St.

Augustine of Hippo and

St. Thomas Aquinas
The Biblical God and Humanity

• This section looks at the reasonableness of belief in God’s

existence. In doing so, we shall treat the statement “God
exists” as a hypothesis, which we call the THEISTIC HYP

• This means we shall ask whether or not the existence of

God provides the best explanation of the existence of the
world as we know it.
Religious people definitely do not treat God’s existence as a
hypothesis, for God is a constant presence, rather than a
being whose existence is accepted as the best explanation
of available evidence.

The religious problem reflected in the Old Testament

narratives is not atheism but polytheism: not the denial of
.

The problem addressed in the Old Testament isn't atheism, but

polytheism: not the denial of God but the worship of more than one God.

POLYTHEISM- the belief in or worship of more

than one god
Saint Augustine of Hippo
Also known as the Doctor of Grace, was an early Christian
theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the
development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy.
For Augustine (354-430 CE), philosophy is amor sapiential, the love of wisdom; its aim
is to produce happiness. However, for Augustine, wisdom is not just an abstract logical
construction; but it is substantially existent as the Divine Logos. Hence, philosophy is the
love of God: it is then, religious. Teachings of Christianity are based on the love of God,
which Augustine’s, Aquina’s and Anselm’s arguments are basically rooted.
For Augustine, Christianity, as presenting the full revelation of the true God, is the only full and true philosophy.
However, we can love only that which we know. When comes this knowledge of God? It begins with faith and is made
perfect by understanding. All knowledge leads to God, so that faith supplements and enlightens reason that it may proceed to
ever richer and fuller understanding. Indeed, without this enlightenment of faith,reason invariably sooner or later, goes astray.
As a French poetry laments:
Philosophie
J’ai tout lu. I have evrything.
J’ai tout vu. I have seen all.
J’ai tout entendu. I have heard all.
J’ai tout eu. I had it all.
Et je suis… un peu perdu. I had lost… I am a bit lost.
It should be taken as humble acceptance of the fact that human beings alone, without God, are bound to fail. As
stated in John 15:5, I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much
fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. Further, to quote Psalms 4: The thoughts are very deep! The dull man
cannot know. The stupid cannot understand this.
Only the pure in heart shall see God; the progress in knowledge and wisdom is not only speculative, it is more
fundamentally practical and moral. Augustine’s theory of knowledge is at one with the procedures of speculative
mysticism. From this mystic love and intuition of God follow all the principles to direct humanity in all their
undertakings.
Saint Thomas Aquinas
He was an greatly influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, within
which he is also known as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor Communist.
For St. Thomas Aquinas, all creatures, human beings
have the unique power to change themselves and
things for the better. His philosophy is best grasped in
his treatises Summa Contra Gentiles and Summa
Theologica. Aquinas considers the human being as
moral agent. We are both spiritual and body elements;
the spiritual and material. The unity between both
elements indeed helps as to understand our complexity
as human beings. Our spirituality seperates us from
animals; it differentiates moral dimension of our
fulfillment in action. Through our spirituality, we have
a conscience. Thus, whether we choose to be “good” or
“evil” becomes our responsibility.
3.2 Evaluate Own Limitations and the Possibilities for their Transcendence
Based on the preceding section, let us evaluate our human limitations and how we can also transcend them. Many of us
would experience any of the following; for emerging from deep within and felt a sense of being in tune with the mystery of
our own being, and with the mystery of life that transcends us. Let us consider the following examples (Edward 1983).
A. Forgiveness
B. The Beauty of Nature
C. Vulnerability (Helplessness)
D. Failure
E. Loneliness
F. Love
3.3 Recognize the Human Body Imposes Limits and Possibilities
for Transcendence

• A. Hinduism: Reincarnation and Karma

Essential Hinduism is based on the belief in karma and has its first literary
expression in Upanishads. Everything in this life, say the Hindus, is a consequence of
actions performed in previous existence. Only by building up a fine record, or "karma",
can final salvation be attained.

• B. Buddhism: Nirvana
Nirvana means the state in which one is free from all forms of bondage and
attachment. It means to overcome and remove the cause of suffering. It is also the
state or perfect insight into the nature of existence. The Buddhists see one who has
attained nirvana as one who is unencumbered from all the fetters that bind a human
being to existence.
• C. St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas: Will and Love

For St. Augustine, physically we are free, yet morally bound

to obey the law. The Eternal law is God Himself. According
to this law, humanity must do well and avoid evil, hence, the
existence of moral obligation in every human being.
Through prayer, modesty, fasting, and other sound
measures that the Church recommends, or God provides,
can purify heart, mind, and body be maintained and daily
lived
3.4 Distinguish the Limitations and Possibilities for Transcendence

• It is spiritual that endures and is ultimately real. In Hinduism, the human aspiration is to
move to the divine. What we believe is how we live; if our beliefs are in error, and then
our lives will be unhappy.
• There is the preoccupation with the inner life – the road to enlightenment that stretches
not outward but inward. To understand nature and the universe, we must turn within.
• There is an emphasis on the nonmaterial oneness of creation. This means that there are
no polarities; a single spirit provides cosmic harmony.
• There is the acceptance of direct awareness as the only way to understand what is real.
The Indians find this direct perception through spiritual exercises, perhaps through the
practice of yoga. Reason is of some use but in the final analysis, it is only through inner
experience of oneness with all of creation.
• There is healthy respect for tradition, but never a slavish commitment to it. The past can
teach but never rule.
Evil Suffering
Suffering is close to the heart of biblical faith. In comparison with the Buddha, who saw life in suffering and tried to control it instead
of cursing it, Job of the Old Testament, did not just complain. He cursed the day he was born! In a phenomenological perspective, all of us
will continue to assert our will against others, adding to the overall suffering of human experience.