Saint Augustine: How He Fused Classical Culture (I.E., Both Stoicism and Platonism) with Christianity

Plato made the source of his hope abundantly clear in his dialogue, Phaedo, “There is good hope that on arriving where I am going, if anywhere, I shall acquire what has been our chief preoccupation in our past life” (Phaedo, 67b-c). Plato’s ultimate hope and desire was to attain real wisdom. He had a true conundrum, however: he believed that the physical world was by very nature evil. Not only that, but he believed the physical dimension to which our bodies bind us was altogether false. In fact, he

St. Augustine was a Christian Platonist. He Christianizes many of Plato’s Greek concepts. In Confessions, St. Augustine used many Neo-plationic terms and ideas but in Book VII is when he finally has a revelation about the similarities of Philosophy and Christianity. In class, we have discussed a number of ways in which St. Augustine accepts the ideas of Plato; one of those being the theory of forms. Plato’s theory of forms describes the divine to be in the invisible, perfect, intangible world. St. Augustine believed that Plato’s theory of the forms was compatible with his Christian beliefs because of a vision he had while trying to picture God.

Although, Augustine was more interested with himself and fame (“Augustine of Hippo, Bishop and Theologian”). Even though he had been deeply involved with sin in the beginning of his life, Augustine later reconciled and began a new journey of faith. Augustine wrote many books based upon his faith, which inspired many cultures about the way Christianity should be viewed (“Augustiner of Hippo”). During the life of Saint Augustine of Hippo, he had an inconstant relationship with God, wrote many publications, and demonstrates how to learn from your

St. Augustine is known for attempting to reconcile ancient philosophy with Christianity. He believed in life after death and in the soul being separated from the body. Moreover, he placed a lot of emphasis on the importance of having faith in God. He claimed that reconciling the appetites and desires of the body with the mind is what human beings should concentrate on. In fact, St. Augustine did not believe it possible to achieve true happiness by focusing on the body only. He called for men to detach from the things of this world, and instead focus on the soul. Only in such way, it is possible to become closer to God, which he described as the transcendent good. For example, trying to find happiness in only what is defined as physical beauty

Saint Augustine of Hippo was born in 354 AD, as the only son of Saint Monica. As a young man, he thought only of himself, and his mother prayed to God to help him see how selfish he was. After many years, Saint Augustine understood that Christianity was the one true religion, but believed that he could never be the perfect man that he thought the religion required. One day, he heard a voice in his head, saying Tolle Lege, Take up and Read. Saint Augustine of Hippo took this to mean take up and read the Bible. He was inspired by the Gospel of Saint Paul, and from then on, devoted his life to the poor and writing religious philosophy. To Saint Augustine, the Bible was what helped him to see God in his life, and the cause of his

Great philosophers over time have shared ideas about their lifetime. There were no more captivating philosophers than Plato and Augustine who fed off one another. Even though they were born at different times, their ideas impacted the life they lived in and future lives. St. Augustine was a student of the wise Plato, who fed off his ideas and created his own form of philosophy. Plato on the other hand orbited the idea of the theory of forms which, later St. Augustine incorporated into his beliefs. St. Augustine used the notion of god to resemble his ideas, as well as Plato’s and a mix of Christianity to incorporate his own knowledge. The philosophical views, the ideas of good and

Saint Augustine of Hippos was born November 13, 354, in Thagaste, which is part of present day Algeria. Born to a pagan father (who converted to Christianity on his deathbed) and a very devout Christian mother, St. Monica, he was torn between beliefs. He was schooled in Latin literature, and eventually went to Carthage to study rhetoric. During this time, he married and lived with a woman (her name is unknown) who gave birth to Augustine’s son. By the time he was twenty, he had turned away from Christianity, and went in other directions. For nearly a decade, he found refuge in Manichaeism, a Persian dualistic philosophy that was very popular at the time. With its main principle concerning the battle between pure good and evil, it appealed to

Plotinus' style, and additionally his contentions, is heard in the Admissions, both in the persevering series of inquiries with which Augustine seeks after a troublesome issue and in intermittent flashes of admonishment.Augustine was given ëPlatonic books' in a Latin interpretation by Marius Victorinus and, he says, they changed his life. The Platonism Augustine experienced at Milan, in books and dialog gatherings and Ambrose's proclaiming, was ëNew Platonism' (Neoplatonism), which embarked to elucidate Plato in the conviction that he had comprehended the interminable truth and had explained it in a steady philosophical framework which was passed on by his adherents. It required incredible creativity of brain to accommodate Plato's different investigations in believed, Aristotle's evaluate, and the contentions of their successors, and many civil arguments proceeded among the New

