Tree

 

 Davin Unger

Rhetoric

Recitation 4

Narrative Confirmation

September 28, 2023

Word Count: 707

 

Sophistic:

 

(Proposition)

            It is likely true that Amoun levitated across the Lycus river.

(Reason)

            I make this assertion based on the fact that Theodore claims that Amoun was dry when they met on the far bank. 

(Proof of reason)

            Now this statement admits of three possibilities, firstly, that Theodore was mistaken, and that Amoun was in fact wet when they met, secondly, that Amoun somehow found another way to cross that allowed him to remain dry, or lastly, that Amoun legitimately levitated. Ironically, the last proposition is the only one that holds water.

(Embellishment)

            The first explanation is possible but unlikely. Like the kid who got into the brownies, the appearance of a man who has been swimming denotes his recent activities, and anyone in Theodore's position would make certain of what he was seeing, especially before believing that a miracle had occurred. Even if he was a man of faith, people are innately inclined to exhaust all natural explanations before admitting of supernatural ones.

            The second assertion is equally implausible, because if there were a way to ford the river that didn't involve swimming Theodore would likely have identified it long before getting into the water. But even if he missed something, even if there was another way, after hearing Amouns fantastical claim, he would certainly have checked for any possible way that his companion could have crossed without levitating. If for instance Amoun had used a fallen tree, Theodore would have quickly located it. If say, a boat had carried Amoun across, Theodore would likely have seen or heard it. I have yet to identify any way that Amoun could have crossed the river without his companion noticing, barring a miracle of course. 

            The last possibility simply asserts that God miraculously carried Amoun to the far bank just as the narrative claims, we as Christians know this to be possible and when considered alongside the other explanations it is almost undoubtable. 

(Resume) Therefore, Amoun likely did levitate across the Lycus River because out of all the possibilities that account for him being dry, this alone holds up to scrutiny. 

 

 

 

Sound:

 

(Proposition) It is likely true that Amoun levitated across the Lycus river.

            

(Reason) Now I assert this claim on the basis that God displays a great proclivity for prevailing over the forces of water to protect and benefit his Children.

            

(Proof of Reason) Scripture substantiates this notion with a number of varying accounts in which God delivers his saints from water. 

 

(Embellishment) Take for example the story in Joshua when Israel crosses the Jordan, it says: 

 

            those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who 

            bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks 

            during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream           stood still

 

The account displays remarkable parallels to the story of Amoun. In both cases we see holy men journeying on foot, coming to a river during flood season, and reaching the other side without getting wet, neither of them having asked God for a miracle. 

 

            This is just one of many cases, time would fail me to speak of Israel crossing the red sea, of Peter walking on water, of Elijah, Elisha, and the apostle Paul, all case studies of God's tendency to work miracles for the sake of his people in cases involving water.   

 

            If you spend any amount of time looking at the seascapes of Winslow Homer the American realist painter, you'll see that he tends to paint his waves using jagged forms, cool and earthy colors, as well as contrasting tones, these tendencies set his work apart from other sea scape painters such that at a glance the trained eye could identify his work. In the same way, God has certain inclinations that show up in his work, and one of these is a proclivity to spare his saints from the danger and obstruction of water.

 

            (Resume) In light of this, the account of Amoun's miraculous river crossing is likely true because it squares with who God is and how He reveals Himself to man.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Davin Unger

Rhetoric

Recitation 4

Refutation 

September 20, 2023

Word Count: 599

 

 

            When talking about stories like Amoun's levitation across the Lycus River we have to be careful not to dismiss them simply because they sound outlandish, we have to evaluate the narrative's form, and integrity, as well as the testimony on which it is built. It is clear when held up to scrutiny, that this account presents numerous inconsistencies in content and form and fails to generate reliable testimony, leaving us no choice but to view it as a dubious invention. 

            To begin, the narrative tells us that Theodore and Amoun were traveling during flood season, and swimming across a river during flood season could be very dangerous, Amoun, knowing this, would likely not have asked his friend to attempt it alone, especially not to simply to avoid embarrassment. If these men were reasonable, they would rather risk their dignity than their lives.

            Also, monks are men of piety, devoting themselves to strict lives of prayer and fasting, are we to believe that these men, seasoned in the discipline of body and mind, could not exercise enough restraint to simply avert their gaze from one another's nakedness? And if even this was too much, the men could simply remain covered until their bodies were concealed by the water. Either way, there was no need for them to separate, on the contrary, doing placed them in greater peril. 

