奥古斯丁的圣经观及其对《创世记》1-3章的解读

Augustine’s View of the Bible and His Reading of Genesis 1-3

学界对奥古斯丁(Augustine,354–430年)的研究,主要聚焦于他的神学、哲学、政治学与社会学思想,其实,他也是一位伟大的圣经诠释学家。~①诚如德国圣经学者雷文特洛(Henning G.Reventlow)所言:"奥古斯丁是第一个发展出系统的圣经诠释理论的西方神学家。"~②奥古斯丁18岁时,读过古罗马哲学家西塞罗(Cicero,公元前106-前43年)的《荷尔顿西乌斯》(Hortensius),该著劝导人们阅读哲学.

Augustine of Hippo played a historically important role as a biblical scholar,with Platonic philosophy,especially the neo-Platonism of Plotinus,one of the important sources for his reading of the Bible.In the process of refuting heresy,Augustine wrote a variety of exegetical works and constructed his theological system on the basis of the Bible.His De Doctrina Christiana demonstrates his views on the Bible,his principles of exegetical engagement,and his attitude towards the Old Testament.In his works Confessiones,De Genesi Ad litteram,and De Civitate Dei,he discusses in various places the Genesis creation narrative,explaining how God’s creation is"ex nihilo,"and integrating his views on the Logos,the beginning of the world and the doctrine of the Trinity.Through a select reading of Augustine’s works,this article focuses on his exegesis of Genesis 1-3,to examine Augustine’s biblical views and show how his reading of the Bible influenced biblical interpretation in the Middle Ages and the period of the Reformation.