Was Augustine a Gnostic before his Alleged Conversion?

Augustine was many things before he ostensibly converted to Christianity. He was a Stoic, a NeoPlatonist, and spent 10 years as a Manichaean Gnostic before his conversion to Christianity. The writings of Augustine immediately after his conversion appear to mark a true change of heart, as suggested by his repudiation of Gnosticism. However, he continued to call Gnostics, specifically the Manichaean branch, brothers while denouncing Pelagian teachings which were largely in line with holiness and asceticism as heretical.

Manichaean Gnosticism and Augustine’s Conversion

At some point around twenty years after his conversion, Augustine began to reincorporate Gnostic teachings into Christianity. He syncretised some of the major tenets of Gnosticism with Christianity, though in a more subtle manner. This syncretization allowed him to introduce Gnostic concepts into the Church without being openly labeled as a heretic. For example, while attacking a direct aspect of the Trinity would have publicly exposed him as a heretic, Augustine found a more covert way to introduce Gnostic ideas.

Infant Baptism and Gnostic Teachings

Baptisms were regularly held for infants, but no clear explanation was available for the same. Theologians were hesitant to use the parallelism of infant baptism with Jewish infant circumcision since both ecumenical church councils had made it clear they wanted nothing to do with Jewish teachings. This resulted in a continuation of infant baptism without the obvious theological explanation. Augustine used this opportunity to claim that babies needed to be baptized since they were guilty of Adam's sin and needed baptism in order to enter heaven.

While early Church writers taught that Adam's sin resulted in physical sickness and death, and only Tertullian believed in traducianism (a faulty biological understanding of how children are born), Augustine was the first to combine the two, suggesting that sexual intercourse was the reason for hereditary transmission of the effects of the fall. He also introduced the guilt of Adam as a consequence of the fall, thus introducing the teaching that the flesh is sinful or evil, a decidedly Gnostic teaching.

Grace and Gnositicism

Augustine's influence extended to how Grace came to be understood in the Church. Originally, grace meant the favor of God and had multiple nuances. Augustine reduced grace to suggest something akin to an external infusion of pixie dust, without which salvation was impossible. This perspective aligns with the Gnostic understanding of a divine spark indwelling people, without which salvation was not possible.

The Long-Term Impact of Augustine's Teachings

The impact of Augustine's Gnostic inclinations was felt for centuries, especially within the Roman Catholic Church. Although the Roman Catholic Church was strongly influenced by Augustine's teachings because they were largely in Latin, the Orthodox Church was less affected as Augustine wrote only in Latin and did not fully understand Greek.

With the Reformation led by figures such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Huldrych Zwingli, two of whom were Augustinian in their thinking (Luther and Calvin), the movement largely embraced the Augustinian understanding of original sin. However, Zwingli's influence was minimal because he died early without leaving much written work. As a result, the Protestant Reformation was largely an Augustinian revival, plus the five solas (sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, sola Christus, and soli Deo gloria).

In summary, Augustine was a Gnostic before his alleged conversion and then syncretized Gnosticism and Christianity towards the end of his life.