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Augustine on Christian Belief This is a reproduction of a library book that was digitized by Google as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the information in books and make it universally accessible. https://books.google.com J&Ho* k, } Books Augustinian Heritage Institute, Inc. www.augustinianheritage.org Board of Directors + John E. Rotelle, O.S.A. (1939-2002), founding director Michael T. Dolan Daniel E. Doyle, O.S.A. Joseph T. Kelley Patricia H. Lo Thomas Martin, O.S.A. Jane E. Merdinger Boniface Ramsey Translation Advisory Board Gerald Bonner Maria Boulding, O.S.B. Allan D. Fitzgerald, O.S.A. Edmund Hill, O.P. Joseph McGowan Boniface Ramsey Roland J. Teske, S.J. THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE A Translation for the 21st Century Part I - Books Volume 8: On Christian Belief THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE A Translation for the 21st Century On Christian Belief True Religion (De vera religione) translated by Edmund Hill, O.P. The Advantage of Believing (De Militate credendi) translated by Ray Kearney Faith and the Creed (De fide et symbolo) translated by Michael G. Campbell, O.S.A. Faith in the Unseen (De fide rerum invisibilium) translated by Michael G. Campbell, O.S.A. Demonic Divination (De divinatione daemonum) translated by Edmund Hill, O.P. Faith and Works (De fide et operibus) translated by Ray Kearney Enchiridion (Enchiridion de fide et spe et caritate) translated by Bruce Harbert 1/8 general introduction and other introductions by Michael Fiedrowicz (translated by Matthew O'Connell) editor Boniface Ramsey New City Press Hyde Park, New York 6 s mo n;,8 Published in the United States by New City Press 202 Cardinal Rd., Hyde Park, New York 12538 ©2005 Augustinian Heritage Institute Cover art (paperback): Jan van Scorel, Episcopal Consecration of Augustine. Oil painting. The Dominican Church of St. Stephen, Jerusalem. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo. The works of Saint Augustine. "Augustinian Heritage Institute" Includes bibliographical references and indexes. Contents: — pt. 3, v .15. Expositions of the Psalms, 1-32 — pt. 3, v. 1. Sermons on the Old Testament, 1-19. — pt. 3, v. 2. Sermons on the Old Testament, 20-50 — [et al.] — pt. 3, v. 10 Sermons on various subjects, 341-400. 1 . Theology — Early church, ca. 30-600. I. Hill, Edmund. II. Rotelle, John E. III. Augustinian Heritage Institute. IV. Title. BR65.A5E53 1990 270.2 89-28878 ISBN 1-56548-055-4 (series) ISBN 1-56548-233-6 (pt. 1, v. 8) ISBN 1-56548-234-4 (pt. 1, v. 8, pbk.) Printed in the United States of America _ (' _ / Table of Contents General Introduction 9 True Religion Introduction 15 1. Genesis — 15; 2. Subject — 17; 3. Structure — 18; 4. True Religion as Worship of the One True God — 20; 5. The Economy of Salvation as the Basis of True Religion — 23; 6. The Healing of the Soul by the True Religion — 25; 7. True Religion as a Surmounting of Manichean Dualism — 27; 8. The Importance of the Work — 28 True Religion 29 The Inconsistency between the Private Teaching of Philosophers and their Public Obser vance of Religious Rites — 29; Had Socrates and Plato Been Alive in Augustine's Day, They Would Have Recognized Christ for what He Really Was — 30; Invitation to Serious Platonists to Become Christians — 33; The Church's Sacramental Discipline Bears Testi mony to the Coherence of its Doctrine — 34; Divine Providence Uses All Kinds of Men to Further the Work of the Catholic Church — 36; The True Religion Is Catholic Christianity, the Mystery of the Trinity Revealed in Sacred History — 37; The Need to Progress from Faith to Understanding; the Value of Heresies in this Regard — 38; The Purpose of this Work, as Regards the Manicheans — 39; The Basic Principle of True Religion; This to Be Found in Christ and Christianity — 40; Life, Death, Nothingness and Wickedness — 42; Sin and its Punishment, Constituting Evil; the Overcoming of Evil by the Abolition of Death — 43; The Devil — 45; The Reality of Sin Implies the Reality of Free Will — 46; God's Justice, in Harmony with his Benevolence, Gives Us Good Training in the Cardinal Virtues — 47; What Was Achieved by the Incarnation of the Word — 47; The Difference between the two Testaments; Analogies in Ordinary Life — 49; God, the Author of Every thing Good, even of What Is only Potentially Good, Has Made Everything out of Nothing — 5 1 ; On Faultiness in General in its Relation to the Good — 52; More Illustrations of the Non-subsistent Nature of Evil — 53 ; In What Sense Bodies Are "Vanity" — 55; The Point Illustrated by Poetic Composition — 56; Since Evil Is not a Substance, its Presence in no Way Mars the Universal