Religion and Theology

Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you.
 St. Augustine

Jesus Christ said, Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. St. Augustine (354  430) is perhaps most remembered today for embodying the spirit of repentance in its perfection. Most of the people who have heard the name of St. Augustine are familiar with the crux of his story. As a youth, he lived a lifestyle of wanton indulgence, he was what we call today a party animal. But critical changes in his life gradually began to drive him toward Christ. Augustine did not receive a spectacular vision of Christ in the skies like St. Paul did, but only could hear small murmurs from his inner voice, and yet his life was as dramatically transformed as did St. Pauls. It was St. Paul who galvanized Christianity into a major movement, and it was St. Augustine who provided sufficient impetus for Christianity, the new state religion of Rome, to consolidate itself and conquer the world. In his later life, Augustine functioned just as a bishop of a North African town, he wielded no great ecclesiastical authority yet over the centuries the influence of his teachings and the vision of his philosophy made him into one of the towering giants of the Catholic Church and also a leading light in Protestant faith.

Augustine (Aurelius Augustinus) was born in A.D. 354 in Tagaste, a town in the Roman province of Numidia (part of present-day Algeria) in North Africa. His father, a magistrate of Tagaste, was a pagan for the most of his life, but his mother, Monica, was a devout Christian. In his early childhood, Augustine was raised as a Christian and imbibed Christian values. He went to a primary school in his town, but at the age of 11, he was sent to a neighboring town for further education. This was a place where paganism thrived, he was exposed to pagan culture and values here. At the same time he also gained a grounding in Latin literature. At the age of 16 he came back and stayed at home for a year, since his father needed time to raise money for Augustines higher studies.

When Augustus reached 17, he was sent to Carthage. Here his education mainly focused on the study of rhetoric. Rhetoric, of course, is grouped with logic and grammar together constituting the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric was a popular academic subject in the Greek and Roman times, and it was a regular part of the curriculum in modern European universities up until the late 19th century.  Rhetoric imparted the necessary training for orators and writers to deliver their messages more effectively. No doubt, his expertise in rhetoric would have greatly helped Augustine in his long preaching career.

His father passed away when Augustine was studying at Carthage. But this did not disrupt his studies. He received moral support from his mother, and financial support from a family friend and wealthy benefactor by the name of Romanianus.

At this time, Augustine was very much attracted to a hedonistic way of life, or to put it in modern terms, a playboy lifestyle. However, he became attached to a certain woman who lived as his concubine for the next 15 years. He also conceived a son with her, called Adeodatus. Perhaps his devoted relationship with this woman was a crucial factor in bringing him out of his licentious ways and in turning him into a mature, responsible person.

During this time Augustine happened to have read a now lost work, Hortensius, by the Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero. Hortensius was Ciceros contemporary and a noted Roman orator the work recorded a dialogue between these two orators. This book is described as an invitation to philosophy, and it certainly did open the doors of philosophy for Augustine. On reading it, Augustine says in his Confessions, he felt an incredible burning desire in his heart to fly away from earthly things to God and Wisdom. (3.4.7)

Thus, Augustines deeply spiritual bent of mind seems to have first emerged at this point in his life. His journey toward re-embracing Christianity began from here. He launched himself on a search for the meaning of life, a higher truth, and an enduring happiness. Since he was already acquainted with Christian scriptures, at first he tried to take a deeper look at them. However, at the stage he was in, somehow the scriptures did not have much of an appeal for him. We must remember that at this point he was under the influence of Roman philosophers, and the scriptural writings would not have sounded as sophisticated as the works of Roman intellectuals.

Manichaeism was a popular cult in those days, and Augustine felt attracted to it. He would become a bona fide member of the Manichean sect. But perhaps because he knew somewhere deep down that Manichaeism was not meant to be his destiny, he would not make much progress in the ranks of the sect in all the years he was associated with it.

Augustine keenly continued his studies in philosophy, rhetoric and grammar. Upon completion of his studies, he returned to Tagaste and began his career as a teacher. He taught grammar and rhetoric. But just after a year or so, he went back to Carthage, as that great city offered him better work opportunities. As a teacher, he became quite a recognized figure at Carthage. He stayed here for the next nine years, during which time he was a confirmed Manichean. However, his ever-persistent inquiry planted seeds of doubts in his mind as regards the doctrines of Manichaeism.

