Augustine was a fourth and fifth-century bishop of Hippo who has become a major figure in all branches of Christianity. Being able to cite Augustine seems to ensure your position is a Biblical one, and it can be hard to find an earlier father who goes as in depth with theology, especially on the topic of the Holy Trinity, though the doctrine did not by any means originate with him. Augustine also said quite a bit about the creation story; he sought to find the original meaning of the first two chapters of Genesis, but he denied that they were to be taken as what modern Christians would call “literal”. He did not believe that the plain meaning of the text is something which could tell the original tale, but he also did not want to take it figuratively. Through this thought, Augustine seeks to use Natural Science to evaluate how these “days” could possibly work off of one another, especially if the heavenly bodies were not created until day four. Augustine never comes to a definite conclusion in his commentary on Genesis, but he does settle that it is okay to submit to a state of mystery regarding how creation works. This idea eventually became the basis for Science during the medieval period.
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