Long before he was declared a saint by the Church, Augustine (354–430 A.D.) gained profound influence as both a Church Father and a Christian Platonist philosopher—defending the doctrine of the Trinity, defining the epochal idea of religious grace, delving into the inner relationship between God and soul, and much more.
Today Augustine is recognizable even to non-Christians as the most important Christian writer outside of the Bible. Yet Augustine was also a man—a rhetorician trained in the Roman way whose life and discovery of his calling make for one of the most fascinating stories in the history of religious philosophy.
This course paints a rich and detailed portrait of the life, works, and ideas of this remarkable figure whose own search for God has profoundly shaped all of Western Christianity.