Saint Augustine and the Reality of Denial

“But why doth ‘truth generate hatred,’ and the man of Thine, preaching the truth, become an enemy to them?  – Saint Augustine

Augustine

Is there such a thing as truth? Is it something that can and must conform to subjective reality? Can mankind contrive a utopian reality by carnal design or will tangible absolutes proceed to trump the times?

Such reflections may not invalidate the freedom to deny greater spiritual reality, whether recorded historical truth or personally perceived. But at some point, the case for equality by neutrality has to be made in real time.

“ …Therefore do they hate the truth for that thing’s sake which they loved instead of the truth. They love truth when she enlightens, they hate her when she reproves. For since they would not be deceived, and would deceive, they love her when she discovers herself unto them, and hate her when she discovers them.” – Augustine’s Confessions

The next great social experiment will either have legs ready to hit the ground running or swiftly be run into the ground (and all else with it). The reality is ours, so we must choose it wisely. But our propensity to believe or nay will have no bearing on the final outcome.

We either submit or be willing to go down fighting. Ultimately, we must make sure that sound knowledge and created experience are at the center of our case for reality. I’d rather not sacrifice my soul for the sake of some undiscerned ideology. But how may we discern without illumination from the source of all truth?

We are too fined tuned, rational, and spiritual to merely be accidental. If we are merely desire and instinct wrapped in a box of temporal coexistence then what exactly is this life for? Are we living and striving for something better or do we proceed unawakened? Do we place our faith in that which is absolute or must all reality remain fluid for the sake of greater ‘enlightenment’?

Ultimately, we must search and share, if we be so inclined, the wisdom of scripture, that the undoing of religious humanist indoctrination may begin. The secular jungle offers nothing but temporal fulfillment, and ultimately bondage. May the old paths once again show us the way and lead us out of the wilderness.

“As modern people, we have chosen Montaigne over Augustine. We traded pious self-cultivation for undemanding self-esteem. But is love of self really enough to be happy? You know the answer to that, dear reader. And so did Augustine.”

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A.J. Castellitto is a freelance writer who resides in NJ with his wife and five children. He holds a B.S. in Counseling and Human Services from the University of Scranton and his writings have been published at The Center for Western Journalism, The Christian Post, Intellectual Conservative and Reformed Perspective Magazine.

A.J. Castellitto

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