Englischsprachige Veröffentlichungen / Anglophone Publications

© oup.com Jana Marguerite Bennett Water is Thicker than Blood An Augustinian Theology of Marriage and Singlehood Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2008, IX-243 p. ISBN: 978-0-19-531543-1 | GBP 37,50 This book considers how homes, households, and domestic life are related to the Church. Early theologies glorified the monastic lifestyle as a way to transcend earthly attachments in favor of supernatural goods. Later thinkers have seen that functioning marriages and families themselves can lead us toward a more righteous society. Issues of gender quickly come into play. Are households the "woman's sphere"? Does this bar women from full participation in the Church? And what of the many people today who are neither married nor consecrated in a holy life? How do we think about the Christian "households" of such singles? Jana Bennett addresses these questions. She insists that both marriage and singleness must be placed in the context of the Christian story of redemption if the questions and problems at stake are to be fully understood. Surprisingly, she finds that Augustine of Hippo, much maligned by modern theologians, is the source of very fruitful reflection on these topics, showing us that both marriage and singleness are most properly set in the context of the salvation story. Most scholars today would agree that Augustine's works have exerted great influence on Western views of marriage, family, and sex. But they would also argue that this influence has been detrimental to a healthy understanding of these topics. However, through the lens of Augustine's work, Bennett shows that marriage and singleness cannot be considered separately, that gender issues are important to considering these states correctly and, most important, that the marriage between Christ and the Church is the first mediator in these states of life. » See presentation on publisher's homepage

georgetown.edu  Aaron Stalnaker Overcoming Our Evil Human Nature and Spiritual Exercises in Xunzi and Augustine Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2009 (2006), 352 p.  ISBN: 978-1-58901-503-6 | USD 29.95 (Paperback) ISBN: 978-1-58901-094-9 | USD 49.95 (Hardcover) Can people ever really change? Do they ever become more ethical, and if so, how? Overcoming Our Evil focuses on the way ethical and religious commitments are conceived and nurtured through the methodical practices that Pierre Hadot has called "spiritual exercises." These practices engage thought, imagination, and sensibility, and have a significant ethical component, yet aim for a broader transformation of the whole personality. Going beyond recent philosophical and historical work that has focused on ancient Greco-Roman philosophy, Stalnaker broadens ethical inquiry into spiritual exercises by examining East Asian as well as classical Christian sources, and taking religious and seemingly "aesthetic" practices such as prayer, ritual, and music more seriously as objects of study. More specifically, Overcoming Our Evil examines and compares the thought and practice of the early Christian Augustine of Hippo, and the early Confucian Xunzi. Both have sophisticated and insightful accounts of spiritual exercises, and both make such ethical work central to their religious thought and practice. Yet to understand the two thinkers' recommendations for cultivating virtue we must first understand some important differences. Here Stalnaker disentangles the competing aspects of Augustine and Xunxi's ideas of "human nature." His groundbreaking comparison of their ethical vocabularies also drives a substantive analysis of fundamental issues in moral psychology, especially regarding emotion and the complex idea of "the will," to examine how our dispositions to feel, think, and act might be slowly transformed over time. The comparison meticulously constructs vivid portraits of both thinkers demonstrating where they connect and where they diverge, making the case that both have been misunderstood and misinterpreted. In throwing light on these seemingly disparate ancient figures in unexpected ways, Stalnaker redirects recent debate regarding practices of personal formation, and more clearly exposes the intellectual and political issues involved in the retrieval of "classic" ethical sources in diverse contemporary societies, illuminating a path toward a contemporary understanding of difference. » See presentation on publisher's homepage

