Who is God for Augustine - Book Report/Review Example

Who is God to Augustine? By Affiliation Similarities with the Scriptures Augustine takes God as a supreme being who is very powerful and caring. He views God as the one who created the universe and one whom we can depend on to keep human beings safe. Augustine believes that God forgives sins of humankind through His mercies if man confesses because God created them1. Augustine believes that God cleanses man from sins since childhood with the understanding that no one is free from sins as stated by Paul in the book of Romans. He perceives God as a close friend who he can confide to and tell all his joys and sorrows to. This depicts God as a close and valuable friend as portrayed in the scriptures which reveal God through Christ Jesus as the brother who cares in times of need. Augustine believes that God listens and hears every prayer that is mentioned on confession. God is loving and needs to be loved too in contrite spirit with the understanding of the objectives and purpose that God has for human beings to be morally upright2. Confession is fundamental in the relationship with God so as to tell of your sins and ask for forgiveness. The scriptures confirms this as an attribute of good relationship with God as it states that if we come to Him and confess all our unrighteousness, He is just to accept and forgive us. Augustine narrates of his life that was full of turmoil but still was led by God to overcome the many challenges indicating that God is trustworthy. Augustine views God as the true light that illuminates every human person who comes to the world and in him there is no respecter of persons3. Augustine realizes that through might of the flesh he was unable to reach out to God but was thrust away to the point of tasting death. The pride of flesh has no place nor respect from God but when one realizes his filthiness and humbly submit to the power of God, there is evidential experiences in life that he will attest through the guidance of God. This understanding of the sympathetic and caring God is evidently revealed in the scriptures when Jesus says “come unto me all you who are heavily laden and I will give you rest.” God is viewed as a protector by Augustine by protecting him from restless and wicked folks and their wiles of darkness. Augustine attests of his difficult journey and non-comprehendible intellect of God in which He reveals success in unknown things4. God is portrayed as the way by Augustine in the view of his marvelous ways of guiding his people. This character of God is shown in the scriptures on the way God provides guideline to Christians as He leads them through the life journey despite difficult times. Jesus tells the disciples that He is the way, truth and light and no one comes to him but through the father. He provides to those who love him according to the riches in glory. God is light and truth which existed from the beginning which was formed as into flesh to bring salvation to mankind through the death of the cross5. Augustine understands God as the word and light that illuminates through the darkness and was made alive with life and has power to make all those who receive him as children of God. This understanding of God is directly depicted in the book of John chapter one from verse one to 10. The entire history of human redemption is portrayed in the chapters thought the great love of God. Augustine narrates of how God through platonic ecstasy becomes victorious in many spheres. He connects to the belief in God with the ultimate expected victory that is beyond immortal man to eternity status. Augustine knows God as the savior of the world through Christ who is able to raise us from sinful death to a changed life of practical Christianity. He views the testimony of Paul in relation to his life and realized the wonders of Christ in his life. He sees the need to go to church in the Eucharistic assembly with reputable spirit realizing the story of the prodigal son and need to be made holy6. The understanding of God as the savior of all humankind is vividly attested through the epistle of Paul and his conversion story in the scriptures. The holistic revelation of Christ to man through angles depicts God as a holy being who is able to make everyone who comes to Him holy. Significant Difference Augustine’s confession is based entirely on the intellectual and spiritual development with guidance of apprehending and appreciating the deep nature of relationship. The key theme and issue in his confessions is based on the search for Christian conversion and meaning. Augustine reveals how reason places man on the road towards God and how faith informs and elevates reason taking it beyond limit. In a paradoxical fact, Augustine states that one believes in order to understand and understands to believe better through assent7. This is significantly different from the theological perspective which applies the understanding of faith in the context of hearing the word and believing through the understanding conviction of the Holy Spirit. The understanding of faith and reason is based on the difference between the two. Reason is objective, verifiable and scientific while faith is personal, irrational and subjective even wider on madness or mania. However, if we believe that is indeed reasonable to reason, then it will be acceptably a belief in itself which requires a certain faith. Faith is more than reason because at the point where there is no more reason is when the mind open to realize and manifestation of supernatural power in the context of faith. The idea of adjoining faith to reason is a reputation of secularism that is related to Atheism. When reason and object of faith is place to the source of intellectual power, the need to look beyond human self for greater source of faith is dismissed. Therefore faith as portrayed in the scripture is abolished. While reasoning up in the aspect of faith, Augustine takes the last three books or chapters in explaining faith as knowledge. He relates the insufficiency of reason in connection to true doctrine and God. He writes of an immature Christian who was ill-informed about the church doctrine. The high view of Augustine’s reason rested in the belief that God is the author of reason and truth8. However, the belief of God in the scriptural texts indicates that God is the author of belief which develops reason through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Reason may not be significantly viable in-terms of christen life because it become irrelevant in some matters of faith where trust and obedience takes the center stage. Therefore reason becomes applicable in the context of the revelation after believing not in reason but God who reveals reason. Augustine places high regards for reason as the central theological conviction place as found in Mani’s experience. He learnt about the physical world view of Manicheans which has become exasperated exceedingly through lack of irrational and logical nature9. The conflict arises when he was told to believe even on idea that did not correspond with reason or contradicted reason. This led to Augustine leaving Manicheans in search for an intellectual and reasonable faith. This aspect of faith that doesn’t rely on human reasons and realities is the evident depth of faith in the scriptural writing which was not real faith according to Augustine’s view. The faith that is acceptable by God according to the scriptural patriarchs who are mentioned in the book of Hebrews as the men of faith does not employ reason but trust and obedience to God. In the aspect of Trinity, Augustine depicts the understanding of trinity in the context of God being a representation of the father and the beginning being a representation of the son in whom all things were made10. Augustine’s confessions in the thirteenth book reveals searching souls that are pushing to understand the trinity in relation to the three persons in the trinity are introduced in the first chapters of the scriptures. God is revealed as the creation begins but later the spirit of God is revealed as looming according to the understanding of Augustine in the biblical interpretation. This leaves the narrator with lots of questions in his mind in connection to trinity. Scripturally, one contradiction that crops is the understanding that the spirit is revealed after the origin of the creation. The scriptures reveal the spirit existence just before the start of creation as hovering within the earth. This in sense provides evidence that is was in existence before creation in relation to the gospel of John. Augustine understands of trinity in relating the father as God and son as represented by “beginning” seems not to create the triune in the contextual and mystery aspect as revealed in the scriptures. The identity of God is used to represent the three in-terms of Godhead and the trinity in the book of genesis is engulfed I the mentioning of God which represents one God in three persons of the father, son and Holy Spirit. Bibliography Rotelle, John E. The Confessions. New York: New City Press, 2008. Read More