He sees no conflict between them because revelation and science and philosophy complement each other. Being a learned man and one acquainted with Platonic philosophy, Saint Augustine believed that such a philosophy, which revolves around the One and the multiple, essence and manifestation, anticipated the coming of Jesus and the revelation of the true faith (God being One and three at the same time). He also believed that, if the teachings of the Bible were taken literally and they contradicted reason, the teachings of the Bible should rather be interpreted metaphorically in order to capture their true sense.