Happiness and Wisdom

Happiness and Wisdom
Author: Ryan N. S. Topping
Publisher: CUA Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2012-07-11
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0813219736

Happiness and Wisdom contributes to ongoing debates about the nature of Augustine's early development, and argues that Augustine's vision of the soul's ascent through the liberal arts is an attractive and basically coherent view of learning, which, while not wholly novel, surpasses both classical and earlier patristic renderings of the aims of education.

The Spirit of Augustine's Early Theology

The Spirit of Augustine's Early Theology
Author: Chad Tyler Gerber
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2012
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781409424376

This book-length study of Augustine's pneumatology examines his earliest extant writings, penned during the years surrounding his famed return to the Catholic Church and the height of his efforts to synthesize Catholic theology. Careful analysis of these initial texts casts fresh light upon Augustine's more mature and well-known theology of the Holy Spirit while also illuminating ongoing discussions about his early thought.

The Theology of Augustine

The Theology of Augustine
Author: Matthew Levering
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2013-03-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441240454

Most theology students realize Augustine is tremendously influential on the Christian tradition as a whole, but they generally lack real knowledge of his writings. This volume introduces Augustine's theology through seven of his most important works. Matthew Levering begins with a discussion of Augustine's life and times and then provides a full survey of the argument of each work with bibliographical references for those who wish to go further. Written in clear, accessible language, this book offers an essential introduction to major works of Augustine that all students of theology--and their professors!--need to know.

Augustine's Early Theology of the Church

Augustine's Early Theology of the Church
Author: David C. Alexander
Publisher: Peter Lang
Total Pages: 484
Release: 2008
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781433101038

The nature and development of Augustine's understanding of the church between his conversion (386) and his forced entry into the clergy (391) provides an essential lens to understanding this seminal period of transition and the foundations of his future ecclesial contributions. Even so, most studies of Augustine's ecclesiology bypass this period, starting with the clerical Augustine (post 391). In fact, research on the 'young' Augustine and the Confessions too often stalls over debates between his neo-Platonic or Christian orientation, focusing on dichotomies in Augustine or an individualistic Augustine too rigidly labeled. This book helps fill these gaps and provides a case study supporting arguments for continuity between the 'young' and the clerical Augustine. A careful chronological textual approach to Augustine's early Christian years demonstrates how his ecclesiological thought began during this period and comprised a core component of his first theological synthesis. The emergence of his ecclesiological ideas was intimately intertwined with his overall personal, religious, philosophic, and theological development. As such it is crucial to our biographical and theological understanding of the great North African and will be of interest to specialists and students alike of Augustine's development, Confessions, mature ecclesiology, and the late antique world.

Retrieving Augustine's Doctrine of Creation

Retrieving Augustine's Doctrine of Creation
Author: Gavin Ortlund
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2020-07-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830853251

How might premodern exegesis of Genesis inform Christian debates about creation today? Pastor and theologian Gavin Ortlund retrieves Augustine's reading of Genesis 1-3 and considers how his premodern understanding of creation can help Christians today, shedding light on matters such as evolution, animal death, and the historical Adam and Eve.

Augustine in His Own Words

Augustine in His Own Words
Author: Saint Augustine (of Hippo)
Publisher: CUA Press
Total Pages: 543
Release: 2010
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0813217431

This volume offers a comprehensive portrait--or rather, self-portrait, since its words are mostly Augustine's own--drawn from the breadth of his writings and from the long course of his career

Christ Meets Me Everywhere

Christ Meets Me Everywhere
Author: Michael Cameron
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 429
Release: 2012-09-20
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0199751293

This book studies the earliest biblical reading practices of Augustine of Hippo (354-430), the greatest of the Latin Church Fathers. It examines works from the first fifteen years of Augustine's Christian life in order to follow the course of his development. His reflections on the craft of hermeneutics advanced not only specifically theological reading practices but also the humane art of textual interpretation. Augustine's rationale for figurative reading in the tens of thousands of Scripture references that filled hundreds of sermons, letters, and treatises made him the most widely read commentator on the Christian Scriptures in the west for more than a thousand years.

Augustine and the Mystery of the Church

Augustine and the Mystery of the Church
Author: James K. Lee
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2017-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1506420524

Over the course of the past two centuries, Augustine's ecclesiology has been subject to interpretations that overdraw the distinction between the visible and invisible dimensions of the church, sometimes reducing the church to a purely spiritual, invisible reality, over against the visible church celebrating the sacraments; the empirical community is incidental, at best, and can be discarded. By contrast, this book argues that the church is a mystery that is visible and invisible. Far from discarding the visible, Augustine places greater emphasis on the empirical church as his thought develops. This study traces Augustine’s ecclesiology from early writings to later works in order to demonstrate this thesis. His early thought is heavily influenced by Platonism and tends to focus on the ascent of the individual soul. After his study of Scripture in the 390s, Augustine gives priority to participation in the visible, sacramental community. In his mature thought, the church is one mystery (mysterium, sacramentum) revealed by Scripture, with visible and invisible aspects. This book explores Augustine’s exegesis of biblical images of the church, such as body of Christ, bride of Christ, city of God, and sacrifice, in order to show how the visible community is intrinsic to the mystery of the church.

God's Strategy in Human History

God's Strategy in Human History
Author: Paul Marston
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2001-07-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1579102735

"Forster and Marston have delivered a stellar book that attempts to present an exegetical and Scriptural framework for the content presented in the book. Instead of beginning from a set of deductive theological assumptions and then attempting to support that system from Scripture, Forster and Marston examine Scripture and attempt to build their case directly from the text. The authors unabashedly admit that their views are very similar to those of Arminian and Weslyan traditions, but they state in the beginning of the book that they do not want to be labeled with these names, but want to construct a theology that is in line with the teachings of the first 300 years of Christianity. Anyone who reads their appendix will come to understand that the teachings presented in this book were the orthodox consensus of the early Church for the first 300 years, and that it was Augustine who introduced serious deviations into the mainstream orthodox Christianity of his time. Forster and Marston begin by describing the battle that is being waged between God and the spiritual forces that oppose Him. They examine the book of Job and see how this relates to the overall struggle. Then the authors examine the 9th chapter of Romans to see if this book is dealing with election and individual destinies, or God's actions within human history. The authors do an excellent job of arguing for their opinion that this chapter is speaking about God's involvement in human history and it deals with God's choosing of one nation or individual over another nation or individual to accomplish His purpose. Other sections of interest in this book are the sections on foreknowledge and predestination and the chapters on faith and works. The section on faith and works was particularly interesting because it relies on much of the teaching of the new perspective which has shed much light on how a 1st century Palestinian Jew would have approached Scriptural issues. The research, argumenation, and exegesis in this book are solid so every chapter is excellent, but the ones mentioned above were two of my favorites."--Amazon.com.

Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo
Author: Bradley G. Green
Publisher: Christian Focus
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2020-11-06
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781527105874

Arguably the most significant theologian in Church history, Augustine is nonetheless a figure of dispute in protestant circles, distrusted for his views on ecclesiology, amongst other subjects. Yet his love for the Lord and articulation of the doctrine of grace ensure that his writings remain relevant and inspiring to many Christians today. For anyone looking to begin to understand this theological giant, Bradley Green's biography offers a clear insight into Augustine's life and beliefs. In the words of the patristic himself, 'Take and Read'.