Editing Augustine of Hippo (section)

==== Creation ====
{{See also|Allegorical interpretations of Genesis}}
In ''City of God'', Augustine rejected both the contemporary ideas of ages (such as those of certain Greeks and Egyptians) that differed from the Church's sacred writings.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Augustine of Hippo |chapter-url=http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF1-02/npnf1-02-18.htm#P2017_1154484 |chapter=Of the Falseness of the History Which Allots Many Thousand Years to the World's Past |title=The City of God |at=Book&nbsp;12: Chapt.&nbsp;10 [419]}}</ref> In ''The Literal Interpretation of Genesis'', Augustine argued that God had created everything in the universe simultaneously and not over a period of six days. He argued the six-day structure of creation presented in the Book of Genesis represents a [[framework interpretation (Genesis)|logical framework]], rather than the passage of time in a physical way – it would bear a spiritual, rather than physical, meaning, which is no less literal. One reason for this interpretation is the passage in [[Sirach]]&nbsp;18:1, ''creavit omnia simul'' ("He created all things at once"), which Augustine took as proof that the days of Genesis&nbsp;1 had to be taken non-literalistically.{{sfn|Teske|1999|pp=377–378}} As additional support for describing the six days of creation as a [[heuristic device]], Augustine thought the actual event of creation would be incomprehensible by humans and therefore needed to be translated.{{sfn|Franklin-Brown|2012|p=280}}

Augustine also does not envision original sin as causing structural changes in the universe, and even suggests that the bodies of [[Adam and Eve]] were already created mortal before [[Fall of man|the Fall]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=Augustine of Hippo |title=On the Merits |at=1.2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Augustine of Hippo |title=City of God |at=13:1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Augustine of Hippo |title=Enchiridion |at=104}}</ref> Apart from his specific views, Augustine recognized that interpreting the creation story was difficult, and remarked that interpretations could change should new information come up.<ref>Young, Davis A. [http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1988/PSCF3-88Young.html "The Contemporary Relevance of Augustine's View of Creation"], ''[[Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith]]'' '''40.1''':42–45 (3/1988). Retrieved 30 September 2011.</ref>