Date: Sun, 20 Aug 1995 10:57:37 -0400
From: U0A75@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU
Subject: I dreamed I saw St. Augustine
Well it IS Sunday, the Christian Holy-day, and I thought
this quote might shed some light on just why Dylan
was so attracted to the Saint of August. --Marguerita
"It has been the custom among most Christian apologists to
represent the religion, and especially their own branch of it, as
time-centered, referring back to a certain historical fact--the
human transition of Jesus. Other versions of the Christian story
are labeled heresies. St. Augustine, who is explained away as
being tainted with unchristian (i.e., non-conventional)
philosophy, said, 'That which is called the Christian religion
existed among the ancients and never did not exist from the
beginning of the human race.' (*Epistolae* Lib. I, xiii, p.3)
The deviation of Christianity from the rest of human religion
was, of course, the result of a deliberate choice--the decision
to regard the events of the life and death of Christ as unique,
not as part of a continuous process. It must clearly be
remembered that the versions of Christianity most generally
available to the average student are those which have prevailed,
being most successful, not necessarily the most accurate,
historically or otherwise."
-- Idris Shah, _St. Augustine_
