Augustine: God’s

Theologian and
Philosopher
 Timeline 300 – 500 A.D.
300 A.D. 350 A.D. 400 A.D. 450 A.D. 500 A.D.

Conversion of Constantine
Athanasius Chrysostom -Bishop Council of
of Constantinople Chalcedon
Council of Nicea
Ambrose Patrick Missionary
Bishop of Milan to Ireland
Augustine

Conversion of
Augustine Jerome completes
Vulgate
Augustine & Jerome
Augustine
 Born Aurelius Augustinus in
Tagaste near Hippo, North
Africa (modern day Algeria) in
354
 Born to a Christian mother and
pagan father
 Studied in Carthage
 Originally saw Christianity as
religion for the simple-minded
 Surrounded by “cauldron of unholy
loves”
 Took on a concubine while in teens
 Spent 71 of his 75 years in North
Africa
 383 – Moved to Italy (Rome and
Milan) for four years where
Ambrose was Bishop of Milan Oldest surviving image of Augustine,
from the 6th century.
North Africa

Hippo Regius Carthage

Thagaste
 Augustine’s Conversion
 Augustine hears a child
apparently playing a
game in a garden.
 The child’s voice says
“Tolle Lege” which
means “Take up and
read.”
 Augustine takes up the
bible and allows it to
open on its own.
 Augustine’s Conversion
 The passage that Augustine turns to is Romans 13:13,
14
 “Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry
and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in
strife and envy. ”
 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no
provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. ” (Romans
13:14, NKJV)
 This convicted Augustine of his sexual addiction.
 Augustine’s Mother
 Monica is most remembered for her prayers
for Augustine.
 She was however, somewhat overbearing.
 She insisted that Augustine leave his
concubine, with whom he had been living for
10 years and had a son.
 Augustine never mentions the name of this
love.
Augustine
 Augustine would have been
happy with the monastic life.
 However, his reputation as
being a brilliant Christian
spread.
 391 - ordained as a priest
 395 - bishop of Hippo
 He was involved in nearly
every controversy of his time
 Donatists
 Pelagianism
 Prolific writer
 100’s of treatises, letters,
commentaries
 On the Trinity
 Confessions
 City of God
Augustine
 Wrote over 100 books, 200
letters and 400 sermons
 Confessions (397-401 AD)
 Spiritual autobiography
 “Our hearts are restless until
they rest in You.”
 City of God (416 AD)
 Response to the fall of Rome
to Visgoths
 God’s work in history
 “City of Man” vs. “City of
God”
 On the Trinity
 On the Psalms
 Death of Augustine
 In the summer of 429, the Vandals invaded
North Africa and met little resistance. The
citizenry fled before them. many to the
fortified city of Hippo. There Augustine
comforted and cared for the influx of refugees.
 In the third month of the Vandals’ siege of
Hippo, Augustine caught a sudden fever. For
10 days the 76-year-old bishop fought it. Then
he died.
* - Eph. 2:1-10
 Augustine – The Will
 Augustine taught
that due to the fall,
man was unable to
save himself. It
was totally of God’s
grace.
 Pelagianism – Man
contributes to his
own salvation.
 Lessons for Today
 Augustine demonstrated tremendous
 Spiritual Discipline
 Dedication to God
 Personal Holiness
 Augustine
 Even after mind is convinced, the heart must be converted
 Prayers of a mother
 Free will vs. Predestination
 The role of the Church
 References-by Augustine
 Henry Bettenson, trans., The City of God . 1972. Reprint.
Harmondworth: Penguin Books, 1984.
 E.M. Blaiklock, trans., Confessions . London: Haddon and
St. Brighton, 1983.
 J.H.S. Burleigh, editor, Earlier Writings . Philadelphia:
Westminster Press, 1953.
 John Burnaby, editor, Later Works . Philadelphia:
Westminster Press, 1953.
 Selected Writings . New York: Paulist Press, 1984.
 References-About Augustine
 Gerald Bonner. St. Augustine of Hippo: Life and
Controversies . Revised edition. Norwich:
Canterbury Press, 1986.
 Peter Brown. Augustine of Hippo . Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1969.
 Henry Chadwick. Augustine . Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1986.
 Trever Rowe. St. Augustine: Pastoral Theologian .
London: Epworth Press, 1974.
 Warren Thomas Smith. Augustine: His Life and
Thought . Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1980.