Augustine now decided to leave Carthage and moved to Rome in the hope of finding better students and a better teaching environment. He managed to establish his own school in this greatest city of antiquity. But his hopes would soon be dashed. He would realize that it is very difficult to run a school without proper support and resources. In general, he was not enthusiastically received in Rome and met with apathy. Added to this, the few students he had accumulated showed a tendency to abscond after receiving a good part of their training from him.

Despite all this, his career would take a big turn during his stay at Rome. Symmachus was the prefect of Rome at this time and he was on the lookout for a candidate to be appointed as the chief professor of rhetoric at the imperial court of Milan. Augustine had the good fortune to be introduced to Symmachus through some of his friends in the Manichean creed. Augustine was able to impress Symmachus and was soon on his way to Milan. Just at the age of 30, in 384, Augustine was able to secure an immensely prestigious position in the academic world of ancient times. Normally, any person in his position would have leveraged it to head for powerful political careers. But that was not be Augustines fate. He in fact disliked the life of imperial court. He felt constrained by its obligations, tensions and formalities. He hankered for an existence which could provide him with more freedom of thought and spirit.

By this time, he had already come out of the grip of Manichaeism. When he was still in Rome, he went to meet a famous leader of the Manichean faith, Faustus, who was given to defending the doctrine from its detractors. Augustine seriously hoped that his doubts would be allayed by Faustus. It did not turn out that way, however. Even Faustus could not provide him with satisfactory answers, and to the contrary, Faustus superficial reasoning made Augustine to become completely disillusioned with the creed that he adopted so many years ago. Though Augustine continued to be a Manichean outwardly for some more time, his association with the Manichean faith was already severed.

Augustines search for truth continued in all earnestness. Soon this seeking would come to fruition in his encounter with the bishop of Milan, Ambrose. By this time, Augustine had developed a subtle prejudice against Christianity, and was not initially very attracted to Ambroses teachings. Rather, it was Ambroses personality that brought him under the bishops spell. Like Augustine, Ambrose was a master of rhetoric, and also had a magnetic personality. His association with Ambrose gradually opened up Augustines mind and made him susceptible to the influence of the Catholic doctrine. By no means was he unfamiliar with Christian teachings, but Ambrose was able to make him see the whole of Christian faith in a different and positive light. Augustine had an inkling that in Christianity he was reaching a long-sought destination. Here, in the grace of Christ, all his questions would be finally answered, and his heart would attain peace.

However, innately being of a philosophical disposition, Augustine did not readily adopt Catholicism. His mind still wanted to explore various dimensions of philosophy. He was particularly fascinated by the mystical school of Neo-Platonism, so much so that he converted himself to be its adherent. But perhaps not surprisingly he would be disappointed with his newly-adopted creed. Although Augustines association with Neo-Platonism would not last long, some of its teachings would have a lasting influence on his philosophical and theological outlook. Augustine says that the Platonic works provided testimony for God and his eternal Word, though not about the Incarnation (Confessions, 7.9.14). Augustine deep down longed for the personal touch of the Christ. Disappointed by Neo-Platonism, and yet unable to embrace Christianity, Augustine once again slipped into a skeptical and searching mode.

During his days in Milan, he had his mother brought to stay with him. In keeping with the social norms of the day, and to go with the respectability of his office at the imperial court, Augustine, under some pressure of his mother, gave his consent for a society marriage. However, Augustines fiance was yet a minor and he was required to wait at least two years for the marriage to take place. With the prospect of the marriage ahead, Augustine promptly broke off his relationship with the one woman in his life and the mother of his child, who remained his concubine for so many long years now. Augustine deeply loved her and it was heart-breaking for him to bid adieu to her.

It must have occurred to him, however, that it would be a few years before he could be in the company of a woman, his would-be wife. As an interim measure, he took another woman as his concubine. As we can see, at this time of his life, Augustine was showing great philosophical depth in his search for truth, and yet at the same time he did not altogether give up the ways of the wild years of his early youth. He was certainly a deeply conflicted person here, a conflict that would only be resolved on his entrance into the Christian faith. As chronicled in his autobiography, Confessions, it was at this juncture that he made up his famous tongue-in-cheek prayer, da mihi catitatem et continentiam, sed noli modo (Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.)

