Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may
apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.—Phil 3.12
|
A Collection of Notes On Augustine’s Of True Religion. Shared for the sake of other readers, or those who might find the references of useful service. By Jeremy T. Kerr. |
Augustine
Of True Religion
De Vera Religione
From Library of Christian Classics, Volume VI.
Finished reading 2014.11.16.
Read because of references in William Perkins.
Overall conclusion: much wisdom, many interesting ideas, but a great balance of the religious discussion was of a very philosophical type. So the work amounts to something of a disappointment in light of the name. If it had been titled "Of True Philosophy" a religious person would not say that it was a disappointment, but a philosophical person might, considering what he would consider to be missing. Perhaps the title, "The Philosophy of True Religion" or "The True Philosopher's Religion" might have best identified the content.
--------- Notes ------------
[ First few sections deal with advantages of Christianity over the ancient philosophers (Socrates and Plato); and what the philosophers might have thought or said if they had seen the displacement of paganism by Christianity. ]
| Sect/Para | Note / Info |
|---|---|
| 5/8 | Those whose doctrine we do not approve do not share in our sacramental rites. |
| 5/9 | Ophites and Manichaeans have different religious rites than us |
| 5/9 | Photinians and Arians have more similar rites |
| 5/9 | Some carried off by wind of pride and separated of their own accord |
| 6/10 | The Catholic Church Described |
| 6/11 | Good men driven from congregation of Christ, described ***** |
| 7/12 | Even Heretics must refer to us as the "Catholic Church" |
| 10/20 | Presumes to define what *kind* of men God helps and to require pupil to believe what is doubtful until the Church determines otherwise |
| 11/21 | All existence as such is good |
| 11/22 | Death no creature of God - contrasted with life & existence |
| 12/23 | "Bodily Grief" and "Spiritual Grief" Defined (p 236) |
| 12/25 | The body lives by the soul and the soul lives by the immutable truth |
| 13/26 | God alone is immutable -> Angels are mutable |
| 14/27 | Sin is a voluntary evil and is no sin if not voluntary |
| Souls have "free choice in willing" (when they sin) | |
| God considers it better for men to serve him freely, not by necessity | |
| 14/28 | The angels serve God freely, which is for their advantage |
| 14/28 | "Movements of the soul are affections, depending on the will" |
| 15/29 | "The beauty of Justice is in complete accord with the Grace of loving kindness" |
| 16/30 | God heals souls using means suitable to the times ordered by his wisdom |
| 16/30 | When he became a man born of a woman, he showed that the creator of sex did not despise sex |
| 16/31 | Christ refused to acknowledge his mother when speaking as God |
| Bible Method of Teaching "fulfills the rule of all rational discipline" | |
| 17/33 | OT & NT adapted to "complete instruction & exercise of soul" |
| OT observances now set aside [are] still for teaching: Compare W. Lyford. | |
| 17/34 | "Divine Providence remains entirely without change, but comes to the aid of mutable creatures in various ways..." |
| 18/35 | "That out of which God created all things had neither form nor species, and was simply nothing." |
| 18/36 | Formable matter and potential existence come from God |
| 19/37 | All things are good which have vice opposed to them |
[ Notes page 1-V ] | |
| 20/38 | There is a good which is sinful for the rational soul to love because it belongs to a lower order of being |
| 20/38 | "The sin is evil, not the substance that is sinfully loved" |
| Example of an iron style used for writing: misuse does not make evil | |
| 20/39 | Light seen by the mind to be worshipped, not light seen with eyes |
| Man still entangled with lust of eye, even when he deceives himself otherwise | |
| 20/40 | "It is very easy to execrate the flesh, but very difficult not to be carnally minded |
| 22/42 | The beauty of poetry |
| 22/43 | The beauty of History |
| 23/44 | Created universe without fault because of these three: (1) Condemnation of sinners, (2) Proving of the Just, (3) The perfecting of the blessed. |
| Two different treatments used upon the soul in stages: authority and reason | |
| 24/46 | To whom human faith should be given in temporal matters / history |
| 26/48 | Several stages of man's life in the body described |
| 26/49 | Several stages or ages of the new man described |
| 28/51 | Public instruction must be seasonable; some things reserved to the few ready for stranger meat; but none should be taught lies |
| 29/52 | "Any living substance is... to be preferred to any inanimate substance" |
| 29/53 | Animals may be able with better senses to perceive objects, but rational beings can judge of objects and senses too, which is yet better |
| 30/54 | Speculations about art and beauty |
| Ability to judge works produced is better than ability to produce works | |
| Symmetry gives pleasure, preserves unity, and beautifies whole | |
