St. Augustine’s Exegesis of Genesis 1 and the Creation”
“…All kinds of readers are still uncomfortable with the cohesion between the exegesis of the Genesis creation story in books 11 to 13 of the Confessions and the so-called long excursion on memory in book 10 on the one hand and the autobiographical narration in books 1 to 9 on the other. ”
While reading Confessions by Saint Augustine, it is almost impossible to miss a drastic change in topic in the concluding three books (11-13). Up until this point, Augustine has shared an autobiographical writing about his life previous to God, his conversion, and post-conversion life. But book eleven brings about a drastic change from an autobiographical work to exegesis of Genesis chapter 1 and
…show more content…
These thoughts are polar opposites compared to that of modern-day theology and exegesis of Genesis 1. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ” From a modern-day theological interpretation, this verse means exactly what is being said, God simply created the heavens, which include the vast expanses of the universe, and then He created the earth, but for someone from such a philosophical background as Augustine, this verse has the potential for a great deal of symbolism.
Augustine explains that the heavens and the earth were already created, but that they were both in an “invisible and unformed ” state of being, waiting for the time of creation. So the “creation” of heaven and earth found in the account of Genesis 1 is referring to God giving form to the unformed heaven and earth.
“For you, lord, had made the world out of unformed matter, and this you made out of nothing and made it into almost nothing. From it you have then made these great things which we, the sons of men, marvel at.
…show more content…
God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness “ According to the creation account in Genesis 1, light was created on the first day of a week long creation. As stated previously, the modern interpretation of this verse would be literal, but according to Augustine in his exegesis, the creation of light and the separation of it from the darkness stood for so much more. Augustine points out in verse 2 where it states “…and darkness was over the face of the deep… ” Augustine then reiterates the point that darkness is the absence of light. This idea of darkness and light, according to Augustine’s rhetoric, is the example of enlightened souls and wisdom that is found only through God. “…And as we became displeased with our darkness we turned to you and there was light. And see, we were formerly in darkness, but now we are light in the lord.
St. Augustine considers his mother as a crucial factor in his conversion to Catholicism. However through the analysis of his Confessions it leads me to believe that St. Augustine’s mother was not a decisive figure. Monica was in the background keeping him in thought and prayer however Augustine’s watershed moments came as a result of his own examination of readings as well as his conversations with his friends and mentors. Therefore I argue that Monica had delayed Augustine’s baptism and it was his own experiences that allowed him to come to God.
Christian Beliefs in the Origins of the World “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. ” A Description of Christian Beliefs About the Origins of The World Christians believe that God created the universe. In Chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis, we are told that God creates both the universe and everything that is in it.
In his book Confessions, Saint Augustine writes about his conversion from a Manichee to a Christian. He confesses to God and asserts that God is “incorruptible and inviolable and unchangeable” (Augustine 111). Based on his deep faith in God, Augustine abandons the concept of Manichee dualism and believes in God as “not only [the] good but the supreme good” (114). At first he has no idea what the nature of evil is, but finally he starts to understand that the nature of evil is not a substance at all, but rather “a perversity of will twisted away from the highest substance [– God]” (Augustine 124-126). He contends that the totality, rather than the evil or goodness of individual things should be considered (125). In this essay, I am going to argue that Augustine’s reflection and understanding are better described as knowledge, rather than correct opinion.
Saint Augustine’s Confessions are a diverse mix of autobiography, philosophy, and interpretation of the Christian Bible. The first nine Books of the work follow the story of Augustine 's life, from his birth (354 A.D.) up to the events that took place just after his conversion to Catholicism (386 A.D.). Born and raised in Thagaste, in eastern Algeria, he has one brother named Navigius, and two sisters. His father, Patricus, a small landowner and an official of the local government is still a pagan. Monica, his mother is a devout Christian. Augustine starts off by praising to God and that it is the natural desire of all men. Yet Augustine does not have a lot of knowledge about God because he felt that he was powerless for God to come to him
Why does St. Augustine seek God? Through his Confessions we come to understand that he struggled a great deal with confusion about his faith, before finally and wholeheartedly accepting God into his life. But we never get a complete or explicit sense of what led Augustine to search for God in the first place. Did he feel a void in his life? Was he experiencing particular problems in other relationships that he thought a relationship with God would solve for him? Or perhaps he sought a sense of security from religion? A closer analysis of the text of St. Augustine’s Confessions will provide some insight into these fundamental questions.
