How Augustine Read the Bible

"Whoever, therefore, thinks that he understands the divine Scriptures or any part of them so that it does not build the double love of God & of our neighbor does not understand it at all. Whoever finds a lesson there useful to the building of charity, even though he has not said what the author may be shown to have intended in that place, has not been deceived nor is he lying in any way. -De Doctrina Christiana Book I.36-

Of all early Church Fathers, I am most familiar with St. Augustine's life & writings. His breadth of experience, from his mastery in rhetoric all the way through his role as a Bishop & Pastor, offers a polished body of works that, though subject to his developing thought later in life, draws from a few key Augustinian intuitions. One such intuition Augustine had concerns how to read the Bible. The fancy phrase for his intuition is called "Augustine's hermeneutic of love." Though this phrase can be misleading, the section from De Doctrina Christiana reveals the heart of Augustine's brilliant intuition. In this essay, I'm going to talk about how St. Augustine read the Bible & why that matters for you & I.

First, let's talk about hermeneutics. Hermeneutics. You apply it all the time, even if you don't know what the word Hermeneutics means. But, let me dispel any haze. Hermeneutics is the study & process of interpreting, understanding, and applying a text faithful from it's original context. The last phrase "faithfully from it's original context" might be up for debate, but the central discipline of hermeneutics is the same for a 10-year-old as for a tenured professor. Hermeneutics asks about how you come to read & understand what an author is saying. Some key factors are the author's intent, the original cultural context the text was written in, the purpose of the text, and how the text relates to the whole life work of an author. This can make hermeneutics sound intimidating, but in reality, it's something you do all the time! You can't help but be aware when you're reading a biology textbook vs. a newspaper article vs. an Early Church writer translated from Latin. But, the difference between what most people do & what professionals do concerns the pressure one puts to "get the author right." A pastor will be under way more pressure to get a parable of Jesus right than a banker,though it is equally important for both to understand what the parable means.

Now, Augustine offers an entire book on how to read the Bible, especially keeping in mind the big picture parts of the Christian Story. However the above passage from De Doctrina gives a beautifully simple test to see if you are reading the Bible well. "Do you understand how this passage relates to Loving God & Loving your Neighbor? Then you've figured out the most important part." For the tenured Biblical hermeneutics professor, this idea might be threatening. The primacy of "Authorial Intent" forms the method of many Biblical scholars. However, Augustine does not neglect authorial intent. He simply has a big picture goal in mind that, though it will not contradict what the author intended on the whole, stands above purely extracting what the author meant in any specified passage.

When it comes to reading the Bible, Augustine deferred to soul formation & living well over being correct about a passage's intended meaning. Here's how I see it. Augustine knew that Jesus taught all the Law & Prophets (the Old Testament) could be summarized like this: Love God & Love your Neighbor. It's an ethical imperative. Become the kind of people who love God & their neighbor well. This command is both ontological (concerning being or becoming) and ethical (concerning right action). Augustine knew that having a kind of intellectual grasp on an author's intent would not necessarily lead to becoming more like Jesus if we valued that over listening to & applying the Love of God & Neighbor. That was his intuition. It's better to get the author's meaning and the bigger context of Loving well, but when in doubt, attempt to understand the passage in light of Love of God & Neighbor.

This really matters for you & I for two huge reasons. (1) If Augustine is right, you're well on your way to reading the Bible well. Ask how any verse, any book of the Bible relates to loving God & your Neighbor well. That is of primary importance. And (2), Augustine's intuition leads to more confession & grace. If understanding & applying the Bible comes down to loving God & people like Jesus does, then you & I will rarely read it and think, "Wow, I'm doing great!" Rather, when we read Scripture, we ought to look to the loving Jesus & confess our lack & need to love like He whose Image we were created in. If Augustine's hermeneutic is about Loving like Jesus, then it is also a hermeneutic of confessing our need for God's grace to make us more loving. There is much to nuance & add to what Augustine is saying. But I cannot ignore his intuition that our call to read the Bible is ultimately a call to rest in the God who made us to love well.