Creation — 57; God Heals the Human Race by a Gradual Process, Culminating in the Incarnation of the Word — 58; Which Authorities Are primarily to Be Trusted — 59; The Ages of Man, as Realized in the Old Man and the New — 60; More about the Old Man and the New — 62; From the Plain History of Scripture to its Hidden Meanings — 63; The Life of Reason — 64; Above the Mind Is What It Judges Things by, and That is Truth — 65; It Is Unlawful to Pass Judgment on Eternal Truth, in Accordance with Which We Judge Everything Else — 67; The Harmonious Unity of Bodies Is Judged in Terms of a Non-bodily Idea of Unity — 69; Appearances never Lie, but if We Misjudge Them, We Become Vanitators and Prevent their Leading Us to the Contemplation of the Supreme Beauty, God — 70; Multiplicity Has its Place in God's Plans, but We Must not Be Distracted by It from the One — 7 1 ; Be Still from the Fancies of Place and Time, and Know that I Am God — 73; Failure to Distinguish between Truth and the True, Likeness and the Like, Leads to Idolatry — 73; From the Worship of God's Creatures to the Worship of Idols, the Work of Men's Hands — 75; From Idolatry to Atheism; the Three Great Addic tions and Temptations — 76; Even Things of the Lowest Order Reflect the Supreme Con cord and Harmony of the Truth — 78; God's Providence Directs All Creatures, from the Lowest to the Highest, to the Manifestation of the Supreme Beauty of Wisdom — 79; The Preservation of the Right Order of Things — 81; The Unchanging Law of Numbers — 83; About This and That, Ending up with God — 84; The Effect of Man's Being Made to God's Image, fully Realized in the Resurrection of the Body — 86; How even our Vices are Inti mations of Eternal Blessedness; a Curious Comparison of the Charioteer Riding for a Fall — 86; The True Import of Loving your Neighbor as Yourself — 88; A Portrait of the truly Unbeaten Winner — 90; Even Vices Can Signify Virtues — 92; Truth in Itself, and its Infe rior Representations — 93; Steps Leading to Ultimate Truth; Allegory — 95; Scripture First and Last for Nourishing the Spirit — 96; So Many Reminders of Eternity, when even Vices Recall Virtues — 97; In this Life the Means to the End in the Next — 98; The Para bles of the Wedding Feast and of the Talents — 99; Conclusion: Various Kinds of False Religion; an Exhortation to Bind Ourselves to the True Religion — 1 00 The Advantage of Believing Introduction 107 1 . Occasion and Addressee of the Work — 1 07; 2. Purpose of the Work — 1 08; 3 . Structure of the Work— 109; 4. The Interpretation of Scripture— 1 10; 5. The Problem of Belief — 1 1 1 ; 6. The Importance of the Work — 113 The Advantage of Believing 116 Faith and the Creed Introduction 151 1. Genesis — 151; 2. Intention — 152; 3. Method and Structure — 153; 4. Importance of the Work— 154 Faith and the Creed 155 An Explanation of the Creed — 155; God's Creation — 156; The Word — 157; The Ex pression of the Word — 158; Through Him All Things Were Made — 1 59; God from God, Light from Light — 1 59; Born of the Virgin Mary — 1 6 1 ; An Earthly Mother — 1 62; Hu mility in Dying — 1 63 ; Rose from the Dead and Ascended into Heaven — 1 64; The Holy Spirit — 165; The Trinity — 166; Forgiveness of Sins — 172; Conclusion — 174 Faith in the Unseen Introduction 177 1 . Authenticity and Date — 1 77; 2. Literary Genre and Structure — 1 77; 3 . The Line of Ar gument — 1 78; a) The Necessity of Religious Faith — 1 78; b) The Credibility of the Chris tian Faith — 1 79; 4. The Importance of the Work — 1 82 Faith in the Unseen 183 Demonic Divination Introduction 197 1 . Occasion, Composition, Form — 1 97; 2. Historical Background — 1 98; 3. Augustine's Interpretation of Pagan Prophecies — 200 Demonic Divination 204 The Occasion that Produced this Little Book; that God Permits Things to Happen Does not Mean that They Must Be Good. — 204; God's Allowing Pagan Sacrifices Does not Mean He Approves of Them or Lets Them Go Unpunished — 205; Why It Is Easy for Demons to Divine the Future — 207; Comparison with the Marvels even Bad Human Beings Perform, Which nonetheless Do not Entitle Them to Greater Respect than the Good and Just. — 209; How Demons Succeed in Forecasting Future Events — 210; Demonic Predictions, unlike Genuine Prophecy, Can Be both Mistaken and Deliberately Misleading — 211; Reasons why Demons Are Allowed to Predict What Had already Been Foretold by the Prophets — 213; The One True God of Israel Has never Been Attacked or Denied by the Oracles of Pa gan Gods — 214; The Conversion of the Gentiles Foretold by the Prophets — 215; The Mockery of the Few Remaining Educated Pagans May Be safely Ignored — 216 Faith and Works Introduction 221 1 .
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