Final answer:
St. Augustine described God in terms of the good in creation, the concept of free will, and the necessity of divine grace for salvation. He opposed heretical views with his theological arguments and left a significant impact on Christian doctrine that still influences discussions on theology and philosophy.
Step-by-step explanation:
St. Augustine, a seminal Christian philosopher and theologian, crafted intricate descriptions of God that encompassed numerous paradoxes and complexities. One of his central ideas was the concept of free will within the confines of an omniscient deity, positing that humans have the capacity to choose goodness despite the original sin. Augustine's view of God clashed with the Manichean belief in an equal battleground of good and evil forces, instead asserting that all creation is intrinsically good as it comes from God. Further emphasizing his visionary thought, Augustine's work in The City of God juxtaposes the 'earthly city' with a divine 'heavenly city', a metaphor for the two paths human spirits might follow. In terms of theological orthodoxy, Augustine sought to protect it from heresies such as Pelagianism and Manicheism. He affirmed the essential role of divine grace in salvation, against the idea that humans could achieve it through their own efforts. Representations of God during the Renaissance, inspired by Humanism, often depicted God with human-like features, which Augustine would have critiqued as a misunderstanding of God's transcendent nature, in line with Maimonides's assertions that God's essence could not be truly known by humans.
Augustine's influence extended into the medieval period and beyond, as his explorations of time, temporality, and agency continue to be relevant in philosophical discourse today. His thinking has been foundational in the ongoing discussions of theology, philosophy, and the intricate understanding of God's nature in Western thought.