Augustine of Hippo

Saint Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430) was a north African Catholic bishop, writer, theologian, and early church father. He had wide-ranging influence, and was declared Doctor of the Church by Pope Boniface VIII in 1298.


Almighty God would in no wise permit evil to exist in his works, unless he were so almighty and so good as to produce good even from evil.

An unjust law is no law at all.

For the spiritual power of a sacrament is like light in this way: ...if it passes through the impure it is not defiled.

God foretold hardship upon hardship in this world until the end of time. And you want the Christian to be exempt from these troubles? Precisely because he is a Christian, he is destined to suffer more in this world.

God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist.

If there is something more excellent than the truth, then that is God; if not, then truth itself is God.

Let us never assume that if we live good lives we will be without sin; our lives should be praised only when we continue to beg for pardon.

Love the sinner and hate the sin.

Nothing is done, unless the Almighty wills it to be done, either by permitting it, or by actually doing it.

Our holy Scriptures themselves do not promise us peace, security, and rest. On the contrary, the Gospel makes no secret of the troubles and temptations that await us, but it also says that he who perseveres to the end will be saved.

Therefore do not seek to understand in order to believe, but believe in order to understand.

[It matters] not what ills are suffered, but what kind of man suffers them. For, stirred up with the same movement, mud exhales a horrible stench, and ointment emits a fragrant odor.

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.