Saint Augustine on the Paradoxical Beauty of God
What the video says
The speaker identifies the God they worship as the Lord God, the only true God and refuge. They describe God as supreme, utmost in goodness, mightiest, all-powerful, most merciful and just.
God is both hidden and present, beautiful and strong, enduring yet incomprehensible. God is unchangeable yet changes all things, never new nor old, yet the source of all life. The speaker concludes with personal devotion: God is their life and holy delight.
Key moments
- The God worshipped is the Lord God, the only true God and refuge.
- God is supreme, utmost in goodness, mightiest, all-powerful, most merciful and just.
- God is most hidden yet most present among us.
- God is most beautiful yet most strong, ever enduring.
- God is incomprehensible to us.
- God is unchangeable yet changes all things.
- God is never new, never old, yet all things have life from Him.
- The speaker declares God as their God, life, and holy delight.
This post presents a passage from Saint Augustine describing the God he worships. Augustine identifies God as the Lord God, the only true God and refuge, supreme in goodness, might, power, mercy, and justice. He then unfolds a series of profound paradoxes that characterize the divine nature: God is most hidden yet most present, most beautiful yet most strong, ever enduring yet incomprehensible.
God is unchangeable yet changes all things, never new nor old, yet the source of all life. The passage culminates in a personal declaration of devotion: God is Augustine's God, his life, and his holy delight. The text reflects the classic Augustinian synthesis of Neoplatonic philosophy and Christian theology, emphasizing God's transcendence and immanence, immutability and creative dynamism, and the soul's restless desire for its true end.
The language is poetic and devotional, inviting the reader into contemplation of the divine mysteries that exceed human categories while remaining the ground of all being and the object of the heart's deepest longing.
Main points
- God is the only true God, supreme in goodness, power, mercy, and justice.
- Divine attributes are expressed in paradoxes: hidden yet present, beautiful yet strong, unchanging yet changing all things.
- God transcends time — neither new nor old — yet is the source of all life.
- God is incomprehensible to human understanding yet intimately known as refuge and delight.
- The passage ends with personal devotion: God is the speaker's life and holy delight.