© peeters-leuven.be Lieven Boeve / Mathijs Lamberigts / Maarten Wisse (Ed.) Augustine and Postmodern Thought A New Alliance against Modernity? (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 219) Leuven: Peeters, 2009, XVIII-277 p. ISBN: 978-90-429-2120-7 | EUR 80,00 On November 9-11, 2006, the Research Group 'Theology in a Postmodern Context' (K.U.Leuven) organised an expert symposium on the return of Augustine in current postmodern philosophical-theological debates. The North-African Church Father, or at least the thinking patterns or intuitions borrowed from him, are often invoked in discussions on the relation between Christian faith and the contemporary postmodern context. On the one hand, one observes the retrieval of rather premodern approaches in order to remedy the so-called (post-)modern crisis, which is said to result in nihilism, relativism, etc. For what seems to attract some theologians in Augustinian thinking is the (apparent) marriage between Greek (neo-Platonic) philosophy and Christian faith. Such a combination of premodern metaphysics and Christian faith would serve as a necessary presupposition for every legitimate theological epistemology. On the other hand, there are theologians and philosophers who are increasingly trying to reread Augustine from a postmodern stance, stressing the role of particularity, narrativity, historicity, and the decentring of subjectivity, which they see present in Augustine's approach, or from which they deconstruct Augustine's thinking. Central questions discussed during the symposium were: Are the analyses, offered by authors who are re-introducing Augustine with respect to the contemporary context, correct? To what diagnosed problems, and on what basis, do they propose Augustine as a remedy? Are their presentations of other theological and philosophical responses to the present situation correct and which 'Augustine' do they claim to represent? More fundamentally: what would a genuine Augustinian epistemology look like, and what can we gain from it? In what way can it be normative for a theological epistemology in our day? In answering these questions, the symposium focused explicitly on contemporary philosophical and theological evaluations of both modernity and postmodernity, and theological responses to them. » See presentation on publisher's homepage

© oup.com Phillip Cary Inner Grace Augustine in the Traditions of Plato and Paul Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2008, 189 p. ISBN: 978-0-19-533648-1 | GBP 37,50 This book is, along with Inner Grace (OUP 2008), a sequel to Phillip Cary's Augustine and the Invention of the Inner Self (OUP 2000). In this work, Cary argues that Augustine invented the expressionist type of semiotics widely taken for granted in modernity, where words are outward signs giving inadequate expression to what lies within the soul. Augustine uses this new semiotics to explain why the authority of external teaching, including Biblical authority, is useful but temporary, designed to lead to a more permanent Platonist vision granted by the inner teacher, Christ, who is the eternal Wisdom of God. In fact, for Augustine we literally learn nothing from words or other outward signs, which are useful only as admonitions or reminders pointing out the right direction for us to look in order to see for ourselves, with the inner eye of our own mind. Even our knowledge of other people is ultimately a matter of seeing what is in their souls, not putting faith in their words. Cary argues that for Augustine outward signs cannot give us knowledge because all bodily things are fundamentally powerless, incapable of conveying an inner good to the soul. This also leaves no room for a concept of efficacious external means of grace null not even the flesh of Christ. The sacraments, which Augustine was the first to describe as outward signs of inner grace, signify what is necessary for salvation but do not confer it. Baptism, for example, is necessary for salvation, but its power is found not in water or word but in the inner unity, charity, and peace of the church. Along with its companion work, Inner Grace , this careful and insightful book breaks new ground in the study of Augustine's theology of grace and sacraments. » See presentation on publisher's homepage

