Mayéutica

The article addresses Saint Cyprian’s Work De mortalitate, making, a contextualization of the work, to later discuss each one of the chapters of this books, highlighting the diverse perspective that Saint Cyprian has of death and adversities in contrast with the pagan philosophical view. Subsequently, the article points out the four reasons that cause fear when facing trials or death, such as the imbecilitas animi, the parvitas fidei, the dulcedo saecularis and the error veritatis. The article makes an application of Saint Cyprian’s thoughts on adversity and death to the current context of Covid-19.

The article discusses Augustine’s teaching on suicide, especially in the way he exposed it when a Christian facing despair is tempted to take his own life. In the first part, the article examines some basic aspects of Augustine’s teaching on suicide in some of his works outside the letter 244. In a second part, the article presents an analytic reading Augustine’s Letter 244 to Chrisimus. The article also discusses some important remarks to show the relevance of Augustine’s recommendations nowadays.

The article provides a detailed exposition of the essential points of Platonic cosmology collected in the Timaeus, to later see its continuity or discontinuity in other cosmologies such as the one exposed within Cicero’s Somnium Scipionis. Special importance has Philo of Alexandria’s thought and particularly the doctrine of Plotinus, from which the main ideas are exposed. Presenting their relationship with Christian thought.

This article attempts to explore the Christological hermeneutics of Augustine in Benedict XVI’s method of reading Christ. The study is divided into three parts. The first part explores the Christological issues and methods since Vatican II. The proliferation of the Christological hermeneutics ignited the Church (Dei Verbum and Pontifical Biblical Commission) to set some guidelines and controls in order to pave the way to a better quest for the real Jesus. Within this context, Benedict XVI proposed a Christological hermeneutics which present a convincing figure of the real Jesus of Nazareth. The second part of the article deals with the commonalities and distinction of the hermeneutics of Augustine and of Benedict XVI. It highlights the similarities of the theological context of both theologians. Likewise, it presents the continuity of the thought of Augustine and Benedict XVI. The last part explains the Christological Hermeneutics of Augustine in the mind of Benedict XVI. It investigates and defines the Augustinian method of knowing Christ within the framework of Benedict XVI’s personal quest for Christ.

The article makes a brief exposition of the context of the first persecutions against the Christians, particularly highlighting the persecution of Diocletian, to later analyze the effects of the Constantinian peace. The importance that within the context of the Constantinian peace acquired the cult of martyrs, like the first Christian heroes, is exposed. Later the importance of the literature about martyrs of the first centuries is revealed. In a second part of the article, the sermons that Saint Augustine dedicated to Saint Vincent are studied, namely, sermons 4; 274-277 / A; 359 / B. A detailed study is made of each one of them, both at the rhetorical level and mainly in terms of content, to highlight the ideas and Augustine’s theology. The role that the sermons of Saint Augustine played in the transmission of the Passio Vincentii is particularly stressed.

The article discusses St. Augustine’s idea about holiness, and how this idea develops itself through the years. The article focuses on St. Augutine’s Works written before the Confessions, namely mor., an. quant., Gen. adu. Man., uera rel., s. dom. m., c. Adim., exp.prop. Rom., doctr. chr. The article discusses that there is no discontinuity between the Works written before the Confessions and the Works written after.