Who Was Augustine?

Many of us may have heard of the name Augustine before. Perhaps we know a Christian who takes on an Augustinian view of free will and determinism. But what do we really know about the man and saint who lived in the fourth century AD?

No doubt, Augustine goes down as one of the most famous Christians to have ever lived. His philosophy has influenced the church as a whole, and he played an integral role in the history of the church.

In this article, we’ll dive into a brief biography of Augustine’s life, we’ll discuss how his philosophy has influenced the church as we know it today, and why we should study famous saints in our 2,000 plus year history.

Augustine’s Life

If any of us had wayward or prodigal children, we could relate to Augustine’s mother’s plight when her son abandoned the faith in his teen years. Growing up with one devout Catholic mother and a pagan father, Augustine developed a strong interest in philosophy and led a hedonistic lifestyle. He indulged in such a frivolous lifestyle that he ended up becoming the patron saint of brewers.

Nevertheless, his mother, St. Monica, prayed fervently for him. No doubt her prayers played a huge role in his conversion.

Similar to C.S. Lewis’ story of how he came to the faith (as well as Lee Strobel and several other apologists), Augustine befriends a Christian mentor by the name of St. Ambrose and becomes convinced that Christianity can be the only true religion, through wrestling with intellectual issues.

Yet, it takes him a while to make the leap between an intellectual belief in Christianity and a personal one (noticia and fiducia), an important distinction.

After all, even the demons believe and shudder (James 2:19).

After a lot of wrestling with the fact that Christianity would involve sanctification from his impure lifestyle, Augustine fully commits himself to Christ.

From his baptism, and after three years of devoted study of the Word, Augustine becomes a priest, and then a bishop.

He produces a great amount of writings (200 plus books and 1000 plus sermons) and dies in the mid-fifth century.

How Augustine’s Philosophy Influenced the Church

As mentioned before, Augustine had a strong desire to investigate philosophy even before he converted to Christianity. And the fact he wrote 200 plus books and 1000 plus sermons no doubt gives us a plethora of source material to learn from his walk with Christ.

In fact, Augustine has earned the title, “the Father of Roman Catholicism.” His teachings greatly influenced current practices in the Roman Catholic church such as infant baptism and transubstantiation.

Apart from these distinctly Roman Catholic practices, how else did Augustine influence the church?

Of course, as mentioned in this article, it’s difficult to summarize all of Augustine’s contributions to church practices and dogma, but we can try our best to boil down his teachings below.

Augustine made great strides in our understanding of original sin, our total depravity, and God’s unmerited grace. In short, we are completely corrupt, and unlike the ideas of the heretic Pelagius whom Augustine fought in his day, we cannot do anything to earn our own salvation. God gives it to us lovingly and freely.

Why We Should Care about Augustine?

We should care about knowing the lives of famous Christians throughout church history for a number of reasons, pertaining to Augustine, first, we should analyze his life. For any of us who have had prodigal children or have found ourselves indulging in an anti-Christian lifestyle, we can know that hope exists for us.

Augustine went from an extremely hedonistic lifestyle to a monastic one, despite his worries about his full commitment to sanctification.

Second, we can be encouraged by Augustine’s story from the people whom we’ve placed seeds of the gospel. Augustine didn’t convert right away. Even when he intellectually accepted the truth of Christianity, it took him a while to fully commit.

Not everyone whom we share the gospel with will accept Jesus into their lives, or at least, not while we spend a season with them. Know that God continues to work behind the scenes, just as he had with Augustine. And like his mother, continue to pray fervently.

Finally, Augustine reminds us of our desperate need for God.

We cannot attain grace through our own merit. As Romans 3:23 reminds us, all have fallen short of the glory of God. But because God loves us so much, he allows us to have his grace unmerited. Just as Augustine had before us, we accept it freely now.

Augustine for Kids

Dan Graves provides a condensed summary of Augistine’s conversion:

“‘And we were baptized and all anxiety for our past life vanished away.’ With these joyous words Augustine recorded his entrance into the church on this day, April 25, 387, Easter day.

He had been 33 years in coming to this public confession of Christ. Born in North Africa in 354 of a Christian mother and pagan father, Augustine became at twelve years of age a student at Carthage and at sixteen, a teacher of grammar. At this young age, he was already promiscuous. And he tells in his famous autobiography that he boasted of sins he had not had opportunity to commit, rather than seem to have fallen behind his peers in wickedness.

His mother was determined to see him converted and baptized. He was equally determined to have his pleasures. He took a mistress and she bore him a son, Adeodatus, ‘Gift of God.’ For a while he resented the lad but soon became inseparable from him. At 29 his restless spirit drove him to Italy. His mother determined to accompany him so that her prayers might be reinforced by her presence. Augustine gave her the slip, sailing while she knelt praying in a chapel.

In Rome he taught rhetoric for a year, but was cheated of his fees. And so he looked for a more fertile field of labor and settled on Milan. His mother caught up with him and prevailed upon him to attend the church of St. Ambrose. Christian singing moved him deeply. In spite of himself he began to drift toward faith. He found the writings of the Apostle Paul deeply stirring and more satisfying than the cool abstractions of philosophy. He wrestled with deep conviction but was unable to yield himself to God, owing to his attachment to the flesh.

Finally he reached a day when his inner vacillations were too great to ignore. He tried reading scripture but abandoned the effort. Unable to act on the truth he knew, he began to weep, and threw himself behind a fig tree. ‘How long, O Lord,’ he cried. And his heart answered ‘Why not now?’ A child's sing-song voice came clearly to him, repeating over and over, ‘Take it and read it.’  It seemed a message from God. He snatched up the Bible and read Paul's words, ‘. . .not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.’ Faith flooded in upon him. He immediately thrust aside those sins of the flesh which had held him in thrall for so long.

‘But this faith would not let me be at ease about my past sins, since these had not yet been forgiven me by means of your baptism.’ He entered the water and was relieved. At his mother's death, he returned to Africa where he founded a monastery, became bishop of Hippo and a brilliant and prolific theologian who more than any other stamped his imprint upon the Medieval church.”

(“Augustine of Hippo Raised to New Life” by Dan Graves, MSL published on Christianity.com on May 3, 2010)

Dan Graves’ Bibliography:

1. Aland, Kurt. Saints and Sinners; men and ideas in the early church. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1970.
2. Augustine, St. Confessions. Various editions.
3. -----------------. City of God. Various editions.
4. -----------------. On True Religion. Various editions.
5. “Augustine, St.” Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Edited by Charles Coulston Gillispie. New York: Scribner's, 1970.
6. Bowie, Walter Russell. Men of Fire. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1961.
7. Copleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy. London: Burn, Oates & Washbourn, 1951-.
8. D'Souza, Dinesh. The Catholic Classics. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor, 1986.
9. Dunham, James H. The Religion of Philosophers. Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press, 1969, 1947.
10. Portalie, Eugene. “Augustine, Life of Saint.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
11. Runes, Dagobert D. A Treasury of Philosophy. New York: Philosophical Library, 1945. p. 71.
12. Russell, Bertrand. Wisdom of the West. New York: Fawcett, 1964.

Last updated April 2007.

Photo Credit: © iStock/Getty Images Plus/sedmak 

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