THE DEFENSE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AND THE FREEDOM OF GOD REFLECTED IN THE THOUGHT OF SAINT AUGUSTINE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14965662Keywords:
God, freedom, Christian faith, grace, apologeticsAbstract
The defense of the Christian faith and the freedom of God reflected in the thought of Saint Augustine.
St. Augustine of Hippo was a prominent Christian theologian and philosopher whose apologetic works had a profound impact on the development of Christian theology and Western philosophy. His apologetics is characterized by a profound and systematic approach to the Christian faith, combining reason with divine revelation. One of his best-known works is “Confessions”, a spiritual autobiography in which Augustine describes his journey from a life dedicated to worldly pleasures to his profound conversion to Christianity. This work not only provides an insight into his personal life, but also serves as a defense of the Christian faith, highlighting how divine grace can transform people’s lives. Through his works, St. Augustine offered a robust defense of the Christian faith, addressing both external criticisms and the internal questions of believers. His apologetics profoundly influenced later theological and philosophical thought, strengthening the doctrinal foundations of Christianity and providing answers to the intellectual challenges of his time. In St. Augustine’s view, divine grace: is God’s freedom to act absolutely free from any external constraint; it is the freedom to act out of love beyond human understanding and control; it is the freedom to create, to judge and to save.
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