Last week I posted a brief article on Augustine’s suspicious attitude toward literature. This article is the first in brief series I have planned on how Christians should view literature.

Given the comments I received on my initial post, it became clear to me that I had to make my case more clearly. So in this post I hope to clarify my argument about Augustine’s distrust of literature.

Saint Augustine in His Study by Sandro Botticelli

Definition and Summary

First of all, I use the term “literature” to refer to imaginative, fictional, or mythical narratives. In the fourth century AD, this would be limited mostly to epic poetry and drama. Literature, then, refers to a genre of writing distinct from philosophy and rhetoric. This use of terms is consistent with my translation of Augustine’s Confessions (Maria Boulding’s translation for the Augustinian Heritage Institute). I have too little knowledge of Latin to do anything other than trust the translator.

Second, I summarized Augustine’s charges against literature as follows:

In the past decade, American Christians have become much more aware of the important role art and literature play in the life of faith. But there are still many, many Christians who are deeply suspicious of literature.

This suspicion is ancient, originating in the fledgling Church of the first century. The Church was birthed into the Augustan Roman culture, with its eloquent and decadent literature, its precise and pontificating philosophy. For the earliest Christians, literature was inextricable from Roman paganism. To read literature was to immerse oneself in a vision of the world clearly opposed to the teachings of Christ.

And so Tertullian, an early Church father, famously exclaimed, “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” What place does pagan literature have in the Church? Why should Christians waste their time reading anything other than the Holy Scriptures?

Saint Augustine by Philippe de Champaigne

Through the following centuries, other famous Christian thinkers echoed Tertullian’s rhetorical challenge. Abelard asked, “What has Horace to do with the Psalter, Virgil with the Gospel, Cicero with the Apostle?” From Charlemagne’s court, Alcuin challenged the local monks by demanding to know “What has Ingeld to do with Christ?”

But the strongest Christian argument against literature was voiced by none other than St. Augustine. His argument was strengthened by the fact that before being converted, Augustine had been thoroughly trained in classical literature, philosophy, and rhetoric. So Augustine’s condemnation is nothing less than damning.

For years people have been asking me to offer a class that teaches grown-ups how to read and enjoy literature. To all of you who asked—I’m finally answering!

I’m very excited to announce my first online class: The Love of Story. This 10-week online class studies how stories shape our lives. Through reading and discussion, you will learn what stories are guiding your life and how to improve them. Ultimately, you will learn to live a story that is truly human.

As we go through the class, you will also learn a method of reading that will help you get far more out of your reading than ever before. This is the method I use in my personal read and to teach my literature classes.

I’ve taught many great books and lots of great classes in the last fifteen years, but I’ve never been more excited about any class than I am about this one!