The Writings of Catholic and Orthodox Saints: Classic Works of St. Augustine, St. Ignatius, St. Anselm, St. John Damascene, and Others (Illustrated Edition) Ebook Tooltip Ebooks kunnen worden gelezen op uw computer en op daarvoor geschikte e-readers.

Augustine of Hippo (November 13, 354 August 28, 430), also known as St. Augustine, was Bishop of Hippo Regius. He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province. His writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity. According to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine ''established anew the ancient Faith'' In his early years he was heavily influenced by Manichaeism and afterward by the Neo-Platonism of Plotinus. After his conversion to Christianity and baptism (AD 387), Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, and he framed the concepts of original sin and just war. When the Western Roman Empire was starting to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Church as a spiritual City of God (in a book of the same name), distinct from the material Earthly City. His thought profoundly influenced the medieval worldview. Augustine's City of God was closely identified with the church, the community that worshipped God. In the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, he is a saint and pre-eminent Doctor of the Church, and the patron of the Augustinian religious order; his memorial is celebrated 28 August, the day of his death. He is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, the alleviation of sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider him to be one of the theological fathers of Reformation due to his teaching on salvation and divine grace. In the Eastern Orthodox Church he is blessed, and his feast day is celebrated on 15 June. Among the Orthodox, he is called ''Blessed Augustine'', or ''St. Augustine the Blessed''. Ignatius of Loyola (1491- 1556) was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation, and his devotion to the Catholic Church was characterized by unquestioning obedience to the Catholic Church's authority and hierarchy. After being seriously wounded at the Battle of Pamplona in 1521, he underwent a spiritual conversion while in recovery. De Vita Christi by Ludolph of Saxony inspired Loyola to abandon his previous military life and devote himself to labour for God, following the example of spiritual leaders such as Francis of Assisi. He experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus while at the shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat in March 1522. Thereafter he went to Manresa, where he began praying for seven hours a day, often in a nearby cave, while formulating the fundamentals of the Spiritual Exercises. In September 1523, Loyola reached the Holy Land to settle there, but was sent back to Europe by the Franciscans. Between 1524 and 1537, Ignatius studied theology and Latin in Spain and then in Paris. In 1534, he arrived in the latter city during a period of anti-Protestant turmoil which forced John Calvin to flee France. Ignatius and a few followers bound themselves by vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. In 1539, they formed the Society of Jesus, approved in 1540 by Pope Paul III, as well as his Spiritual Exercises approved in 1548. Loyola also composed the Constitutions of the Society. He died in July 1556, was beatified by Pope Paul V in 1609, canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622, and declared patron of all spiritual retreats by Pope Pius XI in 1922. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, written from 1522-1524, are a brief set of Christian meditations, prayers and mental exercises, divided in four thematic 'weeks' of variable length, designed to be carried out over a period of 28 to 30 days. They were composed with the intention of helping the retreatant to discern Jesus in his life, leading then to a personal commitment to follow it. Though the underlying spiritual outlook is Catholic, the exercises are often made nowadays by non-Catholics. The 'Spiritual Exercises' booklet was formally approved in 1548 by Paul III. Anselm of Canterbury (circa 1033-1109), also called of Aosta for his birthplace, and of Bec for his home monastery, was a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. Called the founder of scholasticism, he is famous as the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of God. Anselm was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1720 by Pope Clement XI. Although utterly convinced of the truth of Christianity, Anselm of Canterbury struggled to make sense of his religion. He considered the doctrines of faith an invitation to question, to think, and to learn, and he devoted his life to confronting and understanding the most elusive aspects of Christianity. In Monologium, his writings on matters such as free will, the nature of truth, and the existence of God make Anselm one of the greatest theologians and philosophers in history. In Why God Became Man, Anselm tries to answer the question of the incarnation of God in the form of Jesus Christ, concluding that neither men nor God owed anything to the Devil, and that our only debt was to God. Christ died in our place because there was no way we could pay the debt ourselves. Anselms theory is highly popular, though not the only oneAbelard, for example, violently disagreed. It is called Penal substitution because Christ was substituted in our place and paid our penalty. Anselm was equally radical in his emphasis on human reason. You will notice that this writing is unusual in not containing a single Scripture reference. The ontological argument was proposed by Anselm of Canterbury in the second and third chapter of his Proslogion. Anselm's basic argument in Chapter 2 of the Proslogion goes as follows. First, when we hear the words ''than which nothing greater can be thought,'' we understand what the words convey. Secondly, we are able to understand that what exists does so in at least the form of a thought. At this point it must be conceded that what exists does so either only as a thought or as both a thought and reality. However, it must be conceded that such a concept cannot exist only in our thoughts simply because if it existed only in our thoughts, then we could think of something greater than it: that which exists not only in thought, but also in reality - a conclusion which is logically forbidden by the initial premise (since to do so implies the contradiction of thinking of something greater than that which nothing greater can be thought.) It is at this point that the existence of the very thing which nothing greater can be thought cannot be confined to simply an intellectual existence, but must be endowed with a greatness that supersedes mere intellectual existence so as to also enter into and permeate all of objective, ontological existence. In conclusion, that which nothing greater can be thought truly does exist, and in later chapters of the Proslogion Anselm argues that this being has the traditional attributes of God like being the omnipotent creator. Anselms argument was controversial even in its time, leading other critics to attempt to debate his ontological argument, as well as some of the greatest thinkers in history over the centuries. In this collection of Philosophers Criticisms of Anselms Ontological Argument for the Being of God, we hear the opinions of thinkers like John Locke, Rene Descartes, Leibniz, and Emmanual Kant. Saint John of Damascus, also known as St. John Damascene (c. 676 4 December 749) was a Syrian Christian monk and priest. A polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law, theology, philosophy, and music, before being ordained, he served as a Chief Administrator for the Islamic caliphate in Damascus, wrote works expounding the Christian faith, and composed hymns which are still in everyday use in Eastern Christian monasteries throughout the world. The Catholic Church regards him as a Doctor of the Church, often referred to as the Doctor of the Assumption due to his writings on the Assumption of Mary. St. John Damascene also produced An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, an invaluable source of traditional Christian theology widely accepted across the different branches and sects of Christianity. Damascenes work is in many respects a collection of accepted theology derived mostly from theologians of the 4th and 5th centuries, providing a comprehensive overview of Christian dogma. Damascene supports his writing through logic and quoting Scripture. An Exact Exposition was extremely influential during the Middle Ages. Aurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as Saint Ambrose (c. between 337 and 340 4 April 397), was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was one of the four original doctors of the Church. There is a legend that as an infant, a swarm of bees settled on his face while he lay in his cradle, leaving behind a drop of honey. His father considered this a sign of his future eloquence and honeyed tongue. For this reason, bees and beehives often appear in the saint's symbology. After the early death of his father, Ambrose followed his father's career. He was educated in Rome, studying literature, law, and rhetoric. As bishop of Milan, he immediately adopted an ascetic lifestyle, apportioned his money to the poor, donating all of his land, making only provision for his sister Marcellina (who later became a nun),[2] and committed the care of his family to his brother. Ambrose also wrote a treatise by the name of ''The Goodness Of Death''. On the eve of setting out for the East, to aid his uncle Valens in repelling a Gothic invasion, Gratian, the Emperor of the West, requested St. Ambrose to write him a treatise in proof of t