Augustine
David Bennett
© January 1, 2008
David Bennett
© January 1, 2008
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Augustine (354 – 430 A.D.) is generally considered by Calvinists to be the earliest church leader to make their case that the idea of
predestination was the prevailing doctrine in the early church. The fact is many church fathers going back much earlier than Augustine made the
case for free will (see Predestined for Free Will) so he's not the earliest authority on the subject.
Calvinists use as one of their main arguments for predestination the fact that Augustine believed that God has foreordained, from eternity, those
who will be saved and that the number of the elect is fixed. So basically, if Augustine said so, it must be true.
The interesting thing about Reformed Theology using Augustine to bolster their doctrine of predestination is that Augustine also espoused several
other ideas that, as far as I know, no one in the Calvinist camp believes in today. So why do they accept some of what Augustine believed as
infallible and ignore other things he espoused?
These ideas show that Augustine was not infallible and the ideas he espoused deserve to be examined individually. Granted, being wrong on a
couple of doctrinal issues doesn't completely discredit the man, yet Calvinists will take a particular view of some who favor free will, that may be
in error or unpopular today, and use that as their basis to completely discredit and destroy the person as a credible source regarding free will.
Besides predestination what ideas am I speaking of?
Infant Baptism (pedobaptism)
For more on this topic see “Radical Reformation vs. Magisterial Reformation.”
Augustine's position on the Virgin Mary's role in salvation and as our mediator.
I believe this position is best summed up in Augustine's prayer:
Why do Calvinists accept Augustine's position on predestination with such great passion and completely ignore his position on baptism and
Mary as our mediator?
Don't forget that Augustine was the first church leader that allowed the use of having people killed off that crossed him. Not very Christlike.
Does any of this prove the case for free will or predestination? Perhaps not.
What it does do is it demonstrates that Augustine was wrong on a number of points, at least as far as modern day Calvinists and Reformed
Theology movement are concerned. And if Augustine was wrong on these points, his position on predestination deserves equal scrutiny and
criticism. It also shows that men like Calvin, Luther, and Zwingli were also on the wrong side of many issues as well. My guess is if you
removed the issue of predestination from the discussion current day adherents of Reformed Theology would be aligned much closer with the
Anabaptists than with John Calvin…
Source:
1. http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/prayers/SaintsPrayers.htm
2. http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/augustineprayer.htm
3. The Greatest Marian Prayers : Their History, Meaning, and Usage / Anthony M. Buono Imprint New York : Alba House, c1999,
BX2160.2 .B86 1999, p. 112
4. Blessed Art Thou: A Treasury of Marian Prayers and Devotions / Richard J. Beyer Imprint Notre Dame, IN : Ave Maria Press, c1996,
BX2160.2 B46 1996, p. 35
predestination was the prevailing doctrine in the early church. The fact is many church fathers going back much earlier than Augustine made the
case for free will (see Predestined for Free Will) so he's not the earliest authority on the subject.
Calvinists use as one of their main arguments for predestination the fact that Augustine believed that God has foreordained, from eternity, those
who will be saved and that the number of the elect is fixed. So basically, if Augustine said so, it must be true.
The interesting thing about Reformed Theology using Augustine to bolster their doctrine of predestination is that Augustine also espoused several
other ideas that, as far as I know, no one in the Calvinist camp believes in today. So why do they accept some of what Augustine believed as
infallible and ignore other things he espoused?
These ideas show that Augustine was not infallible and the ideas he espoused deserve to be examined individually. Granted, being wrong on a
couple of doctrinal issues doesn't completely discredit the man, yet Calvinists will take a particular view of some who favor free will, that may be
in error or unpopular today, and use that as their basis to completely discredit and destroy the person as a credible source regarding free will.
Besides predestination what ideas am I speaking of?
Infant Baptism (pedobaptism)
- Augustine believed that no one could be saved unless they had received baptism in order to be cleansed from original sin. He also
maintained that unbaptized children would go to hell. Augustine's position on infant baptism was later carried forward by some in the
reform movement.
- John Calvin called pedobaptism “a divine institution.”
- Martin Luther said that infant baptism was justifiable because babies have "hidden faith," just as a believing adult is also a Christian even
while he is asleep.
- Around 1524 at the instigation of Huldrych Zwingli, the Zürich council ordered all unbaptized babies to be baptized within eight days. On
March 7, 1526, the Zürich council again sided with Zwingli and passed an edict making adult baptism punishable by drowning. Tens of
thousands of Anabaptists were executed in several countries over baptism.
For more on this topic see “Radical Reformation vs. Magisterial Reformation.”
Augustine's position on the Virgin Mary's role in salvation and as our mediator.
I believe this position is best summed up in Augustine's prayer:
- Blessed Virgin Mary, who can worthily repay you with praise and thanksgiving for having rescued a fallen world by your
generous consent? What songs of praise can our weak human nature offer in your honor, since it was through you that it has
found the way to salvation? Accept then such poor thanks as we have to offer, unequal though they be to your merits. Receive
our gratitude and obtain by your prayers the pardon of our sins. Take our prayers into the sanctuary of heaven and enable
them to bring about our peace with God.
May the sins we penitently bring before Almighty God through you be pardoned. May what we beg with confidence be
granted through you. Take our offerings and grant our request; obtain pardon for what we fear, for you are the only hope of
sinners. We hope to obtain the forgiveness of our sins through you. Blessed Lady, in you is our hope of reward.
Holy Mary, help the miserable, strengthen the discouraged, comfort the sorrowful, pray for your people, plead for the clergy,
intercede for all women consecrated to God. May all who venerate you, feel now your help and protection. Be ready to help us
when we pray, and bring back to us the answers to our prayers. Make it your continual care to pray for the People of God, for
you were blessed by God and were made worthy to bear the Redeemer of the world, Who lives and reigns forever. —Augustine
1, 2, 3, 4
Why do Calvinists accept Augustine's position on predestination with such great passion and completely ignore his position on baptism and
Mary as our mediator?
Don't forget that Augustine was the first church leader that allowed the use of having people killed off that crossed him. Not very Christlike.
Does any of this prove the case for free will or predestination? Perhaps not.
What it does do is it demonstrates that Augustine was wrong on a number of points, at least as far as modern day Calvinists and Reformed
Theology movement are concerned. And if Augustine was wrong on these points, his position on predestination deserves equal scrutiny and
criticism. It also shows that men like Calvin, Luther, and Zwingli were also on the wrong side of many issues as well. My guess is if you
removed the issue of predestination from the discussion current day adherents of Reformed Theology would be aligned much closer with the
Anabaptists than with John Calvin…
Source:
1. http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/prayers/SaintsPrayers.htm
2. http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/augustineprayer.htm
3. The Greatest Marian Prayers : Their History, Meaning, and Usage / Anthony M. Buono Imprint New York : Alba House, c1999,
BX2160.2 .B86 1999, p. 112
4. Blessed Art Thou: A Treasury of Marian Prayers and Devotions / Richard J. Beyer Imprint Notre Dame, IN : Ave Maria Press, c1996,
BX2160.2 B46 1996, p. 35
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http://www.freewill-predestination.com/