© oup.com Phillip Cary Outward Signs The Powerlessness of External Things in Augustine's Thought Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2008, 344 p. ISBN: 978-0-19-533649-8 | GBP 45,00 This book is, along with Inner Grace (OUP 2008), a sequel to Phillip Cary's Augustine and the Invention of the Inner Self (OUP 2000). In this work, Cary argues that Augustine invented the expressionist type of semiotics widely taken for granted in modernity, where words are outward signs giving inadequate expression to what lies within the soul. Augustine uses this new semiotics to explain why the authority of external teaching, including Biblical authority, is useful but temporary, designed to lead to a more permanent Platonist vision granted by the inner teacher, Christ, who is the eternal Wisdom of God. In fact, for Augustine we literally learn nothing from words or other outward signs, which are useful only as admonitions or reminders pointing out the right direction for us to look in order to see for ourselves, with the inner eye of our own mind. Even our knowledge of other people is ultimately a matter of seeing what is in their souls, not putting faith in their words. Cary argues that for Augustine outward signs cannot give us knowledge because all bodily things are fundamentally powerless, incapable of conveying an inner good to the soul. This also leaves no room for a concept of efficacious external means of grace null not even the flesh of Christ. The sacraments, which Augustine was the first to describe as outward signs of inner grace, signify what is necessary for salvation but do not confer it. Baptism, for example, is necessary for salvation, but its power is found not in water or word but in the inner unity, charity, and peace of the church. Along with its companion work, Inner Grace , this careful and insightful book breaks new ground in the study of Augustine's theology of grace and sacraments. » See presentation on publisher's homepage

© routledge.com Chloë Taylor  The Culture of Confession from Augustine to Foucault A Genealogy of the 'Confessing Animal' New York; Abington: Routledge, 2009, 298 p. ISBN: 978-0-415-96371-8 | GBP 70,00 This book considers analyses of confession in continental philosophy, and interprets examples of confession and self-exploration in philosophy, psychoanalysis, the legal and penal systems, film, and literature in light of these philosophical texts. This work aims to refute common notions about confession according to which it is an innate impulse or psychological need, it reveals the truth of a pre-given subject, and it functions as a form of psychological catharsis. Instead, piecing together and supplementing Foucault's writings on confession, the first chapters of the book argue that confession is a contingent rather than transhistorical compulsion, and that it is constraining rather than liberating of confessing subjects. The Culture of Confession also examines the relation between confessor and confessant not only as a relation of constraint and power, but of ethical response. Drawing on philosophers such as Hegel, Derrida, and Levinas, the confessional other is considered in so far as she is called upon both to listen and to respond. Finally, in the last chapters, The Culture of Confession explores both discursive and non-discursive alternatives to confession, including autobiographical silence, non-confessional autobiography, and political and artistic practices.  » See presentation on publisher's homepage

© upenn.edu Jason David BeDuhn Augustine's Manichaean Dilemma, vol. 1 Conversion and Apostasy, 373-388 C.E. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009, 408 p. ISBN 978-0-8122-4210-2 | USD 69,95 | GBP 45,50 Augustine of Hippo is history's best-known Christian convert. The very concept of conversio owes its dissemination to Augustine's Confessions, and yet, as Jason BeDuhn notes, conversion in Augustine is not the sudden, dramatic, and complete transformation of self we likely remember it to be. Rather, in the Confessions Augustine depicts conversion as a lifelong process, a series of self-discoveries and self-departures. The tale of Augustine is one of conversion, apostasy, and conversion again. In this first volume of Augustine's Manichaean Dilemma, BeDuhn reconstructs Augustine's decade-long adherence to Manichaeism, apostasy from it, and subsequent conversion to Nicene Christianity. Based on his own testimony and contemporaneous sources from and about Manichaeism, the book situates many features of Augustine's young adulthood within his commitment to the sect, while pointing out ways he failed to understand or put into practice key parts of the Manichaean system. It explores Augustine's dissatisfaction with the practice-oriented faith promoted by the Manichaean leader Faustus and the circumstances of heightened intolerance, anti-Manichaean legislation, and pressures for social conformity surrounding his apostasy. » See presentation on publisher's homepage

