Saint Augustine: Faith, Reason, and the City of God
Saint Augustine: Faith and Reason
The relationship between reason and faith arises when philosophy and Christianity intersect. Philosophy seeks knowledge through reason, while Christianity is based on faith. These two may not always align, requiring a distinction between matters of faith and reason. Saint Augustine believed that both faith and reason should work together to lead us to truth. He opposed the idea that faith is against reason, arguing that faith encourages and promotes reason: “I think to understand, understand to believe.”
Augustine’s view is that reason helps humans reach faith. Faith illuminates the reason needed to understand the mysteries of reality and human existence. Enlightened by faith, reason can see what would otherwise be unattainable. Reason clarifies and helps us better understand the contents of faith. Augustine proposes a subordination of reason to faith, a common view among Christians.
Reason accesses knowledge through the light of faith, a doctrine of enlightenment. This enlightenment reconciles Plato with Christianity. Augustine affirmed the existence of innate ideas without resorting to the doctrine of reminiscence, which implies reincarnation, unacceptable to Christianity. Reason is not limited to bodily sensations but judges according to immutable and perfect criteria. These criteria, being perfect, cannot originate in the imperfect human soul. Instead, they are perfect intelligible models found in the mind of God.
City of God
Augustine’s ideas on faith and reason are reflected in his work ‘City of God.’ He reflects on universal history, becoming the first philosopher of history. His thoughts are influenced by religious beliefs, building a Christian theology of history.
In this work, Augustine describes history from creation to the final judgment, presenting a linear view of time, contrasting with the circular view of the Greeks.
Augustine’s approach to history is fundamentally moral. True happiness lies in the love of God, while sin is directing that love towards mutable things. Love becomes the principle dividing humanity into two groups:
- The earthly city, composed of those who live for the flesh, loving themselves to the contempt of God. This city, symbolized by ‘Babylon,’ represents earthly empires based on greed and unjust domination.
- The City of God, composed of those who live by the spirit, loving God to the contempt of themselves.
It’s tempting to equate the earthly city with the state and the City of God with the Church, but Augustine does not. Both cities are mixed in society, and their separation will only occur at the end of history.
Augustine insists that no state can truly do justice unless guided by Christian principles. His theory of the state can be interpreted in two ways:
- As a foundation for the primacy of the Church over the State: the Church, as the repository of Christian truths, should guide the State. This idea influenced church-state relations throughout the Middle Ages.
- As a minimization of state power: Augustine sought to destroy the belief that the state was the essential instrument of the divine plan in history.