Augustine and Rhetoric

Abstract

The seriousness of the conflict between Christianity and ancient culture which confronted the early church can hardly be overestimated. The Church Fathers were aware of the fact that the Christian Message and classical literature were in many respects irreconcilable. Most educated Christians were trained in rhetoric and thereby thoroughly acquainted with classical literature, the style and the content of which impressed many with its almost incomparable beauty. They were also quite conversant with rhetoric in the sense both of literary science and the art of persuasion. At the same time they advocated a new religion, involving a set of texts which constituted the highest authority within this religion, Sacred Scripture. For a trained rhetorician these texts were often a source of annoyance and displeasure. Moreover the new religion was proclaimed by orators (preachers) and writers (teachers and apologists) who at first were far inferior to the authors and writers with whom these rhetoricians were familiar.