Reading Old Books – Augustine’s Confessions Book V
Today we are discussing Chapter 5 of Augustine’s Confessions. We will be reading Chapter 6 by February 25th. Please join the discussion by posting a comment to this post!
Book V is an account of the year when Augustine was 29 years old, which was an important year of change for him.
The year began with Augustine teaching in Carthage. In Book III, Augustine recounted how he had become a Manichean. Now the renowned Manichean Bishop Faustus was coming to Carthage. Augustine had developed doubts and questions about Manichean philosophy. As he studied “the philosophers” (mathematicians and astronomers), he found that they explained the workings of the world better than the Manichean religion. Faustus had a reputation for wisdom and eloquence, so Augustine hoped that he would be able to better explain the Manichean religion.
We get some insight from Augustine into the Manichean religion here. The founder Mani taught that the Holy Spirit dwelt in him personally with plenary authority. His words were uniquely the words of god. But Mani’s statements about astronomy were provably incorrect. Furthermore, Augustine asserts that Mani knew nothing of piety either.
Faustus had a reputation for wisdom and eloquence, but in both these areas Augustine found that he was lacking when compared to the philosophers. He had style, but only knowledge of literature rather than science, and even in literature nothing beyond what Augustine had. He was wise enough to recognize his ignorance in these areas, and admitted this to Augustine. Augustine had been following the Manichean for nine years, and had hoped for explanations to his questions. This was a disappointment to Augustine, and he would continue to follow them only because he could not find anything better.
Augustine left Carthage for Rome in hopes of finding a better environment for teaching. This was a traumatic time for his believing mother. She prayed that he would stay in Carthage, but as Augustine ultimately realized, God answered her true heart’s desire (for Augustine’s conversion) rather than what she prayed for. He would become very ill upon his arrival in Rome, but God spared him. It turned out that Rome had its own set of problems for a teacher, so he took a position in Milan.
In Milan, Augustine met Bishop Ambrose. Ambrose was a gifted teacher, who Augustine judged based on his rhetorical skill. As a Manichean, Augustine assumed that the Christian faith was intellectually indefensible. Mani taught that the New Testament had been corrupted in order to graft the Jewish law onto the faith. As Ambrose taught, it appeared strangely defensible. Augustine enjoyed hear Ambrose expound the Law and the Prophets, and his explanation made sense.
In response to thing, Augustine began to look for falsehoods in the Manichean scriptures. Ultimately he determined that he preferred the philosophers to the Manicheans, so he withdrew from the sect, but did not attach himself to anything new.
Two observations from this chapter:
First is Augustine’s clear view of providence. Whether it is God answering his mother’s real heart desire rather than her prayer, or Augustine’s clear sense of God at work through all his movements, Augustine knows that God is always at work for His purposes and for our good.
Second is the importance of a well reasoned faith. I guess this shouldn’t surprise me – Augustine was one of the most brilliant people of his age, and one of the most brilliant theologians in history. But throughout his pre-conversion years Augustine examined his faith to see if it was reasonable. Ultimately this would lead him away from the error of the Manicheans. His examination of Ambrose’s teachings would make Christianity seem reasonable to him. This challenges me to think about the scriptures and my own faith more deeply.
Posted by David Fenton on Feb 12, 07:20 AM