            Next, it seems unlikely that Amoun would try to conceal the miracle of his levitation, monks seek to bring glory to God, if such an extraordinary miracle had occurred, why would Amoun attempt to hide it? Would he not rather freely tell of what God did for him? When Jesus delivered a man from demonic possession, he said “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.” In attempting to hide the miracle, Amoun is acting contrary to his faith.

            The account of Amoun's levitation is overflowing with vague, confusing, and irrelevant details, for example, it goes out of it's way to emphasize that Amoun is ashamed of his own nakedness but we never learn why or how this is at all relevant to the story. Or take this sentence: "Theodore, himself a pious man, came up; and seeing that the other had come over before him and had not even gotten wet, he asked how he had crossed." Why does this passage say that he is pious? It is completely irrelevant given the context. The account is full of these cryptic and confusing statements which obscure the coherence of the narrative, this is made even more poignant when compared with the crystal-clear miraculous stories in scripture. 

            Most damning of all however, is the fact that no one witnessed Amoun's supposed levitation and without witnesses we are left with a chain of independent and distant narrators any of whom could have skewed the account, and let us not forget that when the story was first publicly divulged, the only man who could confirm or refute it was dead. In order to believe the account, we must believe that Athanasius accurately recounted what Theodore claimed, and that Theodore correctly retold (and remembered) what Amoun said, and finally, we must believe that Amoun was being truthful in the first place. On it's own, the lack of verifiable testimony, leaves the account open to skepticism, but when paired with the numerous problems within the story, it seals the coffin.

            Having seen that this story is inconsistent in content, bafling in form, and devoid of substantive corroboration we are left with no choice but to regard the account as unreliable. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Refutation:

 

 

Incredible: The story is not reliable because no one witnessed Amoun's levitation. 

 

Unclear: The account is questionable because it includes odd and confusing details.

 

Unclear: The narrative is written vaguely, making it's veracity questionable. 

 

Disadvantageous: swimming alone across a flooded river is very dangerous, thus Amoun would not have sent his friend to attempt this alone. 

 

Incredible: Monks are disciplined, so they would respect each other's privacy by not looking on their nakedness. 

 

Unclear: The narrative is questionable because it does not specify why Theordore chose to seize Amoun's ancles.

 

Incredible: The story was told after Amoun's death, thus Amoun could not confirm it. 

 

Inappropriate: Amoun wouldn't want to hide a miracle because Monks seek to bring glory to God. 

 

Unclear: The narrative is dubious because it does not specify why they took their clothes off to cross the river. 

 

Impossible: You cannot keep your clothes dry while swimming across a flooded river, so 

 

it makes no sense that they would attempt to do so.

 

Incredible: The narrative is questionable because it was told potentially years after it's alleged occurrence. 

 

 

Confirmation: 

 

Consistent: The river crossing is affirmed by the account of his spirit levitating after his death

 

Appropriate: Monks are modest, therefore they would want to conceal their nakedness.

 

Consistent: Theodor is a pious man, thus he would keep his word to not tell the story until Amoun's death.

 

Appropriate: God miraculously aids in bringing his Saints across water, so it would be fitting for God to bring Amoun across. 

 

Possible: God works miracles, thus it is possible that he could have brought Amoun across the river. 

 

Consistent: Monks wear heavy robes, thus they would not want to get them wet. 

 

Consistent: Amoun crossed the river and stayed dry thus he did not swim. 

 

Clear: The account is clear that both monks ended on the opposite bank of the river, thus both monks crossed the river 

 

Appropriate: Amoun would not want to draw attention to himself with the miracle because Monks are humble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paper Edit Summary

 

 

            Positive points: 

 

1.     You cover all the major topics within Book XII, God, the act of creation, heaven/wisdom, formless matter, earth, the firmament, and time.

 

2.     You have some strong "mic drop" moments such as "as soon as it begins, it is." and "God wills and what he wills is." 

 

3.     Your word choice is simple

 

 

            Things to work on: 

 

1.     While your language is not confusing, the way you phrase many of your sentences is, take for example this sentence: 

 

"Whether these days are literal or not is beside the point, since the fact that the creation is divided into days, and that everything came to be all at once within Creation, rather, he must have meant that it all came to be outside creation, since God is outside creation and is the source of it."

