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Like Ibn Arabi, also Augustine (354-430 AD) was attracted by Neoplatonism and the teachings of the Logos. He knew that the flesh was one the most powerful and challenging force to fight against. For Augustine truth is a byproduct of God’s general revelation to all of mankind. He read the Bible, in which the Logos (translated as the Word) is identified as Jesus Christ (John 1:1-17). He also discovered that where the philosophers of Neoplatonism were looking for is the person of Jesus Christ [22]. When Augustine had found this, he stopped with the philosophies of Neoplantonism. While they only might speak the truth about God’s nature, they lack the means of access to it. Neoplatonism and Sufism are without the power to initialise right action, and are therefore not complete. Augustine eventually decided to abandon Neoplatonism altogether in favor of a Christianity based on his own reading of the Bible.
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