The writings of Augustine - Essay Example

Philosophy and Politics The writings of Augustine emerged during the reign of Queen Anne, King George I and King George II in the earlier part of the eighteenth century and ended with the death of the Pope and the Swift in around 1745. The political writings of Augustine appeared in the form of a novel that resembled the characteristics of satire, drama and spread of religious beliefs, etc. The political satires used in the writings of Augustine were aimed drawing a close relationship with the spread of Christianity in the western societies. Augustine was a Christian theologian who was concerned with showing the compatibility between the politics in the western society and the spread of Christianity. Augustine was the bishop of the Roman province in Africa. Augustine was a prolific writer and a strong proponent of Christianity. The writings of Augustine led to the spread of his increasing popularity and he was regarded as the father of the Church. The most important works of Augustine where he established a strong compatibility between the politics and Christianity are namely, City of God and Confessions. The age in which Augustine wrote his works resembled empiricism. The writings of the eighteenth century, however, reflected the growth of mercantilism. The growth of capital and the politics of the rulers showed that that they developed a strong urgency for the growth of capitalism which would help them to develop into stronger powers. The bold writings of Augustine that were produced in this age contained political satires that that unfolded the nuance and the political interests that created destructions and affected the spread of the religion of Christianity. Through his bold writings, Augustine expressed his deep concerns in showing the compatibility between the political environment and the spread of Christianity. “The worshippers of the many false Gods whom we worship by the customary name of pagans, blamed the Christian religion for the disaster and began to blaspheme the true God more sharply and bitterly than usual.” (Augustine, Kries and Fortin 1) After the conversion to Christianity, Augustine started to develop his own philosophies and theories based on the principle of the Christian religion. The tenure of Augustine as the Bishop in the Roman province in Africa saw the increase of slavery and influence of the political interests in converting masses to religions of interests. This was heavily supported by the increase in capitalism and exploitation of human freedom. Augustine believed that by the grace of Jesus, the spirit of human freedom should be restored in the world and this should not be affected by the political measures in the western societies. The brave writings of Augustine in the area of politics and Christianity considering the socio-economic conditions of the eighteenth century have drawn perfect reconciliation of politics and Christianity which was driven by the attempts to restore humanity and curb the evil forces of power and politics. “Look at the Roman Republic which having changed little by little from the most beautiful and best, has become the worst and most disgraceful” (Augustine, Kries and Fortin 16). Augustine’s philosophy did not allow him to endorse the beliefs of the New Testament through ways of violence. Instead he believed that the true spirit of humanity lies in the peaceful politics that aims to take necessary steps for overall development of the society. Augustine also never wanted Christianity to dominate over the religious beliefs of other sections of the society. The reflection of these philosophies was done with the perspective to reconcile the political interests and the growth of Christianity. The reconcilement of politics and Christianity was the major concern in the political writings of Augustine as he realized that the holy spirit of man could develop in an environment which is peaceful and politically stable. Augustine showed deep concerns in reconciling politics and Christianity because he was anxious about restoration of human rights and the growth of humanity in the rising situation of capitalism and slavery in the society. The reconciliation of politics and Christianity was achieved by Augustine through his bold political writings that showcased the forces of politics, the related satirical expression and the underlying criticism for the development of peace and stable political environment. Through his writings, Augustine was able to draw a balance and the boundaries beyond which politics and Christianity should not impose themselves on each other for the development of true spirit of humanity. The political decisions of capitalism and the religious beliefs of Christianity are supposed to have due respect for each other in order to co-exist in the same society in the situation of peace and harmony. Augustine believed that political aspirations have no bounds and everything is possible to achieve with the help of politics. In the same tune, he also emphasized that political beliefs are not revolutionary and are guided by the holy ideas of Christianity which teaches mankind the right way of livelihood and the essence of human lives. “According to more accepted definitions, however, a certain sort of republic did exist, and it was directed better by the earlier Roman than the later ones” (Augustine, Kries and Fortin 21) In order to reconcile the forces of politics and the beliefs of Christianity, Augustine also proposed that the members of the society must work considering the limitations of the socio-religious conditions and combat the force of cruelty to promote the spread of Christianity. In this way, Augustine has been able to inspire the western society to find its way in the prevailing political atmosphere to spread the beliefs and ideas of Christianity. Augustine has been successful to a great extent in reconciling politics and Christianity in the eighteenth century with the help of his bold political writings. Although Augustine’ political writings did not include a clear explanation of the theories of politics, but the reconciliation of politics and Christianity have spread the idea and the beliefs of the Christian theologian towards the development of peaceful social environment in which there is ample scope for the growth of humanity. On the basis of his philosophies, Augustine has questioned the political authority of the rulers of the western society and their decisions to implement capitalist approach and slavery. The readers of the political writings of Augustine have been provided with the insights of the uncompromising principles of Christianity. The strength of the Christian sermons and beliefs like mercy in putting pressures on the political forces have led to the restructuring of the western society that ultimately found the right path of Christianity. Augustine’s writings spread the belief among the masses that without the spirit of Christianity, politics had very little to offer to the western society as it hampered faith of the society on the political forces. Work Cited Augustine, Saint., Douglas, Kries. and Ernest, Fortin. Augustine: Political Writings. Indiana: Hackett Publishing, 1994. Print. Read More