 

 

2.     Make sure you are telling more showing. Make an effort to not only summarize what Augustine claims, but also how he justifies his claims, you do this well in a number of sections but some parts feel unsubstantiated like when you say "Thus, since heaven's heaven was created first, before all time, the angels are beings beyond time" but you never give evidence for why this is the case. I recommend collecting more sources to sources to support your points, specifically sources not written by St. Augustine. 

 

 

 

3.     Make sure your topics are segregated to their own paragraphs (God's attributes, characteristics of formless matter, etc.), don't let these topic spill over into the next group of topics. It's fine to reference previous points as long as they are relevant to the issue you're currently tackling, but it's confusing when you jump around from topic to topic. 

 

 

 

 

4.     Consider developing a more definitive thesis/theme, it's easier to follow a paper when we know what the author is trying to say and how each point fits into that goal. When I read your paper I understood that it follows the text of Genesis, but it still felt untethered.

 

 

 

I recommend more research and exploration of Book XII, the more familiar you are with the text the easier it will be to distil Augustine's meaning. Then I recommend going through and rephrasing overcomplicated sentences and reorganizing topics as needed. Finally, substantiate your claims with other sources. While I advise working on the format and grammar, you really need to fix the underlying framework of the paper, make it flow smoothly, come across clearly, and conclude in a way that ties everything up, giving the reader a sense of finality. 

 

 

 

Other Notes:

 

 

·      You don't explain that heaven and angels are outside of time because they always adore and look upon God, and therefore "approache his eternity. 

 

·      The CMOS requires page numbers.

 

·      Make sure your statements logically follow the evidence you deliver, especially when you say "thus" and "therefore." For example, you say "Thus, God, the Origin, precedes Creation, the Creature in the order of priority, meaning He is eternal and not His Creation." God preceding his creation does not make him eternal, but if you were only trying to say that since creation has a beginning it is not eternal, then make that clear to your readers. 

 

·      If your quotes contain unnecessary information, be sure to trim them. 

 

·      Consider removing terms like "we" which can make your paper sound casual.  

 Davin Unger

Rhetoric

Recitation 4

Chreia

September 12, 2023

Word Count: 560

 

            (Recite the Chreia) One day, while counting a large sum of money, Pope Innocent II said to Thomas Aquinas, "The church can no longer say, 'Silver and gold have I none.'" "True,” said Thomas, "but neither can she now say, 'Rise and walk.'”

 

            (Praise) Thomas Aquinas was one of the foremost thinkers and theologians within the medieval scholastic tradition, his writings and teachings used Aristotelian logic and contemporary theology to advance understanding of the faith, and his work continues to inform modern minds both in and out of the Church over seven centuries later.

 

            (Paraphrase) In the interaction above, he indicates that although the church had amassed much power within Europe, in the form of wealth, fame, and influence, she seemed to have lost sight of her true mission. 

 

            (Cause) The church and large institutions in general, often begin with great vigor, the driving forces being clear and present in the minds of believers. This passion that characterizes so many young movements, finds great respect among onlookers because it consists of pure belief, before any goals have been met, before any traction has been gained. This initial force can raise a movement to tremendous heights, delivering fame, and wealth as was the case with the church. And yet once movements achieve these trifles, having not yet clutched the thing they set out to obtain, they often settle for trivial gain, leaving behind the high aspirations of their founders.

 

            (Contrary) By contrast, some organization labor fruitlessly for prolonged periods of time, toiling endlessly but making little progress, and yet through their privation they maintain conviction, they hold to a goal that spurns them on day after day.

 

            (Analogy) Think of a famished man who missed breakfast and lunch, waiting for a table at a fancy restaurant, his stomach groans with every passing minute, and then he hears a sound "hot dogs! get your hot dogs" turning around he sees another man pushing a cart, "would you like a hot dog sir?" he asks, the man looks at his watch, sighs and says "I'll take three" contenting himself to fill up on fast food. he still thinks highly of a steak dinner but when an easy concession is made available, he does not hesitate to settle for the quicker meal. So it can be with groups of people, be they religious, social, or other.  

            (Example) Consider the education system, in their purest aim, schools should endeavor to train the youth in the mechanics of the world around them and to give them the ability to reason logically and think critically, however, modern education has opted instead to indoctrinate the youth into brainless automatons easily controlled by the government that pays it to do so. In other words, the education system has sold out, it has left it's sacred goal by the wayside in exchange for monetary gain.

 

            (Testimony of the Ancients) Ronald Reagan once said "A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell it's numbers." Reagan understood that although compromise could advance a political party, it could also undermine the very integrity of that party.

