St. Augustine and Genesis

Hey Readers,

It's been a long time since I've posted anything new on this page. Sorry for the delay.

In the past three months, I have been very busy with ministry obligations and school work so my time working on Midwest Apologetics material has been limited. In addition, my computer crashed and we lost all of the email addresses for the ministry newsletter. I was able to recover all of the names, but not the email addresses. So if you have received a newsletter in the past and would like to continue receiving one, please sign up again at our website. I have been able to track down about half of the addresses but I fear the other half will not be found.

I am in the process of writing a 30-page paper on the ways in which St. Augustine interpreted Genesis one. While I am not a big fan of Augustine, it has been interesting to see how often people will cite him to support their particular view. Old-earth creationists like to claim he supported their claims. Theistic evolutionists try to claim him as well. Young-earth creationists also quote him.

The fact of the matter is that Augustine was not concerned with this particular issue. He often interpreted Old Testament material allegorically. As he matured in his faith he began to adopt a more literal hermeneutic. It is for this reason that people can find quotes from him to support their view.

Nevertheless, it must be remembered that he was not arguing for an old earth or young earth. He was not interested in arguing for or against evolution. He was a man who came out of a cult (Manichees) that regularly attacked the Bible by "over-literalizing" it. For example, they would see passages that use anthropomorphisms (giving God human characteristics such as hands, eyes, feet, etc.) and claim it was ridiculous to say that a spirit has those qualities. When he converted, Augustine reacted against that over-literalism and adopted an allegorical or spiritual hermeneutic. As he continued to study, he realized the error of allegorizing everything and became more literal in his interpretation. Yet, his main goal was to explain the text the best he could and refute the errors of his day.

Finally, Christians must remember that, ultimately, it doesn't matter what Augustine said. We need to base our doctrine on the word of God. We can allow church history to inform our doctrine, but it should never become the basis for that doctrine. Before adopting Augustine's claims, one should examine the rest of his theology and his hermeneutic to see if they are sound. If not, why should he be viewed as an authority - especially when we have access to the unchanging, revealed word of God?