On Christian Doctrine is the first work of Augustine’s I’ve ever finished. The reading group I’m in read the first two sections as a launching point for our discussion of myth and symbol, and I decided to finish the whole thing. The book is essentially a primer on how to read the Bible and then, in the fourth section, how to present the knowledge attained therein.

All in all, On Christian Doctrine is a very solid, though basic, examination of symbol, hermeneutics and eloquence. I like Augustine’s principle exegetical rule (partially, I must confess, because I’ve thought of a similar thing myself) which states that the interpretation of scripture should always be one that leads to the love of God and/or others since Jesus said “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Mathew 22: 37-40).

However, I found myself occasionally annoyed and distracted when Augustine chose to voice his opinions on sexuality (it is only for procreation in his mind) and am indeed not a fan of his general asceticism. Mind you, I do believe there is a place for ascetic practices (I’m a fan of Dallas Willard after all) but I think they are always for training. It seems to me that Augustine believes in asceticism because of some platonic aversion to creation, but I could be wrong.

I also found the last section difficult at times because it relied very heavily on Greco-Roman theory about rhetoric, and thus frequently used terms with which I am not familiar. Of course, were I wanting to do a more in depth study of that section, I could easily do some reading on that theory, and it’s certainly not a fault of the book itself. In essence though, Augustine says that eloquence is good, but wisdom is better. If you can have both, then do, but if you have to choose, choose wisdom.

All in all, this book is a good introduction to the reading of scripture and those interested in the thoughts of the church fathers should pick it up.

Augustine begins the first of On Christian Doctrine’s four books by stating, “There are two things on which all interpretation of scripture depends: the process of discovering what we need to learn, and the process of presenting what we have learnt” (1.1). He starts with discovery, further subdividing “things” from “signs” and focusing the remainder of the first book on learning which things (people included) are appropriate to use, enjoy, and/or love (1.2). The second book focuses on the sign, “a thing which of itself makes some other thing come to mind,” including natural signs and given signs, the latter determined only by convention (1.1). He discusses the importance of differentiating between metaphorical and literal signs, what aspects of pagan wisdom can be used by Christians, and also offers a few words on logic: “The validity of syllogisms is not something instituted by humans.... It is built into the permanent ... system of things” (32.50). The third books focuses on the difficulties of interpreting “ambiguous” scriptural signs, including those caused by figurative language, tropes, and outdated customs (1.1). The final book turns to “the process of presenting what we have learnt.” Augustine argues, “Since rhetoric is used to give conviction to both truth and falsehood, who could dare maintain that truth, which depends on us for its defence, should stand unarmed in the fight against falsehood?” (1.3). Arguing that close encounters with eloquent works is the best way to acquire eloquence (3.5), he offers numerous examples--often from Paul’s epistles--and offers some analysis of their style and syntax. He emphasizes Cicero’s advice “that the eloquent should speak in such a way as to instruct, delight, and move their listeners” (12.27), and correlates those three aims with three styles: “the restrained style” for instruction, “the moderate” for praise, and “the grand style, if antagonistic minds are being driven to change their attitude” (19.38), though he is not dogmatic about the correlation.

Augustine argues powerfully for the development of eloquence, not for its own sake, but so that Biblical Truth is not the only voice in the marketplace not defended by reasonable arguments.

He writes, “the effect of eloquence on a person of good character is not so much to instruct when painstakingly discussed as to inspire when passionately delivered,” and that the teacher, “should be in no doubt that any ability he has and however much he has derives more from his devotion to prayer than his dedication to oratory; and so, by praying for himself and for those he is about to address, he must become a man of prayer before becoming a man of words.”

This thin volume is an approcahable primer on the thought of Augustine, arguably the most influential theologian in Western society.

Great. Smither argues that this is basically Augustine's manual for preachers and interpreters of the word in Augustine as Mentor: A Model for Preparing Spiritual Leaders.

I loved this book. I love Augustine's mind, and it is so exciting to see how identical the ancients were to modern man. Augustine shows in this book that he was a true scholar and lover of truth. Modern man has so much to learn from the men of old; to think otherwise is madness.

His advice and directions on learning various disciplines, such as logic, mathematics, art, animal science, history, etc. are excellent and should be read by young people, which would stimulate them and help them see why they should learn these things. Augustine gives his reader a true foundation for education, and shows us the ultimate reason for learning: to know, love and glorify God.

The fourth book on rhetoric is also outstanding and should be read by all pastors and preachers. Not only will it prove enlightening, but it is also good for the heart and soul to read ancient literature and realize that we are not alone in our work, and that many before us have faced the very same issues we face. Augustine encouraged me and really helped me understand the role of rhetoric in Christian teaching. It was absolutely wonderful observing Augustine--who was a teacher of rhetoric before his conversion--analyzing the Scriptures and pointing out their natural and uncoerced beauty. This was a huge treat.

There were, however, several things Augustine touched upon where I found myself disagreeing with him. Thankfully these were not dwelt upon by him, but they are enough for me not to give the book five stars and not to recommend it to others without reservation. Augustine's soteriology is, I believe, deficient. He follows the typical Catholic teaching of his day and seems to think that we obtain the hope of salvation through our good works and changed lives. Of course, the foundation for this, to Augustine, is faith. But as Augustine seems to think, we must believe in Christ so that, by God's grace, we become righteous people in our behavior, thereby enabling our souls to be saved. I need to read more of Augustine's soteriology to finalize my convictions about him, but this is the impression I keep getting when I read him, and it is unfortunate. However, Augustine's theology was moving in the right direction, and I believe that had Augustine lived in the days of Luther, he would have sided with the German monk. Luther took Augustine's theology to its proper conclusion. Augustine aimed the gun at the target, Luther pulled the trigger.

