Part of my goal for this year has been to both read and write more often, and also to study the history and theology of the Church. I have been reading many of the works of the Church Fathers, following their lines of reasoning down through the ages.
In doing so, I have decided that I should begin formulating my thoughts on the things I’m reading, as well as explaining the readings to the best of my ability, to help strengthen my understanding of them.
I specifically chose this text as a starting point, as America itself has seen a resurgence in paganism and the accompanying ideological changes. The City of God is a treatise defending Christianity against Roman Paganism, the most prevalent Polytheistic religion of its time.
Book 1, Preface
Book 1 of the City of God begins by laying out the book as a promise delivered upon by Augustine to Marcellinus, a student of his.
Augustine declares that in this book, he has taken on the task of defending the “City of God” ( the Christian Church) against those who preferred pagan idolatry. He highlights the difficulty of the task at hand, and gives God the glory for His help in accomplishing the task.
In the second paragraph, Augustine goes on declare the difficulty of teaching the proud man the excellence of humility, quoting James 4:6 “God resists the proud, but gives Grace to the humble.” This paragraph goes to show Augustine’s theological stance on humility, though in the reading you could infer a sense of pride in his own abilities.
In paragraph three, Augustine declares the city of the world is enraptured by the lust of its own dominion, and states that he must consider this city as much as is necessary to complete the work. Thus completing the preface, and moving forward to the first point, which I will discuss in my next post.
My Thoughts
Firstly, it’s important to acknowledge Augustine’s starting point of this text: there are two sides, the side for Christ, and the side against. There is no room for a lukewarm attitude. You are for God, or you are against him. This is clearly demonstrated in his declaration of two cities, the City of God, and the city of the World.
Secondly, it is clear that Augustine sees the City of God as something eternally secure, unworried of his own success or failure, but still acknowledging the importance of doing the work he set out to do to defend it against its opposer.
Thirdly, Augustine points out the role that pride plays in paganism, a pride in the supposed strength and power of the pagan deities. He points out the elevating nature of humility, that by adopting humility one can be lifted to a height pride does not allow.
And lastly, it seems to me that the only purpose Augustine has for considering the city of the world at all, is for the purpose of it’s deconstruction and refutation: “I cannot refrain from speaking about the city” “I must consider the city as far as the scheme of this work demands and as occasion occurs”.
This concludes my thoughts on the preface to book one of the City of God. In part two, I will break down points 1 and 2 of book one, give my thoughts, and highlight a splash of the history involved. Thank you so much for reading, and stay tuned for part 2!
modernsurvivalarkansas.com 