Anthony Thomas: Divisibility, Indivisibility, and the Triune God: Ambrose of Milan’s De Abraham and the Dangers of Applying Philosophy to God

Ambrose’s criticism of philosophy in his exegetical treatise the De Abrahamhas been widely recognized. As scholars have noted of other Ambrosian works, such criticism functions as an attack on Arianism. In De AbrahamII.8.45-8.60, Ambrose builds on Philo’s exegesis in Questions on Genesis III to discuss Abraham’s sacrifice and vision in Genesis 15. Specifically, Ambrose presents the manner of the sacrifice as a means of teaching Abraham the fundamental difference between creation and the Triune God. The livestock in the sacrifice represent the material world, which can be divided logically and physically into more basic elements, while the birds sacrificed without division represent the indivisibility of the Triune God. God’s indivisibility serves as the basis of faith, which apprehends God through a simplicity of vision. By contrast with the simple vision of faith, dialectic, which functions by mentally and verbally dividing things into their basic elements, is appropriate for created beings. In considering Ambrose’s use of the language of divisibility and indivisibility in the De Abraham, I hope to shed light on this element of his thought that appears throughout his exegetical works. Ultimately, Ambrose’s criticism of using logic in one’s approach to the Trinity is aimed at Eunomians and other “Arians,” who would subject the Trinity to philosophical modes of inquiry. In contrast to the false philosophy of the “Arians,” Ambrose seeks to form his audience in a particular mode of perceiving the world through the simple vision of faith in the Trinity.