ST AUGUSTINE'S GUIDANCE ON SCRIPTURE AND SCIENCE | KAIROS GLOBAL | APRIL 2024

Author: George Paul

Intro: The evolution of the world and the Genesis account of creation are always a topic of debate. George Paul writes about how St Augustine helped shape the Catholic approach towards it.

The debate surrounding creationism and the study of evolution has sparked controversy for decades, polarising individuals into opposing camps. In contemporary times, the proliferation of online debates has intensified discussions, making it a recurring theme in exchanges between atheists and believers. For Christians genuinely invested in their faith, navigating through the arguments presented by both sides poses a significant challenge. The book of Genesis, particularly its first three chapters, consistently takes centre stage in these debates.

A prevailing misconception suggests that early and medieval Christians adhered naively to a literal interpretation of the Bible across all subjects. However, this notion is far from accurate. In reality, the concept of young earth creationism, positing that the Earth and its life forms originated through supernatural acts of God within a span of approximately 6,000 to 10,000 years, only surfaced in the 20th century, spearheaded by Henry Morris. Young earth creationists have moved beyond merely critiquing evolution as a societal menace; instead, they have initiated substantial endeavours to establish an alternative scientific framework, one liberated from what they perceive as the constraints of evolutionary dogma.

 The Senses of Scripture

How did the early Christians understand the book of Genesis and other sacred texts? The Church holds a rich tradition of interpreting Sacred Scripture, a tradition initiated in the New Testament. The Old Testament was construed in relation to Christ and further refined by early Church Fathers, ultimately systematised during the medieval period. Early Church Fathers exhibited a flexibility in interpreting the text, allowing it to convey its message in diverse ways. These diverse interpretations align with the various levels of meaning within a text, collectively known as ‘the senses of Scripture.’

Even in the letters of St Paul, an allegorical reading of the Old Testament is evident (e.g. Galatians 4). In the 3rd century, theologian Origen, an alum of the Catechetical School of Alexandria, formulated the principle of the three senses of Scripture—literal, moral, and spiritual. Subsequently, in the 4th century, St Augustine of Hippo expanded on this doctrine, leading to the establishment of the four senses of Scripture. These ‘four senses of Scripture’ are deemed significant enough to warrant their own section in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 115–119), offering a concise overview. The Catechism commences by stating:

‘According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral, and anagogical senses’ (CCC 115).

The fundamental distinction, as elucidated by the Catechism, lies between the literal and spiritual senses of the text. The literal pertains to what the human author explicitly intended the text to convey, while the spiritual denotes the additional meanings infused by God that the human author might not have consciously perceived.

Interpreting Genesis: Augustine's Nuanced Approach

Now, let's delve into St Augustine's writings on the book of Genesis, where he outlines the principles one should adhere to when interpreting sacred texts. Augustine, well-versed in the scientific knowledge of his era, offered valuable guidance to Christians navigating a world influenced by non-Christian perspectives on nature. St Augustine authored commentaries on the Genesis creation narratives on five occasions in his life.

His initial endeavour was a brief work defending the integrity of Genesis against the philosophy of the Manichees (De Genesi Contra Manichaeos). The second, found in the Confessions (books 12 and 13), represents an attempt to seamlessly blend literal and allegorical interpretations. His third attempt, an unfinished work titled De Genesi liber imperfectus, suggests dissatisfaction with the outcome. However, his fourth and most significant contribution was the Literal Commentary on Genesis. Here, Augustine imparts his most profound advice on how to navigate the Bible and its connection to the natural world. A final attempt, likely composed around the same time as the Literal Commentary, can be found in books 30 to 33 of the City of God.

Throughout his career, Augustine dedicated significant attention to understanding and interpreting Scriptural texts. He argued that apparent errors and contradictions in the canonical books didn't pose problems but rather reinforced his orthodox theological beliefs. Augustine emphasised the inherent inferiority of human communication compared to God's perfect Word. In revealing himself through Scripture, God, according to Augustine, accommodated human forms of communication, making disciplined study essential for comprehension.

