St. Augustine, Gothic Architecture

St. Augustine believed that one must remove the faulty impressions of the sensory knowledge to attain a divine wisdom. He believed that only God's grace allowed us to access the good. We have to look inward and then upward for grace and then we can achieve salvation and happiness. Only God can give you this opportunity. He believed science and philosophy were not done in the service of theology. St, Augustine had adopted ideas from a man named Plotinus who believed the body is both the agent and prison of the soul. Each of us has a piece of divinity within us but God is the one that decides whether we can access it. We cannot access the spark without God and so we can't make it to the light or heaven alone. St. Augustine's perspective on heaven is similar to that explained in the Allegory of the Cave. People were held against their will and chained up and given false ideas and only if you surpassed all this and walked the walk out of the cave into the light, then you would know the truth. In the same sense Augustine believed people were trapped in a sinful body and one needed to get in touch with the light and inner soul to be able to reach heaven and happiness.

Similarly, Gothic Cathedrals are designed like oneself. Outside these Gothic Cathedrals it is plain and simple, but once someone steps inside, they are blown away by the complexity and beautiful art. The good within each of us is what we all possess inside the carrier or body. Inside these cathedrals are stained glass windows that allows light to shine through at all angles. They are beautiful lights and once someone steps inside they are suppose to be blinded by them and finally know the truth like in the Allegory of the Cave. One should see the Bible stories that are depicted, coming from the stained glasses, and learn from this. They learn about Jesus and his life. For those who are illiterate, this was the way that they learned. They used images and art to understand the truths. For priests and people of the Church, they could simply read the Bible to understand the truths. Overall there is a significant similarity between Gothic Cathedrals and St. Augustine's philosophy. The world outside the Cathedral was seen has the body, dirty and sinful, while inside was the truth, the soul, the good.