Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

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Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

• 354-430

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Background

• North Africa
• Home of Perpetua and Felicity (Carthage)
• Serious, rigorous in faith
• Dominant presence of Donatists
• Violent conflict in Augustines time
• But backwaters of Empire

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Augustines life

• Ambitious pagan father Patricius, pious Christian
  mother Monica
• Well-educated, career in rhetoric (law)
• Spent his youth searching
• For love lived with a woman for 15 yrs, had a
  son
• For meaning read philosophy, joined different
  religious/philosophical groups
• For God unsure about Christianity as a youth
• Confessions 1 You have made us for yourself,
  and our hearts are restless until they rest in
  you

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Influential ideas

• Human condition
• Created to love
• Deeply influenced by sin (original sin),
  especially pride (RWCH, 200)
• Love
• Two loves for God, for people/creation
• People become unhappy when loves are confused
• Challenge of life order loves properly
• enjoy God for Gods own sake
• use things of creation to get to love of God
• love neighbor in God (use with delight)
• Church and society
• Human nature is mixed, church is mixed
• Two loves founded two cities (Chidester, 134)

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City of God

• Response to pagan critique and Christian
  triumphalism
• Contrasts earthly and heavenly city
• Founded on two desires, therefore
• proper to human nature
• But must be ordered correctly
• Heavenly city
• pilgrim in earthly life
• Not identical to church, but Christians have dual
  citizenship
• Challenge for Christians sort through their
  duties to both cities (202, ch. 14)
• Common cause for mortal human life for both
  cities (203, ch. 17) civil law

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Questions

• Is he right, that peace is the purpose of waging
  war? (p199) Is it the highest good?
• Would anyone disagree, in Augs time or today?
  How/why?
• What might Augustines voice contribute to
  contemporary discussions of religion and
  politics?
• Common good (203)
• Best use of temporal goods for both cities (202)
• WWAD re views of church?