The Manicheans have supposed that the Lord Christ is that sun which is
visible to carnal eyes, exposed and public to be seen, not only by men,
but by the beasts. But the right faith of the Catholic Church rejects such
afiction, and perceives (cognoscit) it to be a devilish doctrine: not
only by believing acknowledges (nec solum agnoscit credendo)ittobe
such, but in the case of whom it can, proves it even by reasoning
(disputando).^28In this manner, the act ofagnitiois the subjective attachment of faith
that is heteronomously given. From the perspective of knowledge and
proof it is less thancognitio, but it highlights the gift received in faith.
As inRecognitions, the faithful recognition is an upward act that is
nevertheless preceded by a strong divine expectation in Augustine’s
writings.
Given this, it is understandable that Augustine often employs
agnitioin the phrase‘knowledge/acknowledgement of God’(agnitio
Dei), depicting a specific theological knowledge that concerns the
performative renewal of the human being. InThe Trinity, this know-
ledge is described as follows:
‘Putting off the old man’, he [the apostle in Col. 3:9] says,‘with his
actions, put on the new who is being renewed for the recognition of God
(agnitio Dei) according to the image of him who created him.’If then we
are being renewed in the spirit of our mind, and if it is this new man
who is being renewed for the recognition of God according to the image
of him who created him, there can be no doubt that man was not made
to the image of him who created him as regards his body or any old part
of his consciousness, but as regards the rational mind, which is capable
of recognizing God.^29Here Augustine connectsagnitiowith the transformation of personal
identity because to recognize God, a person must be renewed. The
rational mind is theoretically capable of recognizing God, since the
mind is God’s image; however, as Augustine considers later in this
chapter, faith and baptism are needed to perform this recognition in
the present state of man. Referring to Gal. 3:26, Augustine further
considers that the same pertains to women, as there is no sexual
difference in the image of God.^30 It is important for our study,
however, to see how Augustine regards agnitioas the subjective
(^28) Jo. ev. tr. 34, 2. Trans. NPNF 4. (^29) Trin. 12, 12. Trans. Hill.
(^30) Trin. 12, 12.
The Latin Traditions 55