AUGUSTINE - INFLUENCES

<BODY> <CENTER><FONT SIZE=5><B><FONT SIZE=6>AUGUSTINE</FONT><BR> THE CONVERTED CONVERTER</B></FONT></CENTER><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>Influences</B></FONT><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>CROSSROADS</B></FONT><BR> <TABLE ALIGN=Left BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=2 CELLPADDING=1> <TR> <TD><IMG ALIGN=Left SRC="0905a.jpg" WIDTH="150" HEIGHT="207" ALT="CHRIST"></TD> </TR> </TABLE> Augustine lived when the Empire was at a spiritual crossroads. The Roman ruling class clung to paganism and blamed Christianity for the weakness that made Rome vulnerable to the barbarians from the north. Christianity itself was divided by different sects, each claiming to be the one true faith. Augustine's writings were responsible for uniting church thought and establishing a dogma which would unify the thinking of the church through the politically divided Dark Ages. His work became the basis of medieval university studies. The crossroads became the one true way of the cross.<P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>THOMAS AQUINAS</B></FONT><BR> It has been held that the history of Christian thought may be seen as variations on the positions of two men - Augustine and <A HREF="../t06/t06f02.html" TARGET="_top">Aquinas</A>. Their fundamental differences relate to the fact that Augustine was a Platonist, Aquinas, an Aristotelian. By adopting <A HREF="../05/05f01.html" TARGET="_top">Aristotelian</A> <A HREF="../t03/g030.html" TARGET="_top">materialism</A>, Aquinas established a clear division between philosophy and theology. Certain unique areas such as the Trinity and Incarnation could only be known through revelation. But the nature of observable world is properly jurisdiction of philosophy. God's existence and nature could thus be known either through revelation or by processes of natural reason based on sense perception - that is through a natural theology. <BR clear=left><BR> <HR width=100%> <A HREF="http://www.creatorix.com.au"><IMG SRC="../creatorix.gif" WIDTH="85" HEIGHT="40" BORDER="0" ALT="Creatorix" align=right></A> </BODY>