August 28 is the commemoration of Augustine of Hippo. I meant to write something about him yesterday, but didn’t get around to it (Fridays are my day off). He looms over Western culture and over Western Christianity, with influence both benign and malignant. Some of the latter is due to mis-interpretation, particularly of his attitude toward sexuality.

A Bishop, theologian, and preacher, contemporary readers may find his biblical interpretation fascinating. He was no biblical fundamentalist. In fact, he thought that any interpretation of a text that was linguistically possible, was potentially useful to the reader. His underlying principle of exegesis was the two-fold commandment: Any interpretation had to contribute to the love of God and neighbor. That is not to say that his exegesis was not rigid at times. It often was, especially when he was in the throes of debate with opponents like the Donatists or Pelagians.

His feast is celebrated on August 28, because he died on that day in 431.

In the coming weeks, I’m hoping to read an important new book on him, Paula Frederikson’s Augustine and the Jews.