This chapter revolves around the problem of how to understand Jesus' comment, "the father is greater than I" (Jn 14:28) in light of the unity of the Trinity.
Augustine first critiques those who do not consider the whole scripture focusing on only one part or taking a piece out of context. Augustine attempts to resist this kind of Biblical "cherry-picking" himself by practicing an exegesis in this chapter that invokes the letters of Paul (Corinthians, Timothy), the Gospels (Matthew, John), as well as OT texts (Exodus, Psalms, Isaiah).
He further untangles this passage by invoking a distinction between "nature" and "condition": "the Son of God is God the Father's equal by nature, by condition his inferior" (74). So, the consequence of this is that God and Jesus (and the Holy Spirit, though not addressed here) share a unified nature, again repeating the discussion of Book 2. However, by taking on flesh, Jesus' condition has been rendered inferior--so by "condition," Augustine is invoking accidental or secondary qualia rather than inner essence. In this way, the accidental or secondary qualities differentiate the three, but do not make one lesser, except in those very qualities, which, in Augustine's logic, are incidental, not essential.
This involve a discussion of faith; Faith cannot rely on the senses. Thus, the servant quality of the Trinity--in the form of Christ--leaves the earth. Because of the emphasis on seeing Jesus (and, thus, seeing is believing) then the emphasis is on the accidental quality and not the shared essence of Christ and God.
Augustine concludes this chapter with a discussion of love. Again, he wants to emphasize the univocity of love, and, thus, when it is said God loves you, the underlying meaning is that all three "aspects" share in that love. This love is about our future being, not how we are now--and here is where faith reenters the conversation. For Augustine our faith is something aimed at the future, it cannot be seen since the future is unknowable within the constraints of our own comprehension of time. Thus, God's love for us is a promise to be fulfilled in the future. We believe before we see and in the act of faith, God loves. God does not love us for what we are now (fleshly beings, perhaps?). Augustine wants to emphasize our future capability, rather than the present being.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Monday, August 24, 2015
The Trinity: Book I, Chapter 2
In this chapter, Augustine wants to emphasize further the unity of the Trinity. Augustine raises the problem of how each aspect of the Trinity is one, and, yet, each aspect can act in different ways while retaining its unity.
Augustine begins with a discussion of what the Trinity is not. For example, it is not all of them who are born of the Virgin Mary, but Jesus alone. It is not all of them that descends upon Jesus as a dove, this is the Holy Spirit alone. Nor is it all three who declares "you are my son" at Jesus' baptism, but God alone. So Augustine is emphasizing the Trinity's ability to act, but without all three acting and, yet, they retain their unity. This is, of course, the mystery of the Trinity as well as one of the problem for believers and non-believers.
Augustine emphasizes that even the beginning of Biblical history confirms the Trinity by emphasizing that when John writes that "the word was with God and the word was God"--the "Word of God," Augustine writes, is indicative of the Son.
Throughout this chapter, Augustine is re-emphasizing the unity of the Trinity by showing how the disparate actions are still connected--or, more succinctly, never separate; for example, in an anti-Semitic move, Augustine writes that the Jews crucified the flesh of Jesus--they did not see the divinity. To see the divine requires something superhuman, thus Jesus was connected with the Holy Spirit and God, and these elements were not crucified.
He leaves this chapter with a meditation on the body as a member of Christ, which also houses the spirit, but the body, as well, is from God. Thus, the body shall be used to reveal the story of God (from Corinthians).
Augustine begins with a discussion of what the Trinity is not. For example, it is not all of them who are born of the Virgin Mary, but Jesus alone. It is not all of them that descends upon Jesus as a dove, this is the Holy Spirit alone. Nor is it all three who declares "you are my son" at Jesus' baptism, but God alone. So Augustine is emphasizing the Trinity's ability to act, but without all three acting and, yet, they retain their unity. This is, of course, the mystery of the Trinity as well as one of the problem for believers and non-believers.
Augustine emphasizes that even the beginning of Biblical history confirms the Trinity by emphasizing that when John writes that "the word was with God and the word was God"--the "Word of God," Augustine writes, is indicative of the Son.
Throughout this chapter, Augustine is re-emphasizing the unity of the Trinity by showing how the disparate actions are still connected--or, more succinctly, never separate; for example, in an anti-Semitic move, Augustine writes that the Jews crucified the flesh of Jesus--they did not see the divinity. To see the divine requires something superhuman, thus Jesus was connected with the Holy Spirit and God, and these elements were not crucified.
He leaves this chapter with a meditation on the body as a member of Christ, which also houses the spirit, but the body, as well, is from God. Thus, the body shall be used to reveal the story of God (from Corinthians).
Monday, August 17, 2015
The Trinity: Chapter One
With this blog post, I begin with Augustine's larger works. I'm hoping to work through The Trinity as well as sprinkle in some of Jean-Luc Marion's work on Augustine. Then, I would like to go back to The Confessions and read that in tandem with Brown's biography of Augustine.
