Martin Bellerose - Augustine's Method of Sacred History and Secular History: Two ways of talking about Abraham as pilgrim in the earthly city

In this paper we will demonstrate how Augustine makes both sacred and secular history in the specific case of his narrative on Abraham in The City of God.  We will compare book XVI, from chapter XV to XXXII (as sacred history) with book XVIII, chapters II and III.  Both ways of doing history are about how God’s will and mind are present in the earthly city.  His presence is possible because of the work of the pilgrim, the elect, and Abraham is one of them, prefiguring Christ like all the others.  

The purpose of our article is to demonstrate how the method of two histories shows two different sides of the same reality.  We will show how Augustine used the scriptures, the way he talks about historical facts, and how he connects both.  From this specific case we will show the path to some theology of history from the practical data.  

First, we will draw a comparative table of both studied texts, underlining the similarities and differences in the methods. Second, we will analyze how Abraham –as prefiguring Christ – assumed the role of God’s will mediating in history.   In conclusion we will criticise our point of view on the topic in light of Robert Markus’ understanding of Augustinian theology of history.