| 30/56 | Equality and squareness are absolute standards seen by the mind |
| 30/56 | But the mind can err :There4: Standard of Truth is higher than our minds |
| God above rational mind: primal life, primal essence, primal wisdom | |
| 31/57 | The soul is excelled by the nature according to which it judges |
| 31/58 | Even the Father does not judge the Truth, but judges by means of the Truth |
| 31/58 | Why all judgment has been given to the Son |
| 31/58 | Temporal Laws: Judges may not judge them but judge according to them |
| 32/59 | Are things beautiful because they give pleasure? or give pleasure because they beautiful? |
| 32/60 | True Unity is nowhere present spatially, but its potency is nowhere absent |
| 33/61 | Corporeal things appear to have unity which they do not |
| 33/61 | Every deceiver has the will to deceive, whether he is believed or not |
| * Implication of 33/61: There are no atoms - All substances break down into sub-components infinitesimally **** | |
| 33/62 | Vanity of those who would know carnal things and see spiritual things with the mind (*) |
| 34/62 | Every corporeal thing is a true body but a false unity |
| 34/64 | The man who truly sees unity knows that the Rome, the Sun, the friend he contemplates in his imagination is false |
| (*) Above from 33/62 is effectively a rebuke to all Image Worship | |
[ Notes page 2-R ] | |
| 35/65 | Seek stillness and rest of thought free from space, time, & material things |
| 36/66 | That which has perfect likeness & identity with Unity is Truth, the Word |
| 36/67 | Those deceived by objects love the works of artificer more than the artificer and more than his art |
| 37/68 | Loving & Serving the creature: The soul, the Sun, the World - Pantheism |
| Others follow Superstition, or turn Atheist and think they worship nothing | |
| But all atheists are still slaves of their desires, following pleasures, curiosity, or pride | |
| 38/71 | Threefold temptation of Christ teaches us to resist all these |
| 38/71 | Casting Down from pinnacle of Temple would be curious seeking of remarkable experience (Like Sky Diving, Bungee Jumping) |
| 39/72 | Agreeable things beget pleasure, and God is the greatest agreeableness |
| Inward man should seek to agree with indwelling truth --> Spiritual Pleasure | |
| 39/73 | Directions on how to conclude Truth exists from our doubts |
| 40/74 | Summary of Common functions of Life: Nourishment, Reproduction |
| 40/75 | The beauty of the Human form is not evil |
| 40/75 | The Role of Devils and evil men in God's Providence |
| 40/76 | The Beauty of the Universe & Divine Providence: Consider Whole, Not Parts |
| 41/77 | Rom. 13.2 quoted "All order is of God" |
| 41/77 | Praise and admiration of the worm |
| 41/77 | There is beauty in the body of man even when under penalty & unhappy |
| 41/78 | Being is better than nothingness, but nothing good if it can be better |
| 41/78 | Augustine's Thoughts about women |
| 42/79 | "The law of Numbers" described as fixed into nature traces of number found in fleshly pleasure rhythm in succession in sounds of animals without reason [but] having sense |
| (-) All [discussion of "number"] very difficult to comprehend | |
| 43/80 | The world is beautiful not because of its size but because of the reason in it |
| 43/80 | Time and space can be infinitely sub-divided |
| 43/80 | Things of space and time not beautiful by size but by ordered fitness |
| 43/81 | The mode or rule of order described: changeless, identified with the Son |
| 44/82 | What it is for rational creatures to be made in the likeness of God and what benefits the soul has thereby |
| 45/83 | Man's inability to control & moderate himself deprives him of happiness (83-85) |
| 46/86 | He who has overcome his vices cannot be overcome of man either |
| 46/87 | Rule of Love to Neighbour: wish them to have all the good things we want for ourselves and wish no evil to him we want to avoid |
| 46/87 | These who serve this Law are free and cannot be conquered |
| 46/88 | Skillful speculation leads Augustine astray about the importance and propriety of loving natural relations compared to men in general |
| Loving our Real Self is not loving body or natural relations | |
| 46/89 | All are brothers who have one heavenly Father who calls by one Testament |
[ Notes page 2-V ] | |
| 47/90 | Envy's opposition to true love - Good for self-examination |
| 47/90 | We should love our neighbours as ourselves but cleave to God alone
We do not cleave to God to merit something else but to be happy in him |
| 47/91 | How we ought to make use of all types of people
- Questionable: Implies that we ought to love all friends equally |
| Qualities of a man who cannot be hurt or subdued: rejoices in Tribulation | |
| 47/92 | How to know when we are taken captive by mutable goods |
| If we love liberty we should seek to be free from the love of mutable things | |
| 48/93 | One who delights to rule should submissively cleave to God |
| 48/93 | We must hate what we are, to become what we desire to be |
| 49/94 | All want Truth and joy in knowledge: Examples from juggler / magician |
