Augustine believed that the true knowledge of the Lord was superior to any other knowledge, and that his knowledge was separate from the knowledge of other people. This was similar to Aristotle’s belief that human knowledge in nature was very limited because the human mind had not fully developed its potential.
Augustine also wrote that any true knowledge of the nature of God or the meaning of life comes to man through faith in Jesus Christ. Augustine also created his own cosmological system of the universe, in which he believed that the earth and all other natural objects are a physical manifestation of the divine. To truly understand the universe or the true meaning of life, you need to have faith in Jesus Christ and salvation.
Christians of the Christian Reformed tradition held some views similar to those of Augustine, although they generally differed from his ideas in that they believed that human knowledge of the world and the universe is limited.
Augustine’s doctrines and theological views began to spread throughout Europe in the sixteenth century with the works of John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, and others.
The Roman Catholic Church held a higher degree of rationalism and believed that theology and metaphysics were unnecessary for salvation. However, the Roman Catholic Church did not reject the theology of Augustine, as it was of the opinion that it should be part of human understanding, and, therefore, a person is limited in his knowledge. The Roman Catholic Church was divided in its views on faith even regarding the ideas of Augustine, although the majority believed that human knowledge is limited, and therefore the only thing that salvation extends to is the doctrines of God.
Calvin himself was a Calvinist and adhered to the same ideas as Augustine, but added two different ideas to Augustine: in a first, Calvin believed that human knowledge is limited, but that through the Holy Spirit and faiths in man can reach the knowledge of the rational nature of God and secondly, that man is limited in his understanding of the nature of God, but through his actions he can achieve an understanding of God.
However, John Calvin rejected the doctrine that man was limited in his understanding of the universe; Calvin believed that through faith a person can know the universe and understand God.