Category Archives: Augustine

the greek origin of omniscience

Posted on December 7, 2015 by christopher fisher

The concept of omniscience in rooted in the idea of God’s “perfection”. In platonism, the perfect cannot change. Thus, if god changed (such as learning new information) then god would not be perfect. Omniscience, then, is an extension of platonistic … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Bible, God, Greek History, Immutablility, Plato, Theology | 3 Comments

the development of predestination in augustine

Posted on October 18, 2014 by christopher fisher

From Augustine, Manichaeism and the Good by Kam-lun E. Lee (dissertation for the Saint Paul University, 1996): Augustine’s development of the idea of predestination reveals the Manichaean concept of the Good [the Summum Bonum] at work in three ways: on … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Calvinism, Church Fathers, History, Platonism, Theology | Leave a comment

the apocalypse of adam

Posted on March 28, 2014 by christopher fisher

The Apocalypse of Adam is an early gnostic apocalyptic document. There is no specific Christian themes, as opposed to Judaism. This may be, in fact, Jewish Gnosticism. The text is dated early, during the rise of Christianity and contains a … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Gnostics, Theology | 2 Comments

augustine on the platonists

Posted on January 15, 2014 by christopher fisher

In City of God, Augustine has entire book dedicated to his love affair with the Platonists. From Book VIII: Let all those philosophers, then, give place, as we have said, to the Platonists… These philosophers, then, whom we see not … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Calvinism, Church Fathers, God, Immutablility, Plato, Theology | Leave a comment

augustine and his infatuation with the platonists

Posted on January 15, 2014 by christopher fisher

I have wrote before that Augustine only converted to Christianity after his mentor explained to him that the Bible could be taken figuratively and the Platonists were correct in their philosophy. Here are Augustine’s own words: Confessions, Book 6: 6. … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Calvinism, Church Fathers, Church History, God, Immutablility, Theology | 1 Comment

augustine embraced violence on his critics

Posted on January 10, 2014 by christopher fisher

From Augustine’s letter to Vincentius: 16. You now see therefore, I suppose, that the thing to be considered when any one is coerced, is not the mere fact of the coercion, but the nature of that to which he is … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Church History | Leave a comment

beware calvinism

Posted on November 24, 2013 by christopher fisher

Calvinism is simply defined as a theology that borrows divine attributes from Platonism. Platonism originated the idea of the Summum Bonum, the perfect good. To Plotinus, the “perfect good” was a timeless, unchanging, omnipresent, and omniscient being (all the negative … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Bible, Calvinism, God, Open Theism, Textual Criticism, Theology | 5 Comments

augustine denied that God could speak

Posted on November 6, 2013 by christopher fisher

The Calvinist is always fixated on their Platonic ideas about God. As such, any time the Bible makes simple pronouncements, those have to be reinterpreted in light of the Platonic understanding of God. When the Bible says that God speaks, … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Bible, Calvinism, Figures of Speech, God, Open Theism, Theology | 2 Comments

Biblical interpretation

Posted on November 2, 2013 by christopher fisher

During a recent interview with Economist Russ Roberts, Emily Oster was recounting a debate she had with a doctor on the relative harms of various activities for pregnant ladies. She insisted that the data should lead us to the conclusions … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Bible, Church Fathers, Theology | 3 Comments

augustine viewed creation through plato’s theory of forms

Posted on October 24, 2013 by christopher fisher

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Gen 1:2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Church History, History, Theology | 1 Comment