The Preaching of Augustine - Research Paper Example

? Number] The Preaching’s of Augustine Introduction Augustine is a well renowned Bishop of the early era of Christianity preaching. He was unique among the Christians preachers due to his elegant and pleasing way of sermonizing. He was a man of God, a true worshippers and his aim was to indulge fellow Christians into practice the religion in true spirits. The preaching methodology of Augustine was exceptional which distinguished him other Bishops. Augustine inspired a huge majority of individuals and also converted masses into Christians. He was truly loyal, devoted and faithful priest & his aim of life was the propagation of Bible’s message in right direction. His approach towards Bible was entirely different from other Bishops as he read it very intensely and spiritually. The influential writings of Augustine make him one of the most prominent and outstanding theologian and philosopher of all times1. The preaching’s of Augustine had a massive impact on the society due to his creativity in traditional Bible teaching methodology. The aim of Bishop was to educate each and every individual about the meaning of Bible and relate them with spiritualism. He is considered as the best orator, speaker, lecturer and spokesperson in Christianity. Without any governess or communication skills practice, he knew how to grab people attention towards the topic and deliver the message. His believe was that Bible is the only solution to mankind and it can resolve each and every sort of problems facing by mankind. Dilemmas whether it would be worldly, spiritual or religious; Bible has the solution to them all. He wanted appreciation of Bible by the people at every forum and propagated his message in every possible way2. This paper discusses the voyage of Augustine’s preaching the message. The methodology, tactics, procedures and approaches adopted by Augustine. The symposium regarding his teaching methodology, theological themes and art of preaching in what possible ways he attracted the masses and how he managed to provoke people about the importance of Bible. Creating a relationship with God through Bible was his primary agenda, so constructive arguments regarding spiritualism importance with Bible are also illustrated. The innovation speech strategy along with engaging audience is analyzed. In the end, legacy of Augustine with a decisive conclusion is illustrated. Preaching Methodology Augustine came out from the conventional preaching process and gave a new horizon to this prestigious position. He wanted to assure that Bible is the word of God which is in direct correlation with everyday working of a human being. His way of preaching includes giving mind blowing examples to the people with respect to their jobs & duties. Engraving good virtues of Bible was his utmost desire. He addressed each and every individual personally and tries to get involve regarding his job responsibilities. By getting to know the person; he then propagates the importance of Bible into life and gave prior examples to the person as per his responsibilities3. Adam (2004, p.192) illustrates for instance if there was a woodcutter, then Augustine tried to converse about his way of cutting woods and selling to the market etc. After getting the true picture of the person, Augustine started giving examples about woodcutting and its relevance with Bible. Woodcutting is a tough and struggling job and this hardworking by men is pleased by God etc. Such kind of examples and preaching methodology was very effective and laid a huge impact on people mindsets. Instead of giving long & lengthy lectures; Augustine demonstrated the practical implementation of Bible preaching’s into action. This method was applauded by the people overwhelmingly. Augustine was a learned father and priest so he knew how to use the stories depicted in Holy Bible. He exemplified the stories of Bible to target a larger audience as people are more interested in listening stories. His way of delivering speech was highly appreciated & acceptable by the people which was a major plus point. Biblical stories were very attractive and thus at a certain time in his speech, Augustine focused on the hidden message behind the story and wanted everyone to follow the good deeds told in Bible. Adaptation of good deeds prescribed in Bible was the motive of delivering speech. His efforts brought fruitfulness sooner among the masses as people were in love with this different and elegant father4. Art of Preaching One of the biggest arts in Augustine preaching style was that he used simple language for the explanation of Bible. Instead of using those words which are even difficult to digest for the priests, he adopted easy words and language for preaching purpose. Engagement with people through cultural understanding was another smart act by Augustine. He analyzed the scenario and famous cultural rituals of the society first, and then preached according to the circumstances. Bluntly preaching without ignoring cultural norms and values was not the style of Augustine. He was a very intelligent, bright and gifted priest5. (Augustine 2007, p.47) demonstrates that another intellectual effort done by Augustine which helped in preaching too was that he interpreted every Bible version, such as Gospel of Mathew, John and publicized the message according to the general acceptability of the Biblical version. He also tried to proved a strong connection between Gospels and focused that word of God is the ultimate truth and solution to all our problems. Absorbing the knowledge of Bible into souls is the only essential requirement by a human being and his path will be clearer than. The cultures where Augustine lived were usually oral and speeches had colossal impact, so he worked upon his communication skills. Augustine was successful in convincing a huge majority of people that reading Bible is more important and extracting essence from reading is divine. People started to focus on studying Bible and also encouraged their kids to seek the light of learning. This was the first step of Augustine so that people would get involved in the reading process. He then realized them that the true meaning of Biblical words lies in spiritualistic relationship. As Bible is the word of God so he wanted people that their involvement would reach such a level that they would start realizing that God is in conversation with them through Bible. Spiritualism was the key to this door and he did enormous efforts to create a connection of people with God. Teaching