 

            (Brief Epilogue) So then, Thomas Aquinas demonstrated a remarkable and prophetic insight into the nature of movements and how they, just like people, can compromise their aspirations, by settling for less. 

 

 

 

 

 

 (Recite the Chreia) One day, while counting a large sum of money, Pope Innocent II said to Thomas Aquinas, "The church can no longer say, 'Silver and gold have I none.'" "True,” said Thomas, "but neither can she now say, 'Rise and walk.'”

 

         (Praise) Thomas Aquinas was one of the foremost thinkers and theologians within the medieval scholastic tradition, his writings and teachings used Aristotelian logic and contemporary theology to advance understanding of the faith, and his work continues to inform modern minds both in and out of the Church over seven centuries later.

 

         (Paraphrase) In the interaction above, he indicates that although the church had amassed much power within Europe, in the form of wealth, fame, and influence, she seemed to have lost sight of her true mission. 

 

         (Cause) The church and large institutions in general, often begin with great vigor, the driving forces being clear and present in the minds of believers. This passion that characterizes so many young movements, finds great respect among onlookers because it consists of pure belief, before any goals have been met, before any traction has been gained. This initial force can raise a movement to tremendous heights, delivering fame, and wealth as was the case with the church. And yet once movements achieve these trifles, having not yet clutched the thing they set out to obtain, they often settle for trivial gain, leaving behind the high aspirations of their founders.

 

         (Contrary) By contrast, some organization labor fruitlessly for prolonged periods of time, toiling endlessly but making little progress, and yet through their privation they maintain conviction, they hold to a goal that spurns them on day after day.

 

         (Analogy) Think of a famished man who missed breakfast and lunch, waiting for a table at a fancy restaurant, his stomach groans with every passing minute, and then he hears a sound "hot dogs! get your hot dogs" turning around he sees another man pushing a cart, "would you like a hot dog sir?" he asks, the man looks at his watch, sighs and says "I'll take three" contenting himself to fill up on fast food. he still thinks highly of a steak dinner but when an easy concession is made available, he does not hesitate to settle for the quicker meal. So it can be with groups of people, be they religious, social, or other.  

         (Example) Consider the education system, in their purest aim, schools should endeavor to train the youth in the mechanics of the world around them and to give them the ability to reason logically and think critically, however, modern education has opted instead to indoctrinate the youth into brainless automatons easily controlled by the government that pays it to do so. In other words, the education system has sold out, it has left it's sacred goal by the wayside in exchange for monetary gain.

 

         (Testimony of the Ancients) Ronald Reagan once said "A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell it's numbers." Reagan understood that although compromise could advance a political party, it could also undermine the very integrity of that party.

 

         (Brief Epilogue) So then, Thomas Aquinas demonstrated a remarkable and prophetic insight into the nature of movements and how they, just like people, can compromise their aspirations, by settling for less. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

AUGUSTINE'S ONTOLOGY OF GENESIS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Davin Unger

THE101: Lordship I: Knowing God and the Creator

September 7, 2023

 

 

 

 

1.

 

Abstract

 

This exploration of Saint Augustine's treatment of Genesis 1:1-2 in Confessions Book XII, will begin by clearly laying out the main ideas and arguments that the author derives from the text, these being the nature of Heaven and all that dwells in it, of formlessness, of the created world, and of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It will look at how Augustine illuminates the reader's understanding of heaven and argues for it's timelessness in spite of it's being a created thing. It will examine how he wrestles with the paradoxical nature of formlessness because of his philosophical background as well as how that background shapes his broader conception of existence. It will look at the different interpretations for how creation emergences out of formless matter and how Augustine accounts for it's presence in time. Lastly, it will discuss Augustine's foundational beliefs about the eternal nature in which God exists and the variations of that nature between his three persons. Moreover, Augustine's aim in writing Book XII is to establish a biblically sound ontological framework of reality, in order to explain the various ways in which all things have their being in relation to God.

 

 

 

 

2.

            This analysis of Saint Augustine's interpretation of Genesis 1:1-2 in Confessions Book XII, will focus on how the author derives an understanding of existence based on first words of scripture. Augustine will unravel the mystery of God and his act of creation, of heaven's heaven, of wisdom, of formlessness matter, and of the observable universe. Moreover, Augustine's aim in writing Book XII is to establish a biblically sound ontological framework of reality, in order to explain the various ways in which created things have their being in relation to God.

