Author: Anthony Dupont
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004231579
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 698
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Book Description
Studying the presence of grace in Augustine's sermones ad populum preached during the period of the Pelagian controversy, this book eplores the anthropological-ethical perspective of his doctrine of grace and indicates the continuity in his reflections on grace and human freedom.
Author: Anthony Dupont
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004278648
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 245
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Book Description
Augustine of Hippo (354-430) became known as the ‘doctor of grace’. He developed his theory of divine grace mainly in his systematic treatises directed against the Pelagians (ca. 411-430). Did he however also preach about this complex, and at first sight ‘demoralizing’, issue in his sermons to the people? In his previous book (BSCH 59), Anthony Dupont studied the profile of the treatment of gratia in the anti-Pelagian sermones ad populum. In a Preacher of Grace Dupont offers an account of the presence of the theme of grace in Augustine’s sermones not situated in the Pelagian controversy. He first studies sermons preached on important liturgical feasts, which belong to the (non-polemical) pastoral preaching genre. They are distributed throughout the 40 years of Augustine’s preaching activity, and are Christological in content and moralising in intention. Secondly, he examines sermons situated in the Donatist controversy, preceding the anti-Pelagian sermons chronologically and differing from them in terms of content. This research provides a global picture of the presence and treatment of gratia in Augustine’s sermones and clarifies the interaction between context, audience and preaching genre on the one hand, and the theme of grace as a whole on the other. It also contributes to the debate on (dis)continuity in Augustine’s thought on grace.
Author: Stuart Squires
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532637837
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 473
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Book Description
The Pelagian Controversy (411-431) was one of the most important theological controversies in the history of Christianity. It was a bitter and messy affair in the evening of the Roman Empire that addressed some of the most important questions that we ask about ourselves: Who are we? What does it mean to be a human being? Are we good, or are we evil? Are we burdened by an uncontrollable impulse to sin? Do we have free will? It was comprised by a group of men who were some of the greatest thinkers of Late Antiquity, such as Augustine, Jerome, John Cassian, Pelagius, Caelestius, and Julian of Eclanum. These men were deeply immersed in the rich Roman literary and intellectual traditions of that time, and they, along with many other great minds of this period, tried to create equally rich Christian literary and intellectual traditions. This controversy--which is usually of interest only to historians and theologians of Christianity--should be appreciated by a wide audience because it was the primary event that shaped the way Christians came to understand the human person for the next 1,600 years. It is still relevant today because anthropological questions continue to haunt our public discourse.
Author: Andrew Chronister
Publisher: CUA Press
ISBN: 0813238722
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 387
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Book Description
This book examines St. Augustine of Hippo's involvement in the Pelagian controversy and argues that this involvement was prompted not simply by his opposition to Pelagian doctrinal views but, to a significant degree, by his desire to defend Church unity. To prove this thesis, Andrew Chronister analyzes the historical context of the controversy as well as Augustine's argumentation in his anti-Pelagian works. Attending to the historical context reveals the fact that at various moments in the controversy, Augustine was faced with what he believed to be significant threats to Church unity. For example, the beginnings of the controversy coincided with a key attempt in June 411 to end the Donatist schism that had split the African Church for a century: at the very moment when one schism was being healed, another threat to unity appeared in Caelestius and Pelagius. At the same time, internal evidence in Augustine's anti-Pelagian works reveals his desire not only to refute Pelagian doctrinal views but also to undermine the Pelagians' claims that they were simply teaching what the Church had always and everywhere taught. This can be seen in a particular way in Augustine's frequent appeals to liturgical and sacramental praxis as well as in his rather novel practice of citing renowned Christian authors as evidence for the antiquity and universality of his views. Augustine in the Pelagian Controversy has two main contributions: (1) it offers a new perspective on Augustine's involvement in the controversy that makes his prolonged and polemical engagement with the Pelagians more intelligible and (2) it provides a detailed history of the controversy itself.
Author: Jonathan P. Yates
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110491702
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 899
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Book Description
This second volume delves into the intricate dynamics that surrounded the use of Scripture by North African Christians from the late-fourth to the mid-seventh century CE. It focuses on the multivalent ways in which Scripture was incorporated into the fabric of ecclesial existence and theological reflection, as well as on Scripture’s role in informing and supporting these Christians’ decision-making processes. This volume also highlights the intricate theological and philosophical deliberations that were carried out between and among influential North African Christian leaders and scholars—in diverse cultural and geopolitical settings—while paying attention to the complex manner in which these Scripture-laden discourses intersected the wide variety of religious opinions and ecclesiastical and/or theological movements that so clearly marked this region in this era.
Author: Kevin G. Grove
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197587216
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 281
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Book Description
Augustine of Hippo, indisputably one of the most important figures for the study of memory, is credited with establishing memory as the inner source of selfhood and locus of the search for God. Yet, those who study memory in Augustine have never before taken into account his preaching. His sermons are the sources of memory's greatest development for Augustine. In Augustine's preaching, especially on the Psalms, the interior gives way to communal exterior. Both the self and search for God are re-established in a shared Christological identity and the communal labors of remembering and forgetting. This book opens with Augustine's early works and Confessions as the beginning of memory and concludes with Augustine's Trinity and preaching on Psalm 50 as the end of memory. The heart of the book, the work of memory, sets forth how ongoing remembering and forgetting in Christ are for Augustine are foundational to the life of grace. To that end, Augustine and his congregants go leaping in memory together, keep festival with abiding traces, and become forgetful runners like St. Paul. Remembering and forgetting in Christ, the ongoing work of memory, prove for Augustine to be actions of reconciliation of the distended experiences of human life-of praising and groaning, labouring and resting, solitude and communion. Augustine on Memory presents this new communal and Christological paradigm not only for Augustinian studies, but also for theologians, philosophers, ethicists, and interdisciplinary scholars of memory.