Philosophy The teaching philosophy adopted by Augustine in instructing students was of immense importance as this was the time when Augustine had to prepare spiritualist future Priests who would convey the significance of Bible in its actual force. Augustine had created three sub divisions in his teaching philosophy so that he would address the students accordingly. His techniques brought wonderful result as he was intelligent enough to know the nature of students coming from different societies. He indulged students in the learning of spiritualism first. The main coaching and training manner of Augustine is discussed below. The categorization of students was only in Augustine’s mind and never showed his pupils that either they are characterized in different groups. The three main groups were the students who had good education from knowledgeable teachers, the students who thought they were educated but had no knowledge in fact and the third category was the students who had no education. The first and last category was the easiest to transfer knowledge but the second one in which students think they are well educated but they are not was the most different category to handle. As this group thought that they know everything so transfer of knowledge into them was the most difficult task6. The first category was always willing to search out some conclusive knowledge from the teachings and wanted to acquire deep inside message by analyzing each and every verse religiously. The students with no education were massively helped by Augustine as he had to teach them the basics first. The main motto of Augustine was to get engage all his pupils into spiritualism first. As per his thinking, spiritualism is the first step towards a divine journey of success and if it’s not obtained, than everything is meaningless. Teachers trained were also deeply spiritual so students had to master in spiritualism first. Connection with God can be created only through spiritualism and Augustine proved this theory to the students7. Augustine believed that answering every query of students is imperative in the teaching process and responding them positively is a highly motivational gesture. Not underestimating any student and personal interaction and rendezvous with students is essential to find out the learning outcomes. He was the creator of restrained style of teaching which demonstrates that every student understands the concept by heart, then move forward. Bombarding knowledge into student’s mind can be disastrous so he came up with this vital strategy which was cherished by students too. The implementation of punishments as per Bible instructions was made compulsory as good and evil move in the same direction. Evil doesn’t want good to dominate so attacks good through humanely desires. Augustine believed that punishments are actually benefits and incentives for the students to keep away from the bad deeds in future. Making every student pious, spiritual and man of God was the goal of Augustine. Whenever evil desires attacked a student, physical punishment was given so that he would be genuinely realizing his wrong act and never does it again8. Theological Themes As the society is more attracted and moved by love, grace, elegance, judgment and fascination, so to seek people’s attention Augustine used this premise. Theological themes became essential weapons of Augustine while preaching as he precisely knew where to choose which. While exemplifying Biblical stories, he enormously utilized theological themes so that people would remain attentive and not get bored. Creating such an environment in which people would not even blink an eye was a big preaching accomplishment of Augustine. People loved his story telling and preaching style and respected him in every possible way9. Meconi (2012, p.129) explains that theological themes were employed to explain societal issues. People in every era want to listen about the current and surrounding happenings, so Augustine specifically played this card to grasp a position in the community. This was due to the intelligence and farsightedness of the Bishop to create and hold a position among the community members. In that era, priests, father and bishops even had more respect as people were more attached to the religion. Augustine was blessed by a good listening audience too which made his work easy10. The basic intention was to escort people to the path of spiritualism and theological themes propagation was the perfect trail. Augustine knew that people attention is more towards these kinds of issue so he utilized his active communications and interactions skill in general public. Augustine never utilized written notes while giving the lectures. He prepared himself well before appearing into the speech mode and never stopped while lecturing. Analysts write that he was an eye catching person with special preaching moves. Spiritualism The biggest authenticity of Bible words can be attained by getting into the path of Spiritualism. It is the only sacred path which creates a strong bonding of a human being with God Almighty. Bible can only be understood if spiritually a person is strong. Augustine worked on spiritualism first and reached high paramount of it. He was mentally and physically sound which is necessary to gain spiritualism. Bible as the only source to get spiritual guidance was his central idea of belief which he propagated throughout his life. He chose the path of spiritualism to get his work and endeavours done11. The philosophy of Augustine was spiritual centric. His preaching, sermon preparations and lecturing audience was all due to his strong spiritual thoughts. Engraving this key essence of success in people’s life was his dream. The pupils of Augustine were taught spiritualism through Bible. Attaining Mastery in Bible was the key to be a part of this Holy journey. He made sure that all of his pupils were spiritually sound and have a good speaking power. Extensive research upon Bible was done by him & his students to get the real message of the Holy Book. Hours of debate upon Bible and spiritualism took place between him & his students for a betting understanding. The students of Augustine report that he was a thorough gentleman & a model of spiritualist human being. Augustine was of the theory that one should prove a thing right and then start propagating the message. So his solo flights towards the spiritualistic journey contained colossal importance as he read the Bible whole heartedly. His concept was that individuals should get so much involved in