St. Augustine was born in the fourth century, (354 A.D. to be exact) . Augustine was born to a Christian mother and to a pagan father. Although Augustine struggled throughout his life he finally converted to Christianity and began his journey as a theological philosopher whom was one of the biggest influences on western Christianity. Augustine spent much of his life continuously learning and teaching new things even after he became a Priest and later Bishop. Augustine as you may already know is very famous

St. Augustine was a theologian and philosopher born in Africa to St. Monica. Although he is now known as a an incredibly influential Christian writer and thinker, his early years were defined by rebellion and discord that did not, in the least, reflect Christianity or the values that he is now known for supporting. His early years were freckled with mindless disobedience, wretched behavior, and characterized godlessness that makes his conversion to the faith incredibly remarkable and one that is worth defining in Saint Augustine 's Confessions. His incredible turnaround from a faithless man to a devout supporter of Christianity is significant and is freckled with many major milestones that truly demonstrate his spiritual and internal growth into one of the biggest spiritual icons of the fifth century. These major milestones include his realization that his boyhood was defined by pointless rebellious behavior, even though he grew up in a Christian home, his new found appreciation for philosophy as well as God and his incredible mercy during his years as a student at Carthage,

As one of the most prominent figures of the early church, Saint Augustine is not only recognized for his leadership but also for his knowledge and influence on the thinking and doctrine of the Christian Church. As a priest, he was an important leader of the early African Church; as a philosopher, he brought a new approach to Church Doctrine through the ideas of pagan philosophy (TeSelle 892). These accomplishments put him among the ranks of Thomas Aquinas and other great Church philosophers whose ideas revolutionized the Church. Because of his accomplishments and influence, Augustine was named a Doctor of the Church.

Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, was one of the greatest philosophers of the roman period. He was raised in a religiously divided home, but through time he found his own truth. He was always an excellent student. He fully mastered the Latin language, however, he never did well with Greek. Saint Augustine was also a man who had a way with words. After his teenage rebellious stage, he found an unorthodox religious group that he decided to become involved with for a while. He traveled the area and ended up staying in Milan for a while. This is where he met Bishop Ambrose and began to listen to his teachings. This caused for Augustine think about his life and ultimately converted him to Christianity. After converting, he wrote books such as: Confessions, The City of God, and De Doctrinia (On Christian Doctrine), along with many others. Saint Augustine was and still is a great Christian influence in the world today.

It is probably prudent to begin by discussing some of the fundamental beliefs of St. Augustine in order to better tackle the question. We must remember that St. Augustine is first and foremost a theologian, and thus his beliefs are firmly rooted in the teachings of Christianity. He accepted the doctrine of the Bible, i.e. the world and everything in it was created by God. Men were initially living in relationship with God, but after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they `fell', and effectively condemned their genealogy with the

He was profoundly influenced by the philosophical treatise Horentsius, written by the Roman statesman, Marcus Tullius Cicero. When questioning his parents’ religion, he was particularly drawn to Manichaeism, also known as the Manichees. Manichaeism is a dualistic philosophical religion based on a God of Good and a God of Evil. This religion, at first, seemed to correspond to most of the plausible hypothesis’s Saint Augustine created to conclude a philosophical and ethical system. The Manichees claimed to have found contradictions in Holy Writ, also known as the Bible. He was so astonished by this he couldn’t help but dedicate his time and study’s to the book of the Manichees. The Manichees believed that there was contradiction in the scriptures of the Bible. They did not believe that the earth and the human race were created as it was written in Genesis. But when Saint Augustine questioned the Manichees concerning the movements of the stars, none of them could answer him. Disappointed, Saint Augustine turned skeptic about the religion and so he left the Manichees.

• Saint Augustine birth and conversion (354 - 386 A. D). Augustine was born in a small town called Tagaste, which is located in North Africa. Furthermore, Augustine formed doctrines of the church of the Middle Ages. He was a Philosopher, Teacher, and became a Bishop of Hippo. His favoritism of Bishop Ambrose gave him more understanding with an excellent interpretation of the scripture which gave him clarity. Thirty-two years of age, Saint Augustine had a spiritual conversion experience that directed him to read the word of God, Romans 13:13, which he obeyed and followed with anticipation (Gonzalez, J. L., 2010, digital). Augustine was convicted about his lifestyle and began to desire to know the truth about God and Christianity by accepting faith in Jesus Christ (John 8:32).