Augustinianum

Volume 59, Issue 2, December 2019

Wendy Elgersma Helleman
Pages 453-474

Predication according to Substance and Relation
The Argument of Augustine’s De Trinitate 6

Well-known Augustinian scholars have complained about unresolved issues and the nature of argumentation of De Trinitate 6. In this book Augustine examines the role of 1 Cor. 1:24, Christum […] dei sapientiam in anti-Arian polemic, and critiques what may be considered quasi-relational predication of divine wisdom. The present essay surveys recent scholarship on book 6, with special attention to the commentary of M. Carreker, affirming the role of logic in this book. It examines Augustine’s understanding of the genitive in the key phrase, sapientia dei, and recognizes that, in spite of his critique, Augustine goes out of his way in affirming the Nicene argument in order to do justice to the longstanding patristic tradition appropriating wisdom for Christ as God’s Son.