Bible reading that they would actually feel that God Almighty is in direct conversation with them. These words of Augustine had a massive impact on students and they tried to reach this tremendous level. His students were blessed t have such a spiritually strong teach who had sheer grip on the described path12. Engagement with Masses The technique of engagement with masses was the real art of Augustine. He made such an impression on people that his fan following increased by leaps and bounds. He proved himself as a man of God and indulged in spiritualism first. His knowledge and scope of Bible was very comprehensible and graspable. Each and everything was clear in his mind which was the main essence of his preaching success. He never went into the audience without preparation. Understanding the dynamics, geographical position, culture, traditions and norms were the primary things which he checked first. After having fine sympathetic information about the region, he went into the masses and conveyed the message of peace, love and harmony. Bible mystical stories relevance with the current world picture was the leading edge he had because he was good in assessing the situation. He was good in face reading and nature of people so when he during the speech when he thought that audience is losing confidence in the debate and are getting uninterested then he switched to theological themes suddenly. He was a very smart orator and explainer. Before addressing the larger audience, Augustine involved with the common people first and asked about their issues, problems and difficulties. This also gave him the chance to see that in which state of mind people are13. After getting confidence in some of the people around, Augustine then focused to lecture a large group of people. This was a superior tactic of preaching and Augustine was best in getting to know the situation prevailing around the society. Whichever story he revealed during the lectures were directly or indirectly correlated with Bible. Thus the topic of spiritualism arouse every time and he requested all the listeners to get the concrete knowledge of Bible by reading it thoroughly and also send their children to Churches for learning the religious knowledge. Relationship with God Historians, Research analysts and a reputed majority of Priest community believe that Augustine was truly a man of God. The true and strong relationship with God Almighty can be established by following the orders given by Him. Implementing those orders into own lifestyle and then preaching to others make a difference. If a person just only sermonize people about God’s orders and does not imply those in his life then his preaching does not have any value at all. This themes gives an intuition that to convince and engage masses with God, a person should have strong bonding with God Almighty first14. Augustine went deep into the philosophical study and analysis of Holy Bible15. His major area of concern was spiritualism. He not only read each and every verso of Bible thoroughly but also tried to dig in the exact and factual meaning of the words. His explorative study on Bible clearly distinguishes him from other priests as he had in depth concrete knowledge about things. This was the reason that his connection with God was very strong and his sermonizing tone had profundity, intensity and greatness. People were automatically attracted to him. His appearance was also pleasing for people out there. By watching his everyday life, research and thorough presentation of ideas, people configured that Augustine is truly God’s servant and tries to help his fellow human beings to get on the righteous path. His intentions very crystal clear and he had understanding of human psychology. This was the main reason that he was able to convey the message very easily and people were impressed by his explanation of Biblical stories. He made the religious teachings straightforward, trouble-free, painless and uncomplicated. People were hence able to get back onto the religious practices very soon. History of Christianity The history of Christianity is full of dedicated, committed and faithful priests whose intentions were to implement the religion in people’s everyday life. Religion should not be separated from daily endeavours was the purpose of preachers who spent their whole life in giving this message. Augustine in this regard holds a supreme position in the history of Christianity. All the priests, fathers and bishops recall his teaching and preaching methodology and appreciate him. His spiritual following priests are in thousands, spread all around the globe and in a quest to teach the way of living life16. Famous historians such as Thomas Cahill exemplify the role of Augustine and call him the last classical man and the first medieval person. Theological, sociological and psychological thinking and reasoning was truly an art which Augustine possessed and this was something very unique in that era specially. His thoughts about magic were however criticized by Church, he demonstrated miracles occur as per God’s desire and magic is a humanly invented thing with the help of evil spirits. His concept of worship, love, prosperity and success got huge applause all around the world and this was a big success indeed17. The concept of believe and faith in God in each and every effort of life was a well communicated impression by him which was the main reason of spreading the religion. His unusual preaching style, innovation strategy and exclusive entity created a very positive impact on the society overall which became essential quintessence in dispersal the message of Christianity. Whenever and wherever the history of Christianity is written or will be written; Augustine preaching will be dominant and prestigious among all the preachers around the globe. Work Cited Adam, Peter. Hearing God's Words: Exploring Biblical Spirituality. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2004. Augustine, Saint. Essential Sermons (the Works of Saint Augustine). Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2007. Meconi, David Vincent. The Confessions: Saint Augustine of Hippo. Ignatius Press, 2012. Bright, Pamela, ed. and trans. Augustine and the Bible, Indianapolis, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1986. Gonzalez, Justo L. The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, Rev. and updated [ed.], 2nd ed. Vol. 1 of The Story of Christianity, New York: Harper One, 2010. O'Donnell, James J. Augustine. New York, NY: Harpern Collins e-books, 2009. Read More