Augustine Of Hippo Analysis

Saint Augustine of Hippo was a very influential theologian in early Church history. Augustine had many profound ideas that continue to stand in our churches today. He is a man who had a stirring conversion to the Christian faith. Augustine struggled with many ideas, being determined to find the Truth in the World. His early life was full of radical ideas and rebellion, which helped guide Augustine later to his final teachings. Augustine argues in his book, Late Have I Loved Thee, that love is the most important virtue a man can have, even more essential than faith or hope. Augustine emphasizes two types of love found in this world by way of his analogy, the Two Cities. He also demonstrates, in his City of God, that there are two kinds of love
a Christian should have, that of the love of God and love of the neighbor. Augustine finally states how one, who has this love, is to engage with and love the world around him or her. Augustine talks about Two Cities from The City of God. He lays out these Cities very explicitly in the beginning of Chapter 28. “Accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves; the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self.” (City of God, 42) This is saying that the earthly kingdom has only a self-glorifying goal that rejects God, while the heavenly kingdom has a God-glorifying goal that rejects the sin of man. In comparing these two kingdoms, it can be found that one kingdom is considerably stronger than the other. The heavenly kingdom finds its strength in God, while the earthly kingdom finds it has no strength because of the constant power struggle in it. The heavenly kingdom is ruled by God alone and in this the citizens find true joy in glorifying their king. The heavenly kingdom has no human wisdom and are able to offer worship to the only true God (City of God, 43). The Earthly kingdom is not able to honor anyone but themselves. This is key to understanding Augustine’s worldview. He sees these obvious differences in the world around him, and is able to distinguish those who belong to the Earthly Kingdom and those who belong to the Heavenly Kingdom. Augustine realizes that the two kingdoms will never be the same, they are very much separated in every way. However, Augustine realizes that God is all in all and the heavenly kingdom does accept those who are repentant and turn to know God is to be glorified in all things. The Heavenly Kingdom is a flawless representation of how a Christian is to show the love of God and the love of the neighbor. Augustine realizes that there are two types of love in the Heavenly Kingdom.
These two types of love are love of God, and love of the neighbor. The first is the Love of God. Augustine goes into great detail on this love in the Confessions. He speaks on how we are not to love the pleasures of this world, but simply find pleasure in God. Augustine speaks of his lustful pleasures that he indulged in during his early life, and how he later on struggled with them while trying to love God completely. “Loving and being loved were sweet to me. The more so if I could also enjoy a lover’s body.”(the Confessions, 13). Looking back Augustine realizes the foolishness of this sin. From this sin Augustine finds that serving and loving God is far more joyful and fulfilling to the mind and body. He states in Book V, “But allow my soul to give you glory that it may love you the more,” (the Confessions, 15). The second type of love Augustine outlines is that of loving the neighbor (Christian Doctrine, 79). Augustine realizes the importance of loving ones neighbor and describes how an individual is to show this love. “loving his neighbor as himself, a man turns the whole current of his love both for himself and his neighbor into the channel of the love of God.” (Christian Doctrine, 43). If one first loves God they will find that they love their neighbor as well. This plays a major role in Augustine’s World view. To show love to one another is to truly love
God. Augustine firmly believes that the love of our neighbor is key to loving God and being a part of the heavenly kingdom. However, we are living amidst the earthly kingdom while we pilgrimage through the land awaiting the coming heavenly kingdom. Since we are already apart of this heavenly kingdom, Christians are to be living of the world not in the world. This is key to Augustine’s worldview. Christians are called to love the sinners (neighbors) in this world but they are to hate the sin they commit. Augustine primarily refers to loving the sinner and hating the sin in Christian Doctrine. “No sinner is to be loved as a sinner, and every man is to be loved as a man for God’s sake, but God is to be loved for his own sake.”(Christian Doctrine, 83). Augustine also calls to importance the fact that the world is full of temptations constantly probing God’s children during their time on this earth. He mentions this in the Confessions when he is speaks about finding God and his conversion. “The beautiful form of material things attracts our eyes, so we are drawn to gold, silver, and the like. We are powerfully influenced by the feel of things agreeable to the touch;” (the Confessions, 9). This statement is strikingly true in the lives of Christians, and Augustine realizes this being tempted by it himself. He then makes a prayer to God that we not seek these things, but seek God and not deviate from his law (the Confessions, 9). To Augustine being a part of this world is difficult, but he appreciates that being in this world causes Christians to know their sins and be drawn to God in a much closer needing way. Augustine believes that faith and hope take their root in the virtue of love, making love the most important virtue a man can have. Augustine also indicates that a Christian strives constantly to obtain both the Love of God and the Love of his neighbor through his entire life. A Christian finds that he is able to engage with a world full of temptation surrounding him, by loving his neighbor. Augustine realizes that as we as Christians, making our pilgrimage through this world, we need to be aware of the two types of love demonstrated by the analogy of the Two Cities. Augustine was a very wise man and knew that the virtue of love held great importance for Christians in any time period. He exhibits great understanding of this topic that Christians still today believe to be true. Augustine ends Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love with this inspiring quote, “for greater love than this no one has, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” This should remind Christians daily of the work their Savior did for them on the cross, and the unending love God has for his people. There is much to be learned from Augustine’s writings that can benefit Christians all over the world, and help them to show Christ in their life to the obstinate world around them.