Frederick Van Fleteren (Ed.)  Martin Heidegger's Interpretations of Saint Augustine Sein und Zeit und Ewigkeit (Collectanea Augustiniana) Lewiston, N.Y.; Queenston, Ontario: Edwin Mellen Press, 2005, XII-442 p. ISBN 978-0-7734-5965-6 | USD 129.95 | GBP 79,95 Augustine and Heidegger, the sixth volume in the Collectanea Augustiniana series, is an analysis of Heidegger’s interpretation of Augustine of Hippo. The first part deals with Heidegger’s phenomenological analysis of Confessions X from the perspective of both Augustine and Heidegger. The second part treats various themes common to both authors. This book is timely since there is presently no in-depth study of the relationship between Augustine and Heidegger on either side of the Atlantic. “The posthumous publication of Martin Heidegger’s previously unpublished lectures and manuscripts has shed more light on the sources which inspired him ... As Heidegger’s sources are studied more precisely, it becomes clear that Augustine played a larger role in Heidegger’s work from its inception that we had previously thought ... I welcome a book devoted to a more concrete comprehension of the important relationship between Augustine and Heidegger. The relationship between Augustine, indeed all classical metaphysics, and Heidegger will be shown to go very deep. It is then important to re-think the theme of time and eternity in light of this relationship.” – (from the Note of Welcome) Karl Kardinal Lehmann, Mainz, Germany » See presentation on publisher's homepage

© continuumbooks.com Brian Harding Augustine and Roman Virtue (Continuum Studies in Philosophy) London/New York: Continuum, 2008, 207 p. ISBN 978-1-8470-6285-7 | GBP 65.00 Augustine and Roman Virtue seeks to correct what the author sees as a fundamental misapprehension in medieval thought, a misapprehension that fuels further problems and misunderstandings in the historiography of philosophy. This misapprehension is the assumption that the development of certain themes associated with medieval philosophy is due, primarily if not exclusively, to extra-philosophical religious commitments rather than philosophical argumentation, referred to here as the ‘sacralization thesis’. Brian Harding explores this problem through a detailed reading of Augustine’s City of God as understood in a Latin context, that is, in dialogue with Latin writers such as Cicero, Livy, Sallust and Seneca. The book seeks to revise a common reading of Augustine’s critique of ancient virtue by focusing on that dialogue, while showing that his attitude towards those authors is more sympathetic, and more critical, than one might expect. Harding argues that the criticisms rest on sympathy and that Augustine’s critique of ancient virtue thinks through and develops certain trends noticeable in the major figures of Latin philosophy. » See presentation on publisher's homepage

© peeters-leuven.be Tarsicius van Bavel The Longing of the Heart. Augustine's Doctrine on Prayer Leuven; Walpole, MA: Peeters, 2009, VI-175 p. ISBN: 978-90-429-1975-4 | EUR 30,00 Augustine often falls outside the scope of people that look for prayers among famous spiritual masters. Presumably this is caused by the absence of a monograph on prayer by his hand. However, anyone who knows his writings, also knows that the force of this inspiring man was based on prayer. Who else than the celebrated authority on Augustine, T.J. van Bavel (1923-2007), can introduce us to this dimension of Augustine. In this book he shows how this passionate North African combined the inner self, prayer, intellectual effort and pastoral dedication to a harmonious whole. His Confessions, confessions of sin and gratitude, are monumental and belong to our religious heritage. His Sermons about the Psalms formed the right moments to incite his faithful to a life of prayer. One will hardly find in his other writings and sermons texts that do not mention the theme of prayer. Much of his ideas have influenced greatly religious leaders of later times.

© peterlang.com Ankur Barua The Divine Body in History A comparative study of the symbolism of time and embodiment in St Augustine and Ramanuja (Religions and Discourse 45) Bern: Peter Lang, 2009, 253 p. ISBN: 978-3-03911-917-2 | EUR[D] 35,30 This is a study in the field of comparative philosophy of religion. It initiates a dialogue between St Augustine and Ramanuja by focusing on two central themes - time and embodiment - that play a crucial role in their thought. The elaborations of these two themes by St Augustine and Ramanuja have continued to exert a tremendous influence on the histories of European thought and of Hindu movements centred around the notion of bhakti. The examination of the symbolism through which these thinkers articulate their understanding of time and embodiment also challenges certain stereotypes related to classical Indian thought and Latin Christendom, such as the former's lack of historical consciousness and the latter's denigration of the human body. This study shows how the 'west' and 'east' have traditionally engaged with concepts such as temporality, progress and the metaphysical status of finite and bio-physical reality. » See presentation on publisher's homepage

