2nd (or 3rd time) through this. So much wisdom here!

Skip that Intro!

I've just read this book for my Intro to Theology class. While the publisher and the comments on the back of the book seems to cherish the 100 pages of introduction by other scholars, I have to say reading through the first 50 pages makes me want to pull my hair out or stop reading this book altogether.

I finally took the advice of my wife (who got an earful about the Intro) and skipped the last 50 pages of it. Suddenly, I found myself enjoying Augustine, which is simple and reflective. With all due respect for all the scholars who wrote the intro, which I am sure are much more educated than I and the reason I could not appreciate their writing is no doubt my fault, I think it is a tragedy that in setting the stage, they only obstructed and frustrated the readers. Nor am I alone in this, most of my class disliked the intro. Maybe it is not meant for 1st year seminary student, I don't know.

This is a foundational work on biblical exposition, education, and rhetoric. Portions of it are brilliant, others less so. It is a worthwhile read.

Useful and important work from Augustine that conveys early elaborations of semiotics and hermeneutics.

Reading Augustine is very good for your soul. Save for some of the expected Augustine-isms that are more or less an over-correction from his personal experiences and should be taken with a grain of salt, this is a book to consume slowly, annotate copiously, and live with for a lifetime. It's amazing how much that is really central to education, biblical interpretation, and the liberal arts is contained within this short treatise: he provides an excellent overview of basic dogmatics (no one writes about the fundamental doctrines of the faith with as much rock-solid clarity and beauty as Augustine), pedagogical theory, rhetorical techniques, literary criticism, hermeneutics, Christian ethics, the Trivium and the Quadrivium for starters. This is also the one with the famous "plundering the Egyptians" passage, which is even more profound than you might think it is just from hearing about it. But this has tended to overshadow another incredible image: that of eloquence flowing naturally from the love of truth like a loyal servant following its master. I think the central idea that intrigues me most here, and which I want to pursue in further study, is the thought that reading, just like everything we ought to do, is ultimately an act of love. In fact, no interpretation of a text that is not related to love is valid. How can immersion in the imaginative world offered to us by literature—its symbols, metaphors, archetypes, and rhetoric—enrich our hearts for the Civitas Dei? This is a book I would give to all teachers and students in the first year of a classical high school or college program.

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.

It's a school book, what did I expect

The words in his title have gotten an offputting reputation in other contexts, and that's a shame. Doctrine is guidance in love. Augustine himself, probably from somebody's frightening childhood experience with City of God, would tend to offer an intimidating nameplate.

Try anyway. He is a master of the trenchant turn of phrase who would have been right at home on social media. Only after we've liked and shared do we realize the extent to which he is conveying timeless reverence toward Christ and His Word. Plus, it's about 100 pages, so you get all the cachet of reading Augustine in a tiny fraction of the time it takes to lug around City of God to its completion.

Watch out, though. The approachability of his prose in the heat of his love for Christ which is immediately apparent therein might embolden you to the point that you wouldn't mind hanging out with him longer.

Augustine’s classic guidebook for teachers and preachers. Covers basic exegesis, theology and practical wisdom for communication. Much of his advice is what we still teach today. Know your Bible, learn the languages, aim for love of God, and pray before you preach.

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.

St. Augustine's On Christian Doctrine provides historical insight into early church and medieval practices of Scriptural interpretation and rhetorical appropriateness - many of which are foreign to modern readers. It can be dry in portions, but it is also wise and spiritually rich. He champions the church's use of the world's knowledge for its own sake, using the image of the Israelites taking from the Egyptians as they begin their Exodus - "Every good and true Christian should understand that wherever he may find truth, it is the Lord's."


"If we love in faith what we have not seen, how much more will we love it when we begin to see it? And if we love in hope what we have not attained, how much more will we love it when we have attained it? Between temporal and eternal things there is this difference: a temporal thing is loved more before we have it, and it begins to grow worthless when we gain it, for it does not satisfy the soul, whose true and certain rest is eternity; but the eternal is more ardently loved when it is acquired that when it is merely desired."

Disclaimer: I only listened to this one.

Don’t be deceived by the title, the book has little to do with Christian doctrine. In the work, Augustine outlines grammatical principles for interpreting the Scriptures as well as guidelines for teaching. This is not a book on theologically or historically understanding the Scriptures, but focuses on issues like the allegorical interpretations springing forth in Augustines day.

If you lived around 400 AD and were a Christian who had a profession in rhetoric then this book is for you, but if you want Christian Doctrine as the title would have you believe, you’ve got the wrong book. I wouldn’t recommend it. Not on the basis of anything false, but on the basis of the idea that if your reading Augustine you’re probably not interested in principles for grammar and oration.