Author: Paul Middleton
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119100046
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 558
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Book Description
A unique, wide-ranging volume exploring the historical, religious, cultural, political, and social aspects of Christian martyrdom Although a well-studied and researched topic in early Christianity, martyrdom had become a relatively neglected subject of scholarship by the latter half of the 20th century. However, in the years following the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the study of martyrdom has experienced a remarkable resurgence. Heightened cultural, religious, and political debates about Islamic martyrdom have, in a large part, prompted increased interest in the role of martyrdom in the Christian tradition. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Christian Martyrdom is a comprehensive examination of the phenomenon from its beginnings to its role in the present day. This timely volume presents essays written by 30 prominent scholars that explore the fundamental concepts, key questions, and contemporary debates surrounding martyrdom in Christianity. Broad in scope, this volume explores topics ranging from the origins, influences, and theology of martyrdom in the early church, with particular emphasis placed on the Martyr Acts, to contemporary issues of gender, identity construction, and the place of martyrdom in the modern church. Essays address the role of martyrdom after the establishment of Christendom, especially its crucial contribution during and after the Reformation period in the development of Christian and European national-building, as well as its role in forming Christian identities in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. This important contribution to Christian scholarship: Offers the first comprehensive reference work to examine the topic of martyrdom throughout Christian history Includes an exploration of martyrdom and its links to traditions in Judaism and Islam Covers extensive geographical zones, time periods, and perspectives Provides topical commentary on Islamic martyrdom and its parallels to the Christian church Discusses hotly debated topics such as the extent of the Roman persecution of early Christians The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Christian Martyrdom is an invaluable resource for scholars and students of religious studies, theology, and Christian history, as well as readers with interest in the topic of Christian martyrdom.
Author: Diane Shane Fruchtman
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000630919
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 307
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Book Description
This book demonstrates that living martyrdom was an important spiritual aspiration in the late antique Latin west and argues that, consequently, attempts to define, study, or locate martyrdom must move away from conceptualizations that require or center on death. After an introduction that traces the persistence of "living martyrs" as real objects of spiritual devotion and emulation across the span of Christian history and discusses why such martyrs have been overlooked, the book focuses on three significant authors from the late ancient Latin west for whom martyrdom did not require death: the Spanish poet Prudentius (c. 348–413), the senator-turned-ascetic Paulinus of Nola (353–431), and the influential North African bishop Augustine of Hippo (354–430). Through historically and literarily contextualized close readings of their work, this book shows that each of these three authors attempted to create a new paradigm of martyrdom focused on living, rather than dying, for God. By focusing on these living martyrs, we are able to see more clearly the aspirations and agendas of those who promoted them as martyrs and how their martyrological discourse illuminates the variety of ways that martyrdom is and can be mobilized (in any era) to construct new, community-creating worldviews. Living Martyrs in Late Antiquity and Beyond is an important resource for historians of Christianity, scholars of religious studies, and anyone interested in exploring or understanding martyrological discourse. The Introduction of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Author: Philip Michael Forness
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192561790
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 335
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Book Description
Preaching formed one of the primary, regular avenues of communication between ecclesiastical elites and a wide range of society. Clergy used homilies to spread knowledge of complex theological debates prevalent in late antique Christian discourse. Some sermons even offer glimpses into the locations in which communities gathered to hear orators preach. Although homilies survive in greater number than most other types of literature, most do not specify the setting of their initial delivery, dating, and authorship. Preaching Christology in the Roman Near East addresses how we can best contextualize sermons devoid of such information. The first chapter develops a methodology for approaching homilies that draws on a broader understanding of audience as both the physical audience and the readership of sermons. The remaining chapters offer a case study on the renowned Syriac preacher Jacob of Serugh (c. 451-521) whose metrical homilies form one of the largest sermon collections in any language from late antiquity. His letters connect him to a previously little-known Christological debate over the language of the miracles and sufferings of Christ through his correspondence with a monastery, a Roman military officer, and a Christian community in South Arabia. He uses this language in homilies on the Council of Chalcedon, on Christian doctrine, and on biblical exegesis. An analysis of these sermons demonstrates that he communicated miaphysite Christology to both elite reading communities as well as ordinary audiences. Philip Michael Forness provides a new methodology for working with late antique sermons and discloses the range of society that received complex theological teachings through preaching.
Author: Stephanie Clark
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1487514387
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 331
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Book Description
While prayer is generally understood as "communion with God" modern forms of spirituality prefer "communion" that is non-petitionary and wordless. This preference has unduly influenced modern scholarship on historic methods of prayer particularly concerning Anglo-Saxon spirituality. In Compelling God, Stephanie Clark examines the relationship between prayer, gift giving, the self, and community in Anglo-Saxon England. Clark’s analysis of the works of Bede, Ælfric, and Alfred utilizes anthropologic and economic theories of exchange in order to reveal the ritualized, gift-giving relationship with God that Anglo-Saxon prayer espoused. Anglo-Saxon prayer therefore should be considered not merely within the usual context of contemplation, rumination, and meditation but also within the context of gift exchange, offering, and sacrifice. Compelling God allows us to see how practices of prayer were at the centre of social connections through which Anglo-Saxons conceptualized a sense of their own personal and communal identity.