7-12- Again Augustines thoughts on God reflect that of the religious teachings of his day, namely those of the Neoplatonists. For example he refuses to speculate on how the soul joins the body to become an infant and even follows Plato when he suggests that this life could possibly be some kind of “living death”. He then goes into an examination of his infancy, which he depicts as a quite pitiful state. He described himself as a sinful and thoughtless creature who made demands on everyone, wept unceasingly, and gave everyone a hard time that took care of him. Though very brutal in his self examination, he later states that he does not hold himself accountable for any of these sinful acts because he simply can’t remember them.
In Genesis, god created merely by speaking. It was god who created the heavens and earth also known as cosmos. Water was already pre-existent matter; everything else was created by god. It all began when god spoke in the darkness and said let there be light and there was light. God saw that the light was good. During the day there would be light, and the darkness would be at night. By the second and third day, god created a firmament (dome) which separated the waters from the waters. God called the firmament heaven and said that all the waters under heaven should be gathered as one allowing for dry land to appear. This created one place for the water and another place for dry land. It was the dry land that beca...
Augustine. “Confessions”. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 1113-41. Print.
Genesis reads that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth,” then “God’s spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.” Another characteristic is how, after the water, came land. How the World Was Made, describes how the “soft mud,” from under the water “began to grow and to spread out on every side until it became the island we call the earth.” In The Sky Tree, the soil was “placed...until they made an island of great size.” A final similarity, is how after land came animals and how the animals helped to take care of the people on the earth. In How the World Was Made, the world the animals lived in was called Galun’lati. Galun’lati “was very much crowded,” and “the animals wanted more room;” Water Beetle left to find land so that the animals could have more space. While Water Beetle helped find land for the animals, in The Sky Tree a turtle sees a woman falling from the sky after she had jumped after a sacred tree. Turtle told his friends what he had seen and had them “bring up pawfuls of wet soil,” and place it on his back which created a “new earth,” for the woman to “settle gently on.” In Genesis, God created the animals
...of the entire Earth and Humans shown in the text of the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good”. God approved of what he had made and felt it was the perfect creation of Earth.
“Please tell me: isn’t God the cause of evil?” (Augustine, 1). With this question to Augustine of Hippo, Evodius begins a philosophical inquiry into nature of evil. Augustine, recently baptized by Saint Ambrose in Milan, began writing his treatise On Free Choice of the Will in 387 C.E. This work laid down the foundation for the Christian doctrine regarding the will’s role in sinning and salvation. In it, Augustine and his interlocutor investigate God’s existence and his role in creating evil. They attempt not only to understand what evil is, and the possibility of doing evil, but also to ascertain why God would let humans cause evil. Central to the premise of this entire dialogue is the concept of God, as relates to Christianity; what is God, and what traits separate Him from humans? According to Christianity, God is the creator of all things, and God is good; he is omnipotent, transcendent, all-knowing, and atemporal- not subject to change over time- a concept important to the understanding of the differences between this world and the higher, spiritual realm He presides over. God’s being is eidos, the essence which forms the basis of humans. With God defined, the core problem being investigated by Augustine and Evodius becomes clear. Augustine states the key issue that must be reconciled in his inquiry; “we believe that everything that exists comes from the one God, and yet we believe that God is not the cause of sins. What is troubling is that if you admit that sins come from… God, pretty soon you’ll be tracing those sins back to God” (Augustine, 3).
When God created the world “by faith is we understand that the world were framed by the word of God, so that the things which we see how did not come into being out of things which had previously appeared” (Athanasius...
Augustine attempted to answer a very large question in his writings, he attempts to define evil.
Throughout the book, Augustine develops his knowledge and by the later books, he is happy. The early books of Confessions show Augustines confusions. Each of his sins are being explained as well as being confessed. ...
Genesis 1 is titled “The Beginning” discussing how the earth was formed. The very first paragraph discusses God creating the heavens and the earth. This includes the whole frame and furniture of the universe. As Christians, their duty is to keep heaven in their eyes and the earth under their feet. The earth was made empty and formless. God decided the earth was so shapeless that he needed to create light and darkness to separate day from night. God saw that the light was good and would call the light “day”, and the darkness would represent “night”. Light was seen as the great beauty and blessing of the universe. The light was made purely by the word of God’s power. God saw the light as good, exactly how he designed it. Light was fit to answer the end for which he designed it. He had simply said, let there be light and it was done, there was light. This is how the separation of day and night was created by God, never allowing them to be joined together.