| 49/95 | How we all confess truth [is] better than falsehood but pursue falsehood |
| 49/95 | * (Against Theater) "a matter of fun and games" |
| 49/96 | The speculative ideas some have about God |
| 49/96 | "Believing is one thing and knowing another" |
| 49/97 | God's light makes us rightly understand the light of the mind |
| 49/97 | * Explanation of Eternity: No Duration |
| 50/98 | We should be thankful God delivered us from vanity and games in mercy |
| 50/99 | Several questions about allegorizing, interpretting, applying Scriptures or History |
| Divine providence has spoken to us by human rational & corporeal creatures | |
| 50/99 | Scripture figurative language acknowledged about spiritual things |
| 51/100 | We should set aside theatrical and poetic trifling for Scripture as our food & drink |
| The things of which we are judges remind us to look to the standard by which we judge | |
| 52/101 | Rom. 1:20: Invisible things understood by the things which are made |
| 52/101 | Certain knowledge requires knowledge of eternal things which do not change |
| Hell: No reasoning, No shining of the light that lighteth every man (John 1.9) No Confession | |
| 53/102 | Men prefer their endeavors to the ends of their endeavours: learning to knowledge battle preferred to victory, sleeping to non-drowsiness |
| 53/103 | It is an easier victory not to resist the animosity of anyone |
| Perfect peace when no "law in my members" fights against "law of my mind" | |
| 53/103 | What Christians "most love in this life will be made perfect... after this life" |
| 54/104 | Description of the Outer Darkness prepared for those who love visible things |
| 54/104 | "Those who delight in strife will be aliens from peace." |
| 54/105 | Fleshly people yet devise Rules of Superstition to deceive themselves |
| They love the journey and will be sent into distant parts who do not desire home | |
| 54/106 | Augustine mentions "five bodily senses" |
| 54/105 | Keenness of mind is a talent some do not use: bury it in a napkin |
| 54/106 | God will take it from them but give to those of weaker understanding |
| 55/107 | Exhortation to not love world, fleshly pleasure, strife, spectacles |
| 55/108 | Any truth is better than any fiction |
| 55/108 | Do not worship: Human works, men, beasts, dead saints, demons |
| 55/108 | Saints do not want to be adored with religious rites: want us to worship God |
| 55/108 | ? Reference to "merit" [ perhaps: that which they have gained ] |
| 55/109 | Do not worship: Lands, waters, air, fire, heavenly bodies, their souls, non-sentient life, sentient life |
| 55/110 | Do not worship: Rational Soul or Angels: They want us to worship our common Lord |
| Proud men want us to serve and worship them: safer than having mind ruled by devil | |
| 55/111 | The binding of the soul to God - Origin of term Religion |
| 55/112 | Trinity: One God: The Principle, His Wisdom, His Gift |
| 55/112 | All the good love God. |
| 55/112 | Good men sometimes in Satan's Power to be tried |
| The Truth: Inward Light by which we know God | |
| 55/113 | Description of Trinity and Salvation in the Trinity |
A few excerpts from this work are commended to the reader’s consideration.
First, Some comments provided in this footnote about miracles and their cessation.
Secondly, A passage provided in this footnote about heretics and their effect on the true Catholic Church.
Thirdly, This paragraph stood out as very interesting in light of the present times, when disorder and corruption within the organized Church, has become an occasion for many true Christians, or “Catholics,” to stand outside the organized Church, while also many more sects are devised complaining of the offences of the existing church, and many individuals lurk outside waiting to catch those who are unjustly driven out of the house of our Lord.
vi, 11. Often, too, divine providence permits even good men to be driven from the congregation of Christ by the turbulent seditions of carnal men. When for the sake of the peace of the Church they patiently endure that insult or injury, and attempt no novelties in the way of heresy or schism, they will teach men how God is to be served with a true disposition and with great and sincere charity. The intention of such men is to return when the tumult has subsided. But if that is not permitted because the storm continues or because a fiercer one might be stirred up by their return, they hold fast to their purpose to look to the good even of those responsible for the tumults and commotions that drove them out. They form no separate conventicles of their own, but defend to the death and assist by their testimony the faith which they know is preached in the Catholic Church. These the Father who seeth in secret crowns secretly. It appears that this is a rare kind of Christian, but examples are not lacking. Indeed there are more than can be believed. So divine providence uses all kinds of men as examples for the oversight of souls and for the building up of his spiritual people.
(Tr. John H. S. Burleigh. LCC VI. The Westminster Press.)
[ 2014.11.16. Notes Published 2014.11.22. ]