Historical Context
A.D. 70 Fall of Jerusalem, temple destroyed
Early church is persecuted until Constantine makes Christianity the official religion in 312
Constantine 306-337
Augustine 354-397, baptized 387, becomes bishop in 396, wrote Confessions in 397, Confessions covers 354-387
Autobiography, journal, or memoir?
Reads like a journal because he shows so much of his inner life
Nothing self-indulgent about it
Time passing after the events (and before writing) gives him a lot of perspective
Name of the book has a double meaning
Confesses sin but also who he now knows Christ to be
Confession – testimony, a statement of faith
Confessor – a martyr who holds to his faith in Christ
Other spiritual biographies – John Bunyan (Grace Abounding), Tolstoy, C.S. Lewis (Surprised by Joy)
Testimony: You are great, Lord. (Framework is Augustine talking to the Lord but we get to listen in)
What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?
Philosophy was a search for wisdom, including goodness, truth, beauty
Both sought wisdom, Athens through intellectual and philosophical inquiry, Jerusalem through God’s way as God’s chosen
How would you connect Augustine to Athens?
Carthage was his Athens
Followed the path of Athenian intellectual inquiry
Read Cicero, which lit in him a passion for wisdom but came with a warning not to be seduced by empty philosophy that glosses over sin
Manmade pursuit of wisdom that whets the appetite for something higher
Does very well in rhetoric and becomes very conceited
From Plato- he gets some glimpse of the logos from reading Plato, search for the incorporeal
Pursuit of peace
See the destiny but cannot see how to reach it
The worship of knowledge gets in the way of the search for Christ – can’t stomach His humility because they are puffed up with their knowledge
Monica – how does she change?
She didn’t want Augustine to be baptized early because she thought he might fall away and then his baptism would be a curse
How would you connect Augustine to Jerusalem (God’s path to wisdom)?
Christ
Sin – the barrier between us getting to know God
Searches for truth but Athens path never leads him to God
Barrier
2 friends
Nebridius? – friend is ill and is baptized but Augustine mocks the baptism, friend does not join in the joking, then dies, Augustine feels convicted
Alypius – goes to the gladiatorial games against his better judgment, sees it and it wounds his soul but he becomes addicted and can’t stop going, sin is captivating and addictive, shows Augustine that sex is his addiction, sheer willpower is not enough
Personal humility – end of book 7, Section 13 or 9
4 contrasts between Platonists and the Bible
Platonists say In the beginning was the word (higher reality) but they don’t say that Christ is the way
2. The Word (John 1) is of spirit, no connection between spirit and flesh (Platonists) – Jesus Christ is the ultimate connection between spirit and flesh, the Son of God (Manicheans would say there’s no connection bt spirit and flesh)
3. The atonement – by connecting with God you will gain wisdom (platonists) but they don’t say Rom. 5 that Christ died for the ungodly
Plato – light but no love, glory but no sacrifice, wisdom but no humility, spirit but no incarnation
Plato moves Augustine toward God but doesn’t have the final answer
Plato helps prepare the world for God but human wisdom falls short
Athens – focus is on the creation
Jerusalem – focus is on the creator (would require them to bow to the creator)
What pushes Augustine to conversion?
Visits Ambrose and Victorinus
In the garden with Alypius – read Romans – put on Christ, which covers the weight of his sin that caused him such agony
“Author of salvation” – this was God’s story
What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?
Ken’s Thesis: Athens functions as a bridge from self, created things, to Christ.
The journey of wisdom gets you farther than the journey without it – lots of questions, a hunger for something more, a search for answers, learning to look for what answers, builds the appetite
Athens is another Moses, another Pentateuch, another way of preparation for Christ
God’s law is written in every man’s heart
A detailed picture of a classical, Platonic path to Christ
Faith – personal, communal (friends in the garden), transformational
Papers
Use the classical method:
Grammar – recount the facts
Logic/dialectic – make contrasts
Rhetoric – expressing your opinions, build a case (This is what I think, and here’s why I think it), be provocative (don’t just pick the obvious points)
Tentative Capstone date – Sunday, July 28
Location – National Cathedral?