It is very exciting for me to revisit Augustine's Confessions. As a Theology major, this Saint has been called nothing short of extraordinary. There is nothing greater than a Christian who bases his/her relationship with God through the crying out for the presence of their creator. It is desirable for me recognize the influence he had made, both to the theological era of his time and the historical significance of those who influenced him (manichees, sophist, etc). However, it is more beneficial for me to understand the absolute meaning Augustine laid out throughout this work, being grace. For anyone to recount at their best ability one's entire life, and detail of their sin before an omnipotent God truly has a firm relationship. Augustine will forever be one of my favorites.
However there are so many things that still prick my thoughts when reading this work. For instance, God's presence and the way He extends it has always baffled me, whether it is the question of it's possibility in Hell (compliments to Doug Mitchell), or in the world that we live in. In Book VII Chapter 1 Augustine states,
"So I thought of you too, O Life of my life, as a great being with dimensions extending everywhere, throughout infinite space, permeating the whole mass of the world and reaching in all directions beyond it without limit, so that the earth and the sky and all creation were full of you and their limits were within you, while you had no limits at all."
Though this quote is particularly about God's presence influencing the natural elements of the world, this provoked me to think about the way God reveals himself to man, and the boundaries of which he chooses to stretch. It is easy to see where I am getting at, what of the man on the island, who's never heard of Jesus? Does God reveal himself through "unseen forces" and therefore brings salvation to the spiritual savage in abstract ways. Though it is a theory that Augustine believes false in his context, I've always wondered if God desires for us to embrace the mystery of the Holy Spirit. Does God receive glory in our questions for the people without a preacher. Is this part of the Christian's Sanctification.
P.S. Those are my Initials. I also commented on Rebekah Dye's And we're off.
I've spent probably too much time looking for an answer for your last point. Would God really condemn a man if he never heard the Gospel? He is the a loving God, right? But that is a failure on our part as His children to share that love. His fate is in our hands. But why would God allow sinfully and selfishly inclined beings to have a hand in each other's fate if we will ultimately fail? In the end, I always end up remembering that we should be putting these questions into actions and live as if the fate of the lost is in our hands in order to reach as many as possible.
ReplyDeleteI love this. I am always overwhelmed by Augustine's view of grace. And the idea that the Holy Spirit might reveal himself to different people in different ways is certainly one that has kept me up at night. I don't think it's outside of the nature of God to extend his grace to people "without a preacher". I sort of place myself in the position of Lewis on this one. It's not in my theology, but if I saw Socrates in heaven I don't think I'd be mad about it. I don't think he was a Christian by any means. But if he's there when I get there, I'll be happy to see him.
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