Augustine
AUGUSTINE
Augustine, one of the greatest Christian writers of Late Roman Civilization, not only laid the foundation of medieval Christian doctrine and philosophy, but represented his famous writings through orthodox beliefs. Augustine had the greatest influence on Christianity and dedicated himself to the spread of his new faith. One of Augustine's greatest beliefs was that "salvation can be achieved only by God's grace-- rested on his rejection of free will and his insistence on original sin." (Roy T. Matthews, The Western Humanities, Mayfield Publishing, Mountainview, 2001) This idea that Augustine gives is a great example of him speaking of orthodoxy. In Augustine's famous religious works like the City of God, City of Man, and Confessions either have a dramatic or theological interpretation and also emphasize on Augustine's taste in literature and philosophy.
The City of God was more on a theological interpretation of history. Since Augustine wrote this piece after the Visigoths sacked Rome in 410, he asked a question that confronted the Romans of that generation: "Why was their empire subjected to so many catastrophes?" (XIV-City of God) He replied to the question by explaining how the decline of Rome was part of a plan that God made to prepare the world for a divine kingdom on earth, however if the city fell, Augustine believed that it was better for the human race. He also supported his argument in his first ten books of the City of God as he attacked Greco- Roman philosophies and religions.
Augustine was able to elaborate on his view of world history, which was based on Hebrew experience and Christian sources in his concluding twelve books of his work. The two cities in history that he was able to elaborate his argument of these philosophies were The City of God, and also The City of Man. Augustine's main argument of The City of God was that they were "predestined" to be saved, whereas the City of Man were...
View Full Essay