a way to view the Trinity as God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as being one body but having different relationships. He argues with himself throughout his work but finally comes to an agreement that all three are equal and all three have full deity. He states:
We have demonstrated as briefly as we could the equality of the triad and its one identical substance. So whatever may be the solution of this question, which we have put off for more searching examination, there is nothing now to prevent us from acknowledging the supreme equality of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 6.10 (Rotelle, trans. 1992)
Augustine loved scripture but his favorite Gospel is said to be John. In one part of his interpretation of the book of John, he speaks more on the Trinity: that the Son must testify to the Father, as the spirit does to the Son. Christians are brought in to the inmost mystery of the Trinity when the Spirit testifies in them to the triune glory: ‘As the spirit gave them an inner testimony of Christ, they spread the testimony themselves.’ 94.2 (Augustine, Sermons ) It is this action of the Spirit in
Christians that Augustine want to manifest: ‘This it is to testify, to speak out what the heart holds true. If the tongue and the heart are at odds, you are reciting, not testifying.’
26.2 (Augustine,
Interpreting John’s Gospel
)

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The credit for the thoughts on the doctrine of the original sin of Adam and Eve in the garden is appropriately given to Augustine. “We come into the world already ‘in Adam’ and are caught up in Adam’s transgression” (Green, 2010, p. 250). He debated and defended the
Christian faith throughout his lifetime until his death. One of the debates on this topic of sin and grace was with Pelagius, who believed that humans by nature were basically good.
Augustine disagreed sharply with Pelagius’s view of human nature. His own experience had given him a deep sense of human sin and hence the greatness of God’s salvation. He felt that nothing less than the irresistible grace of God could have saved him from sin and only the constant inflowing of God’s grace could sustain him in the Christian life. His
Christian ideal was not Stoic self-control but love for righteousness infused by the Spirit of God. (Knowles & Penkett, 2004, p. 122)
One of Augustine’s famous phrases in Confessions is: where he says to God, ‘Grant what you command, and command what you will.’
10.29.40 (Chadwick, trans. 1991). Such a sentiment implied that God’s grace is paramount, in partnership with the faith of the believer, if one is to live a life without sin.
Augustine was defending the centrality of grace in God’s salvation, as opposed to the efforts of humans to attain godliness by legalism and ascetic practices. In God’s plan of salvation, Jesus was the supreme mediator of God’s grace, not merely an example of a good life. (Knowles & Penkett, 2004, p. 125)
Augustine’s doctrines on the original sin, the Fall and grace were supported then and are still supported today by many denominations. “With Augustine’s conversion story in the background we are better prepared to grasp his understanding of grace” (Green, 2010, p. 256).
With his influence on theologians and Christ seekers, he took a weak doctrine, if there was one at

PHILOSOPHER ANALYSIS PAPER ON AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO 11 all, and made it a firm foundation for our understanding of sin and grace for future generations of
Christians. His concept of divine revelation was central to his theory of knowledge where “he saw that revelation is the necessary condition for all knowledge (Sproul, 2000, pp. 58-59). He also greatly influenced for later generations the beliefs on sacraments. He had a knack for getting to the bottom of the issue at hand. The quote below of refashioning what he found inadequate sums it up well:
His influence came not from his ecclestical rank, but from his writings, which were staggering in quantity – his own incomplete review of his books numbered ninety-three.
There are, besides, almost three hundred of his letters and over four hundred sermons (out of the eight thousand that he preached)….He was a tireless seeker, never satisfied…His mind was always refashioning what it found inadequate. (Wills, 1999, p. xii)
On a different note, how can we relate Augustine’s works to the professional practice of nursing in today’s world? One way is through the play on his word ‘heart’ as how he interprets it. He appears to speak of his heart not as an organ but as an emotional entity that has a mind of its own.
For Augustine, the state of our hearts affects our ability to truly know or see something.
Hence, because of disordered loves, some people do not always see the beauty in creation: ‘Yet by love of created things they are subdued by them, and being thus made subject become incapable of exercising judgment.’ 10.6.10 (Chadwick, trans. 1991)
Through a type of disordered love, certain people are ‘subdued’ by the rest of the created order. (Green, 2010, p. 272).
“One prayer in particular that sprang from Augustine’s passionate and inquiring soul,
‘Our heart is restless until it rests you’ 1.1.1 (Chadwick, trans. 1991) seems to be as pertinent

