City of God - Augustine - XIV - Book 8 commenced

Required reading
City of God by Augustine (available from Amazon or free on the internet, here for example) - Begin reading Book Eight, Chapters 1-15.

My summary
Now Augustine turns his attention to philosophy. 

Firstly he gives an overview of the two types of philosophy, Italian and Ionian.

Augustine then defends his proposition that Platonic philosophy is the closest approximation to our Christian position: 'The reason for my choice of the Platonists, in preference to all others, is that the reputation and prestige they enjoy above the rest is in proportion to the superiority of their concept of one God, the creator of heaven and earth.'

Yet, Augustine then criticises the Platonists for their acknowledgement of a plurality of gods: 'Yet all those philosophers, and others of the same way of thinking, and even Plato himself, thought it right to render worship to a plurality of Gods.'

What grabbed me
It was interesting to see how close someone can come through general revelation to a true knowledge of God.  Augustine admits Plato came very close, but did fall short: 'Some of those who are united in fellowship with us in the grace of Christ are amazed when they hear or read that Plato had a conception of God which they recognize as agreeing in many respects with the truth of our religion.  This has given rise to the suggestion that, at the time of his journey to Egypt, Plato listened to the prophet Jeremiah, or else that during the same foreign tour he read the prophetical Scriptures...But what impresses me most, and almost brings me to agree that Plato cannot have been unacquainted with the sacred books, is that when the angel gave Moses the message from God, and Moses asked the name of him who gave the command to go and free that Hebrew people from Egypt, he received this reply, "I am HE WHO IS, and you will say to the sons of Israel, "HE WHO IS has sent me to you."  This implies that in comparison with him who really is, because he is unchangeable, the things created changeable have no real existence.  This truth Plato vigorously maintained and diligently taught.  And I do not know whether it can be found anywhere in the works of Plato's predecessors, except in that book which has the statment, "I am HE WHO IS, and you will say to them: "HE WHO IS has sent me to you."'

General revelation can take you awful close, but true knowledge of God only comes through his special revelation which he condescends to give us.

Next week's reading
Finish reading Book Eight, Chapters 16-27.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.