© oup.com Hugh A.G. Houghton Augustine's Text of John Patristic Citations and Latin Gospel Manuscripts (Oxford Early Christian Studies) Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2008, 424 p. ISBN: 978-0-19-954592-6 | GBP 50.00 What sort of Bible did Augustine have? How did he quote from it - and was he accurate? Do Augustine's biblical citations transmit readings not found in any surviving manuscripts? This book is part of a major project on the Old Latin versions of the Gospel according to John, and uses Augustine as a test-case to examine the importance of the evidence provided by the Church Fathers for the text of the Gospels. The early history of the Latin Bible is reconstructed from Augustine's comments in his treatise De doctrina christiana (On Christian teaching). Details are assembled from sermons, letters, and other writings to show how Augustine and his contemporaries used the Bible in the liturgy of the Church, public debates, and in composing their own works. Augustine's own methods of citing the Bible are analysed, and features are identified which are characteristic of citations produced from memory rather than read from a gospel codex. The second part of the book is a chronological survey of the biblical text in Augustine's works, showing how he switched from using the older versions of the Gospel to the revised text of Jerome, which later became known as the Vulgate. Finally, a verse by verse commentary is provided on all the significant readings in Augustine's text of John, assessing their significance for the history of the Latin Bible, and in some cases the Greek tradition as well. Details are also given of Augustine's exegesis of particular verses of the Gospel, making this an indispensable handbook for biblical scholars and church historians alike.  » See presentation on publisher's homepage

© oup.com Luigi Gioia, OSB The Theological Epistemology of Augustine's De Trinitate (Oxford Theological Monographs) Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2008, 330 p. ISBN: 978-0-19-955346-4 | GBP 65.00 Luigi Gioia provides a fresh description and analysis of Augustine's monumental treatise, De Trinitate, working on a supposition of its unity and its coherence from structural, rhetorical, and theological points of view. The main arguments of the treatise are reviewed first: Scripture and the mystery of the Trinity; discussion of 'Arian' logical and ontological categories; a comparison between the process of knowledge and formal aspects of the confession of the mystery of the Trinity; an account of the so called 'psychological analogies'. These topics hold a predominantly instructive or polemical function. The unity and the coherence of the treatise become apparent especially when its description focuses on a truly theological understanding of knowledge of God: Augustine aims at leading the reader to the vision and enjoyment of God the Trinity, in whose image we are created. This mystagogical aspect of the rhetoric of De Trinitate is unfolded through Christology, soteriology, doctrine of the Holy Spirit and doctrine of revelation. At the same time, from the vantage point of love, Augustine detects and powerfully depicts the epistemological consequences of human sinfulness, thus unmasking the fundamental deficiency of received theories of knowledge. Only love restores knowledge and enables philosophers to yield to the injunction which resumes philosophical enterprise as a whole, namely 'know thyself'. » See presentation on publisher's homepage

© oup.com  Erika T. Hermanowicz Possidius of Calama A Study of the North African Episcopate at the Time of Augustine (Oxford Early Christian Studies) Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2008, 272 p. ISBN: 978-0-19-923635-0 | GBP 58.00 Possidius, the bishop of Calama, was a life-long friend of St. Augustine's and best known for writing a biography of the bishop of Hippo, the Vita Augustini. Hermanowicz analyzes both the biography and the legally-oriented career of Possidius to illustrate how active Augustine's colleagues were in soliciting imperial support against their religious competitors and to show just how often Augustine's close friends disagreed with him on important matters of law, coercion and diplomacy. It is still widely asserted by scholars that St. Augustine dominated the theological landscape of North Africa, but this engaging study demonstrates how often he was, in fact, singular and isolated in his beliefs. » See presentation on publisher's homepage

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