            Much could be said about Augustine's doctrine of the Triune God, but for the sake of time it is necessary to highlight only the major points. As it relates to ontology (which, as it will be used here, is defined as: a branch of metaphysics concerned with the nature and relations of being (M.W.)) Augustine sees God as as the source of being itself, (Augustine 288) a title that echoes the words of the Apostle Paul who said "in Him all things consist." (Col 1:17) He is the author of existence for two reasons, firstly, because he made all things: "All things that are, but are not you, are things you made" (290) and secondly because he continually upholds the work of his hands. Therefore, according to Augustine, God is the starting point of ontology because he causes and upholds all being. The author argues that God is eternal in that he is the self-existent being who precedes all beings (conf. 290), again mirroring the words of scripture: "He is before all things."(Col 1:17) He also highlights the fact that God changelessness and therefore timeless because, as will be explained later on, time can only exist where there are changes in state. 

            When God created the heavens and the earth, he made something altogether separate from himself, Augustine juxtaposes this kind of "making" with the way in which God "generated" his only begotten Son from his divine essence. At a glance, this might seem like a 

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trivial distinction, but there is a very good reason for it. If it was said that God generated his creation, this creation could be reasonably assumed to have equal standing with Him just as Christ is equal with the Father. (Augustine 294) By preserving this distinction, Augustine avoids the errors of the divinizing creation as well as of lowering Christ to the statues of creature. (Gerald 415) Looking closer then at this act of making, the author holds that God created the heavens and the earth through his Son also referred to as his "wisdom," a view consistent with John 1:3 that says "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." 

            At the start of book XII Augustine ponders the nature "Heaven's Heaven" by which he refers to God's celestial dwelling. Augustine describes heaven as a "lofty" or "intellectual" kind of creature (294), an entity that, although not coeternal with God, approaches his eternity because it finds it's sole delight in him, and through this unwavering adoration it is suspended in time alongside it's glorious maker. Moreover, the writer of Book XII states that heaven is made not from physical substance but is, on the contrary, immaterial, a mode of existence that clashed with many of Augustine's opponents as will be shown later. 

            Another entity that should be noted alongside Heaven is God's wisdom. Augustine says in the third chapter of Book XII: (speaking of heaven) "There was no time before its creation, since 'created before all things is wisdom.' This is not a reference to that Wisdom who is your Son" ... "the Wisdom through 'whom all things were created'" ... "No, this other wisdom is created, an intellectual entity that becomes light by contemplation of the light. Though created it is called wisdom." (Augustine 294-95) From the little that Augustine says in Book XII this wisdom can be understood firstly as a created thing, in fact, the first of all created things, and is 

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likely detached from time and matter (assuming it is immaterial and unchanging). Note that Augustine calls it an "intellectual entity" not unlike Heaven's Heaven, it should come as no surprise then to learn that it is closely tied to God's dwelling in the text of Book XII.

            When Augustine addresses the topic if matter without form, his sole reference is the passage in Genesis 1 that says "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep." Harnessing all of his intellectual faculties, the author attempts to give light to the cryptic concept of being on the verge of not being, of a nature that exists just short of non-existence. (Augustine 292) The first distinction He makes is that formless matter does not have intellectual form in the way that ideas like geometry or justice do, nor yet does it have physical form like the earth and heaven that it would eventually become. (287) For much of his life prior to conversion, Augustine struggled to comprehend, among other things, how an entity could exist in an immaterial state, which obviously presents difficulties when considering formless matter. These holes in Augustine's immature thought can almost certainly be attributed to the heretical philosophies that poisoned his concept of existence, the foremost of these being Manicheanism, a heretical sect that lasted from the third to at least the seventeenth century. The Manichean's took Christian symbols and ideas such as God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, light, darkness, and Satan, and twisted them into a bizarre dualistic cosmology. (Coyle 521-22) (Harrison 99) One way in which this effected Augustine's understanding of formlessness is in the aspect of darkness, the Manichean's held that darkness had a form of it's own and that it waged war against light but Augustine argues, that it is a mere absence of light, in the same way that silence is the absence of sound. Returning to formless matter, Augustine expounds on the faulty ideas of his youth saying "I did not think of it (formless matter) as formless but as deformed in many 

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grotesque ways. My mind played with foul and disgusting forms, jumbling all categories. I called these formless, not because they lacked form but as if they had a form which, could I see it, would confound my senses with it's unimaginable absurdity and overwhelm my human weakness." (Augustine 287) Note again the his inability to perceive being in a negative sense. Having at the time of the writing of Confessions overcome his false doctrines, Augustine determines that as with heaven, time cannot be applied to formless matter because "There is no time without the motion of forms, and the formless has no form." (Jordan 405) Therefore, heaven is outside of time because it experiences no motion while formless matter is outside of time because it has no perceivable form that could experience motion. Augustine argues that this might explain why the writer of Genesis omits a day of creation to mark the origin of heaven and earth, because to do so with no reference point would be arbitrary. 

