Augustine's argument that the church is the kingdom state spoken of in the parables of Matthew is an erronous (deliberately) exegesis of the passages. He uses it to convince honest people, like this lady, Felicia, that even though many pastors within the Roman church are wicked, the church itself is good. He also misinterprets the commandment Jesus gives to the jews concerning following the Pharisees as valid in the church state. This was a commandment given not to offend religious jews in the temple dispensation. It doesnt carry through to the gospel age, when pastors are required to be clean and honest persons.
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1102208.htm
To the Lady Felicia, His Daughter in the Faith, and Worthy of Honour Among the Members of Christ, Augustine Sends Greeting in the Lord.
3. Moreover, as there are good shepherds and bad shepherds, so also in flocks there are good and bad. The good are represented by the name of sheep, but the bad are called goats: they feed, nevertheless, side by side in the same pastures, until the Chief Shepherd, who is called the One Shepherd, shall come and separate them one from another according to His promise,as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats.On us He has laid the duty of gathering the flock; to Himself He has reserved the work of final separation, because it pertains properly to Him who cannot err. For those presumptuous servants, who have lightly ventured to separate before the time which the Lord has reserved in His own hand, have, instead of separating others, only been separated themselves from Catholic unity; for how could those have a clean flock who have by schism become unclean?...............
5 Concerning the good shepherds He thus speaks:You are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.Concerning the bad shepherds He admonishes the sheep in these words:The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: all, therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.Matthew 23:2-3 When these are listened to, the sheep of Christ, even through evil teachers, hear His voice, and do not forsake the unity of His flock, because the good which they hear them teach belongs not to the shepherds but to Him, and therefore the sheep are safely fed, since even under bad shepherds they are nourished in the Lord's pastures. They do not, however, imitate the actions of the bad shepherds, because such actions belong not to the world but to the shepherds themselves.
6. Hence we understand both that the good shepherds are those who seek not their own, but the things of Jesus Christ, and that the good sheep, though imitating the works of the good shepherds by whose ministry they have been gathered together, do not place their hope in them, but rather in the Lord, by Whose blood they are redeemed; so that when they may happen to be placed under bad shepherds, preaching Christ's doctrine and doing their own evil works, they will do what they teach, but will not do what they do, and will not, on account of these sons of wickedness, forsake the pastures of the one true Church. For there are both good and bad in the Catholic Church, which, unlike the Donatist sect, is extended and spread abroad, not in Africa only, but through all nations; as the apostle expresses it,bringing forth fruit, and increasing in the whole world.But those who are separated from the Church, as long as they are opposed to it cannot be good; although an apparently praiseworthy conversation seems to prove some of them to be good, their separation from the Church itself renders them bad, according to the saying of the Lord:He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathers not with me scatters.Matthew 12:30
The reasonable conclusion for Augustine's conjectures then was that the church should root out ALL heretics/schismatics before the Lord comes, without respect for their doctrine and conduct, and keep ALL bad pastors, even the worst, until Christ separates them himself.
AUGUSTINE AND ALL HIS FOLLOWERS ARE GUILTY OF THE DOUBLE SIN OF PILATE AND THE JEWS OF CONDEMNING THE RIGHTEOUS AND JUSTIFYING THE WICKED...................
Proverbs 17:15
He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.
Persecuting the innocent, who want to separate from the congregation of Korah (and it was a large congregation), and justifying the wicked pastors, whom the Lord said He will RID HIS SHEEP FROM BACK IN THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL AND JEREMIAH (Jer 3;23; Ez 34; Is 56)?????? THERE ARE TO BE ONLY GOOD SHEPHERDS IN THE GOSPEL AGE. Nevermind that most of catholic "pastors" would fail the qualifications for the office.
