Formative Influences In The Allegorical Hermeneutic Of Augustine -- By: Cameron Cloud

Journal: Journal of Dispensational Theology
Volume: JODT 14:42 (Aug 2010)
Article: Formative Influences In The Allegorical Hermeneutic Of Augustine
Author: Cameron Cloud


Formative Influences In The Allegorical Hermeneutic Of Augustine

Cameron Cloud

* Cameron Cloud, M.A.B.S., pastor, Hatcher Baptist Church, Dillwyn, Virginia; and, Ph.D. student, Piedmont Baptist Graduate School, Winston Salem, North Carolina

The acknowledgement of Augustine’s impact upon subsequent centuries of thinking is almost as universal as his influence. Historians,1 in addition to theologians,2 preface their comments with a reminder that the reader cannot “overestimate” his importance in every area of theological studies. Even those with considerable areas of disagreement recognize the tremendous effect his thinking had on both Catholic and Protestant doctrine.3 B. B. Warfield regarded him as “incomparably the greatest man who, ‘between Paul the Apostle and Luther the Reformer, the Christian Church has possessed.’”4

His influence has been felt in every area of theology, but nowhere is it more evident than in eschatology generally and amillennialism specifically.5 Walvoord attributed this importance to two particular reasons: Augustine’s priority as an orthodox theologian of influence to adhere to amillennialism, and the long-term acceptance of his viewpoint.6 These two points become the basis for the “historical norm” argument of many amillennialists.7

The purpose of this article is to argue that the varied influences of Augustine’s life uniquely prepared him to have a hermeneutic that would both accept and establish amillennialism as an eschatological tenet. In order to demonstrate this conclusion, it will briefly detail the background

of Augustine’s life, noting the people and philosophies that would shape his method of interpretation. Furthermore, it will examine Augustine’s hermeneutical system, its development, and the effects of these influences on it. Finally, it will establish the connection between their influence and Augustine’s acceptance of amillennialism.

Augustine’s Influences

Born in 354 in North Africa, Augustine was the son of a pagan father and a devout Christian mother. In his early life, he accepted the faith of his mother without question. As a student, he excelled in every subject except Greek, a language he was never able to master.

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