And then came the spiritual crisis. Augustine went through a profound transformative experience in the year 386. It was triggered when he read an account of the life of St Anthony of the desert, also known as Anthony the Great  Life of Anthony by Athanasius of Alexandria  written around 360. Anthony was a prominent leader of the sect of Desert Fathers, who practiced severe asceticism in the deserts of Egypt. St. Anthony greatly inspired Augustine, but what became the real catalyst of his transformation was the news when he heard about two ordinary Roman citizens who converted to Christianity upon reading Life of Anthony. This deeply troubled Augustine as he considered the fact that laymen were being influenced by the holiness of Christian saints, yet here he was, a learned philosopher unable to bring his spirituality into a focus. This was the moment of truth for Augustine. The time to make a decision had come. By now, Augustine was already in a deeply Christian frame of mind. He was fervently praying to God and had an acute awareness of his sins and failings. However, he was just not able to take that critical step and enter into the Christian fold. This was because he was hesitant whether he would be able to lead a wholly pure life. Subconsciously, Augustine had perhaps always known that once he entered Christianity, there would be no looking back. He would not be a simple, practicing Christian, he would have to dedicate himself to the Faith, heart, body, mind and soul. Therefore it was a tough decision to make, and Augustine kept on deferring it. But there came a point when this was no longer possible. Augustine was in a deep anguish and desperately prayed to God asking him how long he would have to remain not being a Christian, although no one but himself was stopping him from becoming one.

At that moment, by sheer coincidence or divine plan, Augustine heard a child passing by in his proximity singing a song that had the words tolle lege (take up and read). This Augustine took to be a sign from the above and rushed to his Bible. When he opened the book at random, his eyes fell upon Pauls epistle to the Romans.
Let us walk honestly, as in the day not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, in concupiscence. (13 13-14)

Make no provision for the flesh, in concupiscence  that was the message that Augustine really needed. It was his dread of giving up sex that was hindering him from entering into Christianity. But now, Augustines mind was resolved.

Augustine gave up his much-coveted job at the imperial court and his entire career in rhetoric, canceled his betrothal to the young girl, and took the vow of chastity. He would spend the rest of his life totally devoted to the service of God. Augustine, along with his son Adeodatus, was baptized by Ambrose in Milan in 387. Having become a missionary, he would move back to Africa to carry out his ministry from the following year. On the way to Africa, his mother died. Soon thereafter, his son too passed away. It was the last great shock for Augustine, but perhaps he needed it in order to fully mature into his new role. He was all alone in the world, but now God was behind him.

Augustus returned to his native town and started a monastic foundation into which he managed to bring in a close circle of his friends. In 391, Augustine was ordained as a priest of the town Hippo Regius (present-day Annaba in Algeria). He was on his way to become a great preacher. He delivered powerful sermons. Over 200 of his sermons are preserved to this day, and are believed to be authentic. In those early days, Christianity existed as just one among numerous sects all of which had ardent followers. Augustine was actively engaged in gaining converts, combating the Manichaean creed, of which he himself had been an advocate not so long ago.

Five years later, he was promoted to the post of coadjucator bishop, i.e., assistant bishop. In this position he also had the right to succeed the existing bishop upon his death. Augustine would succeed and remain in the position of the bishop until his death. Augustine carried out a relentless campaign of converting the diverse religious groups of people at Hippo and neighboring towns to Christianity. Although a priest in his official capacity, Augustine was deeply attached to a monastic way of life and continued to lead the monastic life even in his Episcopal residence. Though he would be often portrayed dressed as a bishop in the later centuries, in reality Augustine wore the clothes of a simple monk. He ate sparingly, led a semi-ascetic life, and never gave in to the temptations of flesh. The biblical adage, The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak cannot be applied to St. Augustine. He lived up to the full spirit of a true convert, and dedicated all the remaining years of his life in spreading Christianity and bringing Jesus Christ into the lives of more and more people.

Augustine was a prolific writer in the subjects of philosophy and Christian theology. He wrote several works defending Christianity against Arians, Donatists, Manicheans and Pelagians. He also wrote commentaries on several books of the Bible. His most famous works, however, are his autobiography documenting his spiritual journey, Confessiones (Confessions), De Civitate Dei (Of the City of God), a magnum opus dealing many issues of Christian philosophy, and De Trinitate (On the Trinity).  Augustine is today one of the most important and widely read Father of the Church.

Augustine died in 430, during the siege of Hippo by Vandals.

St. Augustine overcame strong heresies, practiced great poverty and supported the poor, preached very often and prayed with great fervor right up until his death. Too late have I loved You he once cried to God, but with his holy life he certainly made up for the sins he committed before his conversion.