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Ancient Christian Writers #42
The Literal Meaning of Genesis, Vol 2
A thorough and conscientious commentary on the first three chapters from the Book of Genesis, completed in 415. Augustine's purpose is to explain, to the best of his ability, what the author intended to say about what God did when he made heaven and earth. Contains Books 7-12.
296 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 400
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About the author
Augustine of Hippo
3,311 books2,071 followersEarly church father and philosopher Saint Augustine served from 396 as the bishop of Hippo in present-day Algeria and through such writings as the autobiographical
Confessions
in 397 and the voluminous
City of God
from 413 to 426 profoundly influenced Christianity, argued against Manichaeism and Donatism, and helped to establish the doctrine of original sin.
An Augustinian follows the principles and doctrines of Saint Augustine.
People also know Aurelius Augustinus in English of Regius (Annaba). From the Africa province of the Roman Empire, people generally consider this Latin theologian of the greatest thinkers of all times. He very developed the west. According to Jerome, a contemporary, Augustine renewed "the ancient Faith."
The Neo-Platonism of Plotinus afterward heavily weighed his years. After conversion and his baptism in 387, Augustine developed his own approach to theology and accommodated a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed in the indispensable grace to human freedom and framed the concept of just war. When the Western Roman Empire started to disintegrate from the material earth, Augustine developed the concept of the distinct Catholic spirituality in a book of the same name. He thought the medieval worldview. Augustine closely identified with the community that worshiped the Trinity. The Catholics and the Anglican communion revere this preeminent doctor. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider his due teaching on salvation and divine grace of the theology of the Reformation. The Eastern Orthodox also consider him. He carries the additional title of blessed. The Orthodox call him "Blessed Augustine" or "Saint Augustine the Blessed."
Santo Agostinho
An Augustinian follows the principles and doctrines of Saint Augustine.
People also know Aurelius Augustinus in English of Regius (Annaba). From the Africa province of the Roman Empire, people generally consider this Latin theologian of the greatest thinkers of all times. He very developed the west. According to Jerome, a contemporary, Augustine renewed "the ancient Faith."
The Neo-Platonism of Plotinus afterward heavily weighed his years. After conversion and his baptism in 387, Augustine developed his own approach to theology and accommodated a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed in the indispensable grace to human freedom and framed the concept of just war. When the Western Roman Empire started to disintegrate from the material earth, Augustine developed the concept of the distinct Catholic spirituality in a book of the same name. He thought the medieval worldview. Augustine closely identified with the community that worshiped the Trinity. The Catholics and the Anglican communion revere this preeminent doctor. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider his due teaching on salvation and divine grace of the theology of the Reformation. The Eastern Orthodox also consider him. He carries the additional title of blessed. The Orthodox call him "Blessed Augustine" or "Saint Augustine the Blessed."
Santo Agostinho
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 15, 2012
The first volume was delightful, but the second was grand. Not merely of historical interest, Augustine actually persuaded me that one of my positions on anthropology was wrong.
April 18, 2025
So interesting. I love the way Augustine thinks; I continue to believe that Christians in antiquity were far more thoughtful about their faith than most Christians today. I mentioned in my review of Volume 1 that Augustine's use of "literal" is nothing like how Christians would use it today - he uses it as the author's intended meaning, not the modern sense of literal. So his literal interpretation of Genesis 1 includes all of creation being done simultaneously, and the days signifying processes and stages, not time periods. Furthermore, he interprets light in Genesis 1 as being rationality, specifically as created in the heavenly beings / angels. That's his "literal" interpretation.
This second volume is less about creation and more about the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve. As such there's a lot less discussion of science, much more philosophy and theology, which I loved. The first volume's largest weaknesses is that his science is based on Aristotelian physics, and his Scripture is based on Latin translations of the Old Testament (not the Hebrew), and inaccuracies in both lead to some odd conclusions. I still love the process, but the conclusions felt off.
This has none of those issues so the process of thought is just absorbing. In particular, it's really interesting to see what ideas occupied the minds of the ancients, especially when it contrasts with what people care about today. For example, a huge part of the book deals with the origin of souls. We accept that our bodies come from our parents, we are in some their physical stuff perpetuated. Is that true of the soul? How would that work? So then are we all just pieces of Adam's original soul (since presumably if this is how it works, Eve's soul came from Adam as well)? Or is it that souls pre-exist our bodies, residing in some place, and they get implanted into bodies? Either way how does that work with Jesus's soul, assuming he has one? He actually doesn't have an answer, but the ideas are fascinating.
Same the last section of the book that deals basically with what heaven is, specifically the 3rd heaven Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians, and how that relates to Eden. Super interesting philosophical stuff; I loved it.
This second volume is less about creation and more about the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve. As such there's a lot less discussion of science, much more philosophy and theology, which I loved. The first volume's largest weaknesses is that his science is based on Aristotelian physics, and his Scripture is based on Latin translations of the Old Testament (not the Hebrew), and inaccuracies in both lead to some odd conclusions. I still love the process, but the conclusions felt off.
This has none of those issues so the process of thought is just absorbing. In particular, it's really interesting to see what ideas occupied the minds of the ancients, especially when it contrasts with what people care about today. For example, a huge part of the book deals with the origin of souls. We accept that our bodies come from our parents, we are in some their physical stuff perpetuated. Is that true of the soul? How would that work? So then are we all just pieces of Adam's original soul (since presumably if this is how it works, Eve's soul came from Adam as well)? Or is it that souls pre-exist our bodies, residing in some place, and they get implanted into bodies? Either way how does that work with Jesus's soul, assuming he has one? He actually doesn't have an answer, but the ideas are fascinating.
Same the last section of the book that deals basically with what heaven is, specifically the 3rd heaven Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians, and how that relates to Eden. Super interesting philosophical stuff; I loved it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews