Gothic Architecture & St. Augustine

St. Augustine was no "Saint" during his early life. He was sinful and did rather idiotic things just for the pure pleasure and the thrill of it. Then during his quest for answers such as "Why do we sin if we know we should not do it?", he came across the Manicheans. The Manicheans believed that all humans have a pure soul composed of light that is trapped within our bodies composed of darkness. Therefore, in order to achieve happiness and salvation, one must look deep within their bodies to view their divine souls. This concept was applied to the design and construction of Gothic Architecture. Gothic churches all have an immense contrast of light and darkness. The exterior was gloomy and obscure whereas the interior was illuminated with the gothic trademark, glass windows. These glass windows had illustrations of biblical stories and once the Sun shined its rays at the right angle of the window, the church was illuminated with different colors and Bible stories. Once you entered the church, it was like you could actually feel God's immense power and that you were going through a divine experience. This use of imagery also allowed for the illiterate to experience this. Through St. Augustines philosophy with the combination of architecture, everyone could achieve happiness and salvation.