For Augustine, divine speech, akin to God himself, transcends time's constraints. While mortal speakers communicate in syllables and languages, verbal communication signifies humanity's subordination to time. Augustine asserted that God's communication isn't confined to syllables or a single language since God, not subordinate to time, doesn't need to communicate sequentially or verbally. Despite the divinely-inspired nature of Scripture, Augustine believed the biblical authors weren't reproducing divine speech as it exists beyond the grammatical and time constraints of human communication.

Michael Cameron, a specialist on Augustine's reception of Scripture, argued that Augustine acknowledged Scripture's divine inspiration but didn't consider it a mere transcription of God's words. Cameron emphasised Augustine's view that God's majesty surpasses Scripture, which, in using human authors and words, employs rhetorical devices found in all discourse, such as figures of speech, staged dialogues, and shifting verb tenses. Augustine, while presenting the Bible as God's Word in his interactions with both congregations and polemical adversaries, nuanced his perspective by recognising that Scripture's human authors, though divinely inspired, expressed their writings in mere human words, incapable of fully encapsulating God's infinite nature.

The Manichees criticised Genesis, dismissing it as cleverly spun tales devoid of scientific value. They ridiculed a God who supposedly needed six days for creation and scorned the concept of humans being made in his image. Despite their criticism, the Manichees didn't outright reject Christianity; instead, they assimilated it into their own non-Christian religious framework.

Augustine, recognising the power of reason and sense experience, emphasised the redemptive purpose of Scripture. He cautioned against prioritising scientific theories over the Bible, as this could lead to the wholesale rejection of the Bible by unbelievers. Augustine believed that unreliable knowledge of nature could be a stumbling block, hindering the unbeliever from embracing the truth of the gospel.

In his commentaries on Genesis, Augustine didn't provide firm conclusions, offering various ways of interpreting the text without imposing rigid interpretations on readers. He advocated understanding the historical or literal sense of the author's meaning, interpreting Scripture in the wider context of the Bible, and ensuring consistency with other biblical passages. Augustine advised humility in interpreting Scripture, cautioning against boldly asserting opinions that might be wrong.

While Augustine leaned towards a literal interpretation of Scripture, he acknowledged the validity of figurative readings when sound reasons warranted it. He believed that the figurative meaning could be more profound than a simple literal reading, emphasising the importance of considering multiple valid levels of meaning in passages.

Augustine's nuanced approach to Genesis influenced the Catholic Church, which has refrained from definitively ruling on how Genesis should be read. Augustine's principles guide readers to interpret the Bible within the boundaries of the Catholic faith, emphasising the importance of humility and aligning interpretations with the Church's teachings.

In Augustine's view, a non-literal meaning could be sought if a literal interpretation led to logical absurdities, contradictions with other Scriptures, or conflicts with observations from the physical world. Augustine's comparisons with other sacred texts shaped his interpretation of Genesis, leading him to believe that God created the world in one instant, not over six consecutive days. Augustine regarded the six days in Genesis 1 as a repeated literary device, emphasising the comprehensive scope of Creation for unlearned readers.

‘...it is not to be taken in the sense of our day, which we reckon by the course of the sun; but it must have another meaning, applicable to the three days mentioned before the creation of the heavenly bodies.’ (De Genesi ad Litteram, 4:26)

Augustine advises exercising significant caution and humility when putting forth any specific interpretation of Genesis 1-3

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‘In matters that are obscure and far beyond our vision, even in such as we may find treated in Holy Scripture, different interpretations are sometimes possible without prejudice to the faith we have received. In such a case, we should not rush in headlong and so firmly take our stand on one side that, if further progress in the search of truth justly undermines this position, we too fall with it. That would be to battle not for the teaching of Holy Scripture but for our own, wishing its teaching to conform to ours, whereas we ought to wish ours to conform to that of Sacred Scripture.’ (De Genesi ad Litteram, 1:18-37)