PHILOSOPHER ANALYSIS PAPER ON AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO 12 now as it was when it was expressed 16 centuries ago” (Knowles & Penkett, 2004, p. 7). When we begin to see our heart as an instrument of love, then we can begin to treat our patients, students, and/or peers as God would. The old question “What would Jesus Do?” rings true for all of us in our professions. We just have to be intentional about actually doing what He would do. With the use of our ‘hearts’ we can accomplish that task of the golden rule and rest in Him.
The search for God’s purpose will lend itself to be revealed as we follow our hearts by loving others. As we put God first and treat others as we would want to be treated, the overall arching theme of Augustine’s words on ‘heart’ will be shown to us.
Another way Augustine can impact nursing is for us to be an in-depth researcher like he was. He searched for the truth by dedicating his life to diligent study. We can learn many lessons on the art of studying from him especially with the profession going forward with evidenced based nursing practices. While it will be laborious, we should investigate our daily practices as thoroughly as Augustine would and work as if working for the Lord.
One last thought to ponder on Augustine, the bishop of Hippo, the doctor of grace, etc.,
Cooper speaks of his manner of thinking about the self is a refreshing break from current, technical ways of talking about human beings (many forms of psychology, philosophies of mind, sociobiology, and so on). Such “scientific” systems evade the personal dimension that alone forces us to be real to ourselves and to others. In a word, they are insufficiently confessional. (Cooper, 2002, p. 216)
So, how can we be more personal, more intentionally confessional in our relationships with God and each other? Only through God will we be able and willing to expose ourselves as Augustine has to the world for centuries. And only through God will we have His grace that once exposed,

PHILOSOPHER ANALYSIS PAPER ON AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO 13 we will be set free. Indeed the truth will set you free! “As long as we human beings ponder our own nature, the nature of the divine, and the relationship between the two, Augustine will continue to inspire and instruct” by his seeds sown into our minds by his writings (Knowles &
Penkett, 2004, p. 180).

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References
Ancient Roman or Greek Work - Confessions
Brown, P. (2000). Augustine of Hippo: a biography (new ed.). Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA:
University of California Press.
Chadwick, H. (2001). Augustine: a very short introduction . New York, NY: Oxford University
Press Inc.
Cooper, S. A. (2002). Introduction. In S. A. Cooper, Augustine for armchair theologians (1st ed., pp. 1-11). Louisville, KY: Westminister John Knox Press.
Green, B. G. (Ed.). (2010). Augustine. Shapers of Christian orthodoxy: engaging with early and medieval theologians (pp. 235-292). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Green, B. G. (Ed.). (2010). Shapers of Christian orthodoxy: engaging with early and medieval theologians. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press
Hart, T. A. (Ed.). (2000). The dictionary of historical theology . Grand Rapids, Michigan:
William B. Eerdmans & Paternoster Press.
Knowles, A., & Penkett, P. (2004). Augustine and his world . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity
Press.
Knowles, A., & Penkett, P. (2004). Introduction. In Augustine and his world (pp. 6-7). Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[Review of the book Saint Augustine , by G. Wills]. (1999). . .
[Review of the book The Cambridge companion to Augustine , by E. Stump, & N. Kretzmann].
(2001). . .
Sproul, R. C. (2000). Augustine: doctor of grace. In The consequences of ideas: understanding the concepts that shaped our world (pp. 51-63). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

PHILOSOPHER ANALYSIS PAPER ON AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO
Walker, W. (1970). Augustine. In A history of the Christian church (3 ed., pp. 160-172). New
York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
Wills, G. (1999). Introduction. In J. Atlas (Ed.), Saint Augustine (pp. xi-xx). New York, NY:
Penguin Group.
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