The Hermeneutics of Augustine

Paper Summary:

The purpose of this paper is to explain how Saint Augustine in Book II of "On Christian Doctrine" views the relationship between theology and the predominant mode of reasoning throughout his time period and culture. In order to facilitate this discussion it makes use of a number of relevant texts dealing with De Doctrina Christiana alongside Book II of the actual text. It examines how both education and culture are very closely intertwined and how one seems to influence the other being seemingly difficult to completely separate.

From the Paper:

"The world in which Augustine lived had a particular method for education that makes it quite distinct from our own. Three sharp distinctions regarding reading, speech and thought can be made which include the following: the way in which people read was done aloud, the way in which people read literary texts was done by reading word by word and that of dialectics were highly refined (Lienhard, Augustine's Education and Exegesis, 8). These three components and methods of ancient education provide powerful insights into how Augustine performs his theology, namely that of studying scripture. This is true because Augustine had a specific way of doing theology through the rules of interpretation of understanding scripture. It is important to realize that not only did certain methods attributable to the times aid Augustine to interpret scripture in a particular way but also that the bible came to play an influential role of the culture as well (Lienhard, Augustine's Education, 9). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Augustin d'Hippon. De doctrina Christiana. Livre 2.
• Isabel Bochet. "Intrepretation scriptuaire et comprehension de soi: Du de doctrina Christiana aux Confessions de saint Augustine," in Comprendre et interpreter: le paradigm hermeneutique de la raison. Paris: Beuachesne, 1993. Pp.21-50.
• Eugene Kevane, "Augustine's De Doctrina Christiana in World-Historical Perspective," in Collectanea Augustiniana: melanges T.J. van Bavel. Publies par B. Burning, M. Lamberigts, J. Van Houtem. Leuven: University Press, 1990. Pp. 1011-1031.
• Joseph T. Lienhard, "Reading the Bible and Learning to Read: The Influence of Education on St. Augustine's Exegesis," St. Augustine Lecture 1995, Augustinian Studies 27 (1996) 7-25.
• Gerald Press, "The Content and Argument of Augstine's De Doctrina Christan," Augustiniana 31(1981) 165-182.

More papers on The Hermeneutics of Augustine:

• Book Review # 113843 : "Augustine: "The Literal Meaning of Genesis"
• Book Review # 94651 : "The Confessions of St. Augustine"
• Analytical Essay # 25950 : "The Confessions of St. Augustine"

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