Augustine's Philosophy PDF

AUGUSTINE Augustine reasoned that God created the world ex nihilo (out of nothing or from nothing). There was nothing but God, and he alone created the universe (including matter, energy, space, and time). Theory of Time – he argued that time itself is part of the created order and is uniquely appre...

AUGUSTINE Augustine reasoned that God created the world ex nihilo (out of nothing or from nothing). There was nothing but God, and he alone created the universe (including matter, energy, space, and time). Theory of Time – he argued that time itself is part of the created order and is uniquely apprehended through the human mind (the past in memory, the present in recognition, and the future in expectation). Two-Books Revelation – the two-books theory is a dual view of revelation and asserts that God is the author of both the figurative book of nature (God’ created world) and the literal book of Scripture (God’s written Word). Augustine insisted that when properly interpreted, the two books cohere. Yet he warned in his work the Literal meaning of genesis of the danger of non-Christians hearing Christians who affirm the book of Scripture nevertheless talking nonsense about matter relating to the book of nature. Faith Seeking Understanding – “therefore do not seek to understand in order to believe, but believe that thou mayest understand.” For Augustine, faith (trust in a reliable source) is an indispensable element in knowledge. He argued that one must believe in something in order to know anything. Knowledge begins with faith, which provides a foundation for knowledge. While faith comes first in time, knowledge comes first in importance. Faith and reason do not conflict but instead complement each other.