One final post on Brown’s biography. Brown suggests that Augustine’s verdict against Pelagius was connected to his verdict against his own past – that the vehemence of his own struggles with sin and experience of...
Read moreI’ve heard my Dad reference this Martin Luther quote several times, and just saw it again in an article by my brother Eric on I Kings 19. I love the attitude of cheerful optimism amidst...
Read moreOne of the things that also stands out to me from Brown’s biography is the portrait he paints of Augustine the preacher. What stands out to me about Augustine’s preaching is his sensitivity to his...
Read moreAugustine’s approach to Scripture also stood out to me from Brown’s biography. Over the course of his life, Augustine’s attitude towards Scripture changes considerably. When he is a Manichee, the Bible appeared to him as...
Read moreConversions to Christianity often take slow, meandering pathways through pagan thought.
A major part of my Augustine project over the past few months has been Peter Brown’s biography, which is generally viewed as the definitive longer, critical biography of Augustine. It was first published in 1967...
Read moreFor Warfield, The Confessions represents the quintessential Augustine. He defends Augustine from criticisms that The Confessions is too morbid and introspective, arguing that Augustine talks about himself only to direct us to the goodness and grace of...
Read moreIn engaging different interpretations of Augustine’s development, Warfield helpfully argues for the legitimacy of his 386 conversion, and essential continuity in his thought from this point through the remainder of his career (pp. 372-383). The...
Read moreAs part of my Augustine project I am reading some of B.B. Warfield’s essays on Augustine, which are fascinating. Warfield is quite sympathetic to Augustine, seeking to defend him from much revisionist scholarship and show his...
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