Confessions: Part 1

If I were posed the question, “Who is the father of your theology?” at different times I would have given varying answers. Not too long ago, I would have scoffed at such a question, and would have merely stated that my theology was built solely upon the authority of the bible without prejudice or influence. Learning later the audacity of such a claim, I would have simply deemed myself to be a product of western theology, from the tribe of the reformation, more specifically, from the theology of John Calvin.

As Dr. Kent Berghuis once analogized, the Christian life is like a “super bouncy ball” which, by its own momentum bounces off the ground and is projected upward gaining height upon each return from its starting point. So, says Burghuis, is the progression of Christian generations, one after another, who must plumb down through the subsequent generations, bouncing off the foundation which is Christ, and returning to their time to understand from whence they came and how they got to where they now are. 

So now, returning to my initial question, I conclude that Augustine is the father of my theology. I have read much about Augustine, but of Augustine I have read little until this time. Of all the theologians and historical Christian figures that I have read, Augustine is the one whom for me spoke with the most clarity and decisiveness. The reason for this, I have come to believe, is that Augustine is the spring from which most of the theology I have consumed has flowed and was developed.

Though I desire to simply ramble through my discoveries of Augustine (as would be fitting given the way in which Augustine arrived at his conclusions through lengthy self discourse), I must narrow my focus to a few areas that had profound implications as to the trajectory on which Augustine has propelled the western world (perhaps I give him too much credit by saying this, but I hope that the reasons for such conclusions will be adequately explained through my outline). This outline consists of broader themes which, interestingly enough, are framed by the kind of legal mind that Augustine had (155). Therefore, such categories were not difficult to pick out. The outline proceeds as follows:

I.                   Introductory / Explanatory words

II.                On the Interpretation of the Bible

III.             Augustine’s Soteriology: Issues of (original) sin, human responsibility, the will, and salvation

IV.             Augustine’s Epistemology: The Way in which Augustine came to conclusions and theologized – Modern / Post Modern debate – East v. West – The use of foundationalism and propositional truths – plurality of truth

V.                The personal lessons learned from Augustine’s vulnerabilities

I.                   Introductory / Explanatory words: Method of reading and interpretation

In reading Augustine’s work, I used two highlighters. The first was the color orange which consisted of things that I found to be greatly applicational, profound, and personal. The second was green which was to note not just something theological in nature, but something unique about the way in which Augustine theologized. It must be stated that what I can most appreciate about Augustine is that he did not do theology in such a polarized fashion. Augustine’s theology was the affirmation of his conclusions applied to the narrative of his life. For the purposes of trying to fully understand Augustine, I tried to understand what motivated Augustine’s methods while seeking not to deconstruct the immense value of his work.