I also took issue with Augustine's Neo-Platonism, which makes him despise the earthly too much, in favor of the ethereal and eternal. Some of this, of course, is good and Biblical, but I think Augustine can start sounding more like Plato than Paul sometimes. This approach to Scripture also brings him to reject the literal, earthly salvation of Israel and to embrace a more exclusively non-physical and spiritual interpretation of salvation. His comments on Ezekiel 36 are revealing on this matter. He states that while Ezekiel was talking about physical Israel, he suddenly and without any warning changes to talk, not about physical Israel, but about the spiritual Israel (i.e. the Church). Augustine justifies this by remarkably stating that, while it is completely unexpected, it isn't wrong: it's God giving us a happy and healthy challenge for our minds, which is good for us. I'm not at all convinced.

This same Neo-Platonism causes Augustine to misunderstand Paul's statement in 2 Corinthians 3:6, "the letter kills, but the spirit gives life." Instead of seeing Paul's point that it is the law (Old Covenant) that kills and it is the gospel (New Covenant) that gives life, Augustine interprets this to mean that the literal interpretation of Scripture, or the physical things of the Hebrew religion, is what kills, and that is the freedom from such things that gives life. This all leads to further consequences, in which marital sex is said to be solely and exclusively for procreation, and that women should not wear any makeup (which, according to Augustine and others, is actually worse than adultery!). These things are the results of error, of taking one truth and not integrating it with all truth.

But besides these criticisms, "On Christian Doctrine" is really an excellent book, profitable for all times, an ancient work of timeless value. I recommend the first two books for everyone, especially young people, and the last two book for pastors and preachers. There is much profit here. Thank you, Lord, for Augustine.

First things first: I'm clearly not the kind of person for whom this book was intended. But that I thoroughly enjoyed De doctrina christianas—appropriately translated in my edition as On Christian Teaching, as opposed to the more misleading On Christian Doctrine—testifies to St. Augustine's sagacity and clarity as a thinker.

As for the work, it is comprised of four parts: The first concerns itself with the concept of love, which Augustine cleverly partitions into love as a means (what he calls to "use" something) and love as an end in and of itself (to "enjoy" something); the second, with the background knowledge essential to the interpretation of scripture; the third, with the interpretation of signs, whether literal or figurative; and the fourth, with the Christian use of rhetoric. Historically, it is the final section that has been the most popular amongst readers, which is not surprising if one considers the clear application it has to the art of preaching. However, I was more interested in what came before: namely, Augustine's early formation of hermeneutical theory, as well as a (very) rudimentary theory of signs.

That being said, the former theory isn't really all that tenable, for the entire account ultimately smells of circular reasoning. But that doesn't diminish the value of this text. Throughout, Augustine proves himself to be an astute, lucid and systematic writer; hence, one should find themselves appreciating his modes of argumentation, if not the arguments themselves.

Knowing Greek would have made a few parts a bit more meaningful, but Augustine is amazingly simple to understand. He gives clear direction on interpreting scripture (making it abundantly clear how blessed we are that God gave us the Magisterium) and on presenting truth to others.

The two words that come to mind is lofty and obscure. I say lofty because Augustine was no doubt a philosophical genius, so his train of thought runs at a different altitude than this reader. And, I would say obscure because half the time I had no idea what he was talking about or why he was emphasizing certain things. Gems shined through from time to time, but they were more or less historical points of interest, and probably not germane to Augustine's intentions for the work.

Love Augustine. Yeah, he gets a little funky at times with his figurative interpretations, but I think today we have the opposite problem of insisting on literal readings. We don’t want to, as he says, “turn over and over in your mind what you read, until your interpretation is led right through to the kingdom of charity.” (III, 15, 23). We could use a bit more Augustine.

Book IV might be one of my favorite teachings on preaching. “It is the duty, therefore, of the eloquent churchman, when he is trying to persuade the people about something that has to be done, not only to teach, in order to instruct them; not only to delight, in order to hold them; but also to sway, in order to conquer and win them.” (IV, 13, 29).

Augustine has challenged (maybe even changed?) the way that I read Scripture. It is such a pleasure to see him delight in the Words of Life, and I pray that my work will be even a fraction as informative, delightful, and persuasive as his.

A classic work in a smooth translation.

I did not read all the introductory essays, but I especially appreciated the publishers including the section of Augustine’s retractions that addressed this work.

Augustine's classic on Christian teaching, which serves as a primer on hermeneutics is well worth revisiting. Augustine's work does not merely offer a guide to Bible interpretation. He is concerned for interpretations that reflect Christian virtues, particularly the Pauline triad of faith, hope and love. In true Augustinian fashion, Bible interpretation is placed within the context of finding greatest satisfaction in God alone. Augustine is also not ashamed to "plunder the Egyptians" when it serves the Truth. Finally, the end goal of interpretation is the teaching of the truth. It is the teacher's responsibility to teach with clarity, to beautify the true and the good, and to do so with all legitimate means of persuasion.