St. Augustine's 5th Century Gnostic theological imports

St. Augustine is considered a GIANT theologically in the history of the Church, especially for Western Christians.  The Eastern Church has rightly discerned that Augustine departed from the Apostolic faith when it came to his eventual understandings of God’s sovereignty and human freedom.  This WAS NOT the understanding of EVERY SINGLE Christian writer before him, but it was the understanding of Gnosticism and that is where Augustine’s “pollution” most certainly came from.  I think that you could add Greek philosophy to the equation, but the blame more squarely lands on his Manichaean background.  The Reformers only got us back to Augustine and yet to be FULLY REFORMED, we need to go further.  

I challenge anybody to read the writings of the Early Church Fathers and you will discover that there was not a SINGLE Augustinian/Calvinist amongst them!  Not a single, solitary one.  And yet, the Calvinist understandings of election and predestination were found in those early centuries – just not where a Reformed person wants to find them.  It was the Gnostic heretics that taught these concepts. NOT the Church. Not Christians. #augustine #gnostic #manichaeism #monergism #augustinianism #calvinism