Augustine begins De Trinitate with a letter to Aurelius of Carthage which situates this work as a work of Augustine's youth but only published in his old age. Augustine indicates that this work was pirated with many parts missing. He is handing over an "authoritative" text.
The first chapter is concerned with his audience. Augustine frames this concern as focused on those who attribute worldly features to God. He insists God is not like these worldly attributes and they are misunderstanding the concept of God's essence by understanding God only through the material world. Some of these people are too attached to reason. This book is addressed, then, to three groups of people prone to error: those who conceive of God in bodily terms, those who do so in terms of created spirit such as soul" and those who think of him as neither but still have false ideas (65). So, in order to understand the nature of God, we have to step away from ideas of God as something understood with in the logic of matter AND the soul.
Augustine admits there is a problem of understanding God's essence: "without any change in itself makes things change and without any passage of time in itself creates things that exist in time" (66)--Augustine's goal is to explain how these apparent paradoxes make sense.
The point of De Trinitate then, is to account for God as a trinity and to understand how God, Son, and Holy Spirit are "one and the same substance or essence" (67).
Augustine begins De Trinitate with a letter to Aurelius of Carthage which situates this work as a work of Augustine's youth but only published in his old age. Augustine indicates that this work was pirated with many parts missing. He is handing over an "authoritative" text.
The first chapter is concerned with his audience. Augustine frames this concern as focused on those who attribute worldly features to God. He insists God is not like these worldly attributes and they are misunderstanding the concept of God's essence by understanding God only through the material world. Some of these people are too attached to reason. This book is addressed, then, to three groups of people prone to error: those who conceive of God in bodily terms, those who do so in terms of created spirit such as soul" and those who think of him as neither but still have false ideas (65). So, in order to understand the nature of God, we have to step away from ideas of God as something understood with in the logic of matter AND the soul.
Augustine admits there is a problem of understanding God's essence: "without any change in itself makes things change and without any passage of time in itself creates things that exist in time" (66)--Augustine's goal is to explain how these apparent paradoxes make sense.
The point of De Trinitate then, is to account for God as a trinity and to understand how God, Son, and Holy Spirit are "one and the same substance or essence" (67).
Friday, August 14, 2015
The Teacher: Division 2 (b) (the End)
Augustine begins with a discussion of how without knowledge of the thing, signs cannot teach us anything about the thing itself.
Augustine further argues that nothing is learned by words. For Augustine learning occurs in this sequence: "we learn the meaning of word--that is the signification hidden in the sound--once the thing signified is itself known, rather than our perceiving of it by means of such signification" (137). We learn meaning, then, once the thing is seen--it is only then that the word makes sense.
Thus, for Augustine, words only have power in their ability to get us to look for things.
For Augustine, as well, what he understands, he believes, but not everything he believes does he understand. Believing and understanding, then, are two very different things.
In the end, Augustine warns his son about the power of words and not to give them too much power. Words are merely a "prompt" to learn and nothing more (146).
Augustine further argues that nothing is learned by words. For Augustine learning occurs in this sequence: "we learn the meaning of word--that is the signification hidden in the sound--once the thing signified is itself known, rather than our perceiving of it by means of such signification" (137). We learn meaning, then, once the thing is seen--it is only then that the word makes sense.
Thus, for Augustine, words only have power in their ability to get us to look for things.
For Augustine, as well, what he understands, he believes, but not everything he believes does he understand. Believing and understanding, then, are two very different things.
In the end, Augustine warns his son about the power of words and not to give them too much power. Words are merely a "prompt" to learn and nothing more (146).
Monday, August 3, 2015
The Teacher: Discussion of Division (b)
In his section Augustine and Adeodatus discuss those things that can be "exhibited through themselves" (131) without signs, meaning things such as actions.
Augustine asks if there are things that can not be exhibited without a sign. Through a circuitous route, Augustine concludes that there are plenty of things that can be shown without signs. He uses the example of a bird-catcher--when a man comes upon a bird-catcher he desires to understand what the man is doing. Without telling him, the bird-catcher uses his tools to catch a bird thus explaining, without the use of words. The men then figures out who the bird-catcher is and what he is doing.
In this way, Augustine can move to a theological argument concluding this brief discussion: doesn't God show the sun and light without presumably telling us about them?
This jump may be a way to suggest a discussion is about to ensue on how God may reveal himself without signs?
Augustine asks if there are things that can not be exhibited without a sign. Through a circuitous route, Augustine concludes that there are plenty of things that can be shown without signs. He uses the example of a bird-catcher--when a man comes upon a bird-catcher he desires to understand what the man is doing. Without telling him, the bird-catcher uses his tools to catch a bird thus explaining, without the use of words. The men then figures out who the bird-catcher is and what he is doing.
In this way, Augustine can move to a theological argument concluding this brief discussion: doesn't God show the sun and light without presumably telling us about them?
This jump may be a way to suggest a discussion is about to ensue on how God may reveal himself without signs?
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