St. Augustine: Faith, Reason, and the Two Cities
Reason and Faith
St. Augustine explored how humans come to know profound truths. He found Manichaeism unsatisfactory and skepticism self-defeating, as doubt implies the existence of at least doubt itself. This led him to accept minimal truths. Influenced by Christianity, he considered the possibility of sense-based knowledge about the world. St. Augustine, a thinking believer, recognized that faith and reason, while distinct, both contribute to humanity’s pursuit of divine truth. Reason supports faith, and faith guides reason. He believed faith is the surest path to knowledge, where intelligence and faith unite in a passionate love of truth. For Augustine, the Christian believer and the philosopher are inseparable. The path to higher knowledge begins with self-consciousness, where truth and the ultimate truth, God, reside. Through introspection, we access higher truths, though divine illumination is essential for attaining the highest knowledge, which St. Augustine calls wisdom. The soul yearns for this wisdom, driven by love for eternal verities.
God and the World
For St. Augustine, everything in the world has its ideal form in God. The created world is based on these eternal ideas. This theory represents a Christianized version of Plato and Plotinus, reconciling the eternal world of Indo-European thought with the Jewish concept of creation. Eternal ideas are the blueprints, and matter is created. All created things are contingent and caused by God. He establishes a hierarchical order: 1. God, 2. Souls, 3. Bodies, 4. Evil (absence of light). Time was created alongside the material world.
Vision of Man
St. Augustine’s understanding of human nature follows a Platonic dualism: an immortal soul occupies and uses a mortal body. The soul, though created by God, carries the legacy of original sin, leading the body to dominate the soul. Original sin explains humanity’s tendency towards evil, requiring divine grace for salvation. Human freedom raises a paradox: if we are not free, genuine morality is impossible; yet, if divine grace is indispensable, how can we be responsible for our actions? St. Augustine distinguishes between Libertas (supreme freedom) and Liberum arbitrium (free will). Libertas is the desire to love the highest good, fulfilling the human quest for happiness, which is God. Liberum arbitrium is the ability to decide freely, but this capacity is weakened by original sin. Humans often incline towards evil. Choosing and doing good requires divine grace, God’s gift to the elect. Grace empowers free will, directing it towards good.
Conception of History
The fall of Rome was seen by many pagans as punishment from the Roman gods for abandoning traditional religion. St. Augustine’s City of God critiques this view, offering a comprehensive Christian perspective on history. Highly influential throughout the Middle Ages, it defines the relationship between church and state. Human history is a struggle between two cities: the city of light (Jerusalem) and the city of darkness (Babylon or Rome). Followers of Abel (good) and Cain (evil) coexist in conflict. The true city of the elect is invisible; we cannot know who they are in this life. Without God’s grace, humanity is condemned. The internal conflict between good and evil within each person mirrors the conflict between Abel and Cain. The two cities are abstract ideas, not necessarily aligned with real organizations. A person may belong to the Church but still be part of the earthly city. During times of weak state power and strong Church influence, the book was interpreted as if Church and State were the two cities, implying the state must submit to the Church to be part of God’s city. The state should adhere to the Church’s principles.