            Having understood the ontological rudiments of formless matter it becomes necessary to turn to it's culmination: corporeal reality. Augustine describes the transition from formlessness to cosmos in the second Chapter of Book XII "from nothing you made an almost nothing, and from that you made great things for 'the sons of men' to marvel at" the principal he highlights is that "prime matter precedes formed matter," he likens this formation to singing, in that "the body produces sound that the singer's intelligence shapes into song." (308) This creation includes the earth and the heavens (not Heaven's Heaven), earth as the physical planet and heaven as in the higher waters spoken of later Genesis, Augustine describes it thusly in Book XII: "Marvelous indeed is the physical heaven, the canopy between the higher and lower waters, that you spread on the second day, after light was provided, saying: 'let it be a canopy,' and it was. This canopy you called heaven, though it was only heaven to land and sea." Along with the formation of 

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physical reality comes the constraints of time and space. Time because when God united this matter with a form, it's state suddenly became changeable, the principal therefore is this: time only applies to creation when matter is united with form in such a way as to produce observable change. As an aside, time could then be defined within the context of Augustine's thought (at least in one sense) as: a measure of change. (Barr) Another aspect of being unique to the physical universe is space, or the physical relationships between material objects, a constraint that does not apply to God who Augustine praises as omnipresent when he declares "you are not at this or that point, in this way or that way, but yourself-in-yourself, yourself-in-yourself, yourself-in-yourself, 'holy, holy, holy,' Lord, the God all-powerful." This passage also gives the reader some idea of the fearful wonder with which the author undertakes to explain the miracles of ontology. Augustine draws a sharp distinction between the way in which God formed creation and the way in which he generates the Son from his divine nature, in order to counter the error that Christ is part of the creation. (Teske) This is important because, as he argues elsewhere, anything that God generates is equal with him, thus he keeps his readers from the error that Christ is to be numbered among created things or that creation is of equal standing with God. (Harrison 99) Therefore, creation is a physical construct made from formless matter in God's Wisdom, it exists within the confines of space and time and is upheld by God's power. So then, the physical universe is a distinctly material realm existing within the constraints of both space (the physical relationship between objects in the observable universe) and time (the chronological measure of changes in state), it arose from formless mater was made distinct from it's creator as opposed to being generated from His divine essence. 

 

            7.

            The Twelfth Book of Saint Augustine's Confessions explores the meaning Genesis 1:1-2 within the context of what it is to exist. The author considers Heaven's heaven, the immaterial and intellectual creature that suspends the passage of time by finding it's fullness in God. He ponders the paradox of formlessness, a state neither physical nor intellectual, on the edge of not being, a state in which darkness reigns and time is absent. It was from this primary matter that God formed cosmos that would become the corporal world, a physical reality upheld by God's word, and contained within time and space. Therefore, through his writings in Book XII, Augustine gives light to every state of being described in the text of Genesis 1:1-2 successfully creating a framework of reality, in which created things whether in time or out of time, material or immaterial, visible and invisible begin and end with God. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

Boersma, Gerald. “The Rationes Seminales in Augustine’s Theology of Creation,” Nova et Vetera, 2020.

 

Barr, Stephen "St. Augustine's Relativistic Theory of Time." University of Notre Dame. Church Life Journal February 07, 2020. Accessed Sep 7, 2023. https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/augustines-push-against-the-limits-of-time/. web page.

 

Coyle, J. Kevin. "Mani, Manicheism." In Augustine through the Ages: An Encyclopedia, edited by Allan D. Fitzgerald, 379-381. Michigan: Grand Rapids, 1999. https://archive.org/details/augustinethrough0000unse/page/n11/mode/2up. e-book.

 

Christian, William Armistead. "Augustine on the Creation of the World." HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW 46, no. 1 (January, 1953): 1-3. Accessed August 31, 2023. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1508839. web page. 

 

Harrison, Carol. Beauty and Revelation in the Thought of Saint Augustine. Oxford: Clarendon Press 1992.

 

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