14. 1bid., 3, 10.
Introduction 107 had to give the opening sermon on the creed at the Council of Carthage (= Faith and the Creed). A few years later, in Teaching Christianity, his manual on inter pretation, Augustine set down the principle that the regulafidei must provide the framework within which the interpreter ofscripture takes his bearings.9 Since, in Augustine's understanding of it, the rule of faith emerges from the interaction of clear passages of scripture and the Church's conscious faith, the norm of inter pretation is not alien to and outside the scriptures. On the contrary, the rule of faith asserts the conviction that the scriptures, which had their origin within the Church, can be validly understood and interpreted only in and by the Church.
While Augustine does not mention the Manichees by name in his unfinished commentary on Genesis, certain of his assertions are clearly aimed at that sect.10 Not only is the exegetical approach (a literal interpretation of Genesis) meant to show that the biblical account of creation was acceptable even when taken liter ally (the only sense which the Manichees regarded as legitimate) and could measure up to scientific and literary standards. In addition, the formulations of the rule of faith show that the confession of the creator God who created every thing from nothing excludes a priori not only the philosophical idea of a demiurge but also and especially the dualism of the Manichean cosmogony." The same is true of the assertion of the natural goodness of all things, by which Augustine clearly rejected the Manichean thesis of the substantiality of evil.12 In his interpretation of the text Augustine repeatedly refers back to the faith of the Church as he has summarized it at the beginning; he does so in order to remind his readers of the unalterable basic facts that must give direction to any exegesis.13
The first principle which Augustine formulates in the opening chapter like wise comes repeatedly into play, namely, that definitive claims are not to be made as long as no irrefutable reason can be given for them or as long as other opinions seem no less plausible. Thus, for example, Augustine ends a series of hypotheses on Gen 1 : 1 with the observation: "It would have been impossible . . . to make any definitive assertions about these matters without incurring the charge of rashness (nihil enim horum temere qffirmare oportet)."14 ln like manner, after allowing, in relation to Genesis 1 :7, that "you may choose which ever [interpretation] you prefer," he qualifies this concession by saying: "only
9. See Teaching Christianity 111, 2, 2: "You should refer ... to the rule of faith, which you have received from the plainer passages of scripture and from the authority of the Church" (trans. Hill, 169). On the relationship between scripture and ecclesial tradition during the first centuries see J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines (London. 1993) 29-51.
1 0. See. for example, Unfinished Literal Commentary on Genesis 4, 1 1 ; 5, 23-24. 11. See ibid., 1,2. 12. See ibid., 1,3. 13. See ibid., 3, 6-10; 4, 13 and 18; 5, 19-20. 14. 1bid., 3, 10.