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1. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Enrique A. Eguiarte B.

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2. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Pablo Irízar, Enrique A. Eguiarte B.

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3. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Jimmy Chan

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Both the Stoics and Augustine seek to explore under what circumstances are emotions considered ‘good’? There is one distinct question that Augustine attempts to explore in the aspect of emotional wellness: “What is the theological significance of emotions?” This paper not only demonstrates the interwoven relationship between Augustine and Stoicism on emotions, but also argues that Augustine has not been able to disentangled from the Stoic thoughts on emotions, to the extent that it is necessary for him to transform the Stoic ideas of emotions for his theological and rhetorical purposes.

4. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Marianne Djuth

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This essay explores Augustine philosophical conception of miracles in the context of a longstanding debate on the status of miracles expressed primarily in the De Genesi ad Litteram and De Trinitate. Over a half century ago P. D. Vooght remarked that Augustine “had opened up some profound and subtle views on the problem of miracles.” Dissatisfied with De Vooght’s conclusions, John Mourant and Leopold Tanganagba subsequently offered interpretations of their own on Augustine’s conception of miracles. Because Augustine’s conception of miracles is complex, unsystematic, and open to further consideration, it deserves additional scrutiny as no satisfactory answer has yet been found. I begin the essay by briefly examining the significance of Augustine’s definition of a miracle in De utiltate credendi. This definition functions as a starting point for an exploration of the doctrine of seminal reasons and its relation to divine and natural causality. The difficulty of understanding Augustine’s philosophy of miracles against this background calis to mind four possible interpretations of miracles found in De Vooght’s article. These interpretations in turn provide the focal point for providing a new assessment of Augustine’s philosophy of miracles in the final section of the essay.

5. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Matthew Drever

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Augustine’s late writings on grace and predestination raise myriad problems, among them what place the Bishop of Hippo envisions for ethical relations toward others. Where does the second great commandment -love your neighbor- fit into his account of grace? Does it find a constitutive place or is it drowned out by his claims on grace and predestination? This article takes up these enduring questions by examining the trinitarian framework in which Augustine develops his account of the body of Christ. Here we will see that our inclusion in Christ’s body involves not simply an outward reforming of our love toward the other but also a relocating of it within Christ’s body where the discrete separation between the other and myself is bridged and united through the Spirit’s love. Augustine’s model of the totus Christus offers here not only a proleptic eschatological vision of heaven to come, but also places an ethical demand on the historical church. We might say that our genuine humanity, which is being formed through our participation in Christ’s body, entails also a new and redeemed type of existence lived in and through our love of God and neighbor.

6. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Enrique A. Eguiarte B., Mauricio Saavedra

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The text of Eph 4:3, is part of the Augustinian antidonatist dossier. It is a text that St. Augustine discovers and meditates after his episcopal ordination, making his first appearance in the epp. 43 and 44. It is a text that Saint Augustine is going to refer to in some occasions, together with other texts, particularly that of Gal 6:2, this connection is done always in an antidonatist context. Along with the antidonatist elements, St. Augustine presents in his commentary of the text of Eph 4:3 some interesting images of the Church. In this article some of these images are presented, such as the Church as the Ark of Noah, Bathsheba as an image of the Church; the Church as a Woman who is dressed with a Polymitus; the Church as the House of God; the Church as the Moon; the Church as God’s Field, and some other images.

7. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Joseph Grabau

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In this paper, the author first presents the earliest tractates (or ‘homilies’) on the Gospel of John, delivered in 406-407 A.D. by Augustine of Hippo, in their hermeneutical and polemical context, arguing that Augustine adapts his preaching style to reach members of his audience with distinct educational backgrounds, social identity and degree of knowledge and commitment to the Christian faith. Here, the concern is primarily contextual and lightly linguistic, with attention to the rhetorical strategies and overall presentation that Augustine adapts in delivering this distinct form of the late-antique sermon. The second half of the paper, then, seeks to flesh out in greater detail the implications of such a “middle style”, adapted to suit the homilist’s audience, by reconsidering a central tenet of Augustine’s own anti-Donatist agenda, that of the universality of the Church, and likewise of Christ’s sacrifice. By evaluating this series of theological questions, which arise for Augustine in his reading of and preaching about the Gospel of John yet receive substantial Ímpetus from his pastoral commitment to correct Donatist (“other North African”) forms of ecclesiology, and theology of the atonement and redemption, the paper suggests important features of Augustine’s synthetic approach: to the bible, and to bridging catechetical needs with polemical conditions of his ministry and the experience of his congregation and social setting. The essential implications of this study, therefore, are to further augment current understanding of Augustine’s preaching, interpretation of John’s gospel, and ability to synthesize modes of preaching and levels of discourse effectively.

8. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Thomas Humphries

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This paper poses the question “Why did Augustine not use his Trinitarian theology to better effect in the Pelagian controversy?” I demonstrate first that Augustine’s mature Trinitarian theology would be directly relevant to the Pelagian discussions after the year 415. Second, I show a slight progression in Augustine’s treatment of relevant issues from 418 through the end of his life in his anti-Pelagian corpus. I argue that Augustine does not use his Trinitarian theology to his full advantage in the anti-Pelagian corpus. I suggest that Augustine avoided these connections at least in parí because the Trinitarian reflections on “God is love” (I Jn 4) would ultimately push the anti-Pelagian reflections on God’s love for Jacob (Rom 9:13) towards universalism, but Augustine had already rejected universalism.

9. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Pablo Irízar

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The biblically-inspired motif of the divine image (imago dei, cf. Gen. 1.26) is a central anthropological concept in early Christian discourse. While this motif has been studied extensively, it has not yet been studied against the backdrop of the closely related epistemological terms imago, imaginatio and phantasia as these develop in Augustine’s early works (387-391). Given that Puffer (2014) characterizes the presence of imago dei in the early works as an ‘exterior’ characteristic of human beings, the question arises, how does the treatment of imago and imaginario/phantasia inform Augustine’s imago dei motil in the early works, and if so, how? In other words, is the background to Augustine’s anthropology of the divine image framed against the background of the epistemological status of image and imagination in the early works or vice-versa? The answer to this question, it is hoped, will illuminate aspects of the status of the image in Augustine’s early works. The working assumption is that since imago, imago Dei, and imaginario/phantasia are all linguistically related, they may also be conceptually related, specially pertaining to the (mis)trust of ‘exteriority’ of imago Dei.

10. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Eetu Manninen

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This article examines Augustine’s thought conceming the relationship between sensation and knowledge in his early dialogues. A special focus is on Augustine’s concept of cognitio per sensum. First, I determine Augustine’s epistemological starting point by examining his thought as it appears in Contra Académicos (386). Second, I study the relationship between sensation and knowledge in De quantitate animae (387-388) and observe the development in Augustine’s thought concerning sense-perception. Finally, I analyse Augustine’s concept of cognitio per sensum, which occurs in De quantitate animae, and make some important observations about the relationship between sensation and knowledge in Augustine’s early thought. In this regard Augustine’s possible influences are also considered. The conclusion of this article is that although Augustine had adopted a version of Platonic epistemology that is very critical toward sense-perception, his considerations in De quantitate animae, especially regarding cognitio per sensum, point towards a more harmonious relationship between the two than his Platonic epistemology in Contra Academicos would lead us to think.

11. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Makiko Sato, Enrique A. Eguiarte B.

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In the second book of Soliloquia, Augustine queries: what is ‘true’ and what is ‘false’. Through the examination, Augustine (Ratio) expresses the idea that ‘true’ is that which exists. Therefore, whatever exists is true; nothing will be false. But then, what is ‘false’? This paper will first clarify that the examination of ‘false’ in Soliloquia relates to Augustine’s awareness of the problem of sin. Already in Soliloquia, Augustine finds that the soul can have in itself the cause of sin so as to be unable to have the truth. Secondly, the author examines how the epistemology of falsehood is developed in the early Augustine by examining his articles after Soliloquia, focusing on the concept of lying in De Genesi contra Manichaeos and De vera religione. This will show that Augustine's understanding of falsehood and lying is related to his soteriology. Thirdly, the paper focuses on q. 63 of De diversis quaestionibus LXXXIII, in order to clarify what Augustine thinks about the relationship between God and human soul, where Augustine notes the significance of knowing and confessing sin as the means of cooperative salvation already described in his early works.

12. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Marcin Wysocki

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The numerous heresies and schisms that undermined the orthodox doctrine and made divisions in the Christian world were one of the most important challenges facing theologians and pastors of the turn of the 4th and 5th century. In addition to theological treaties that defied heretical views, also the exchanged among priests letters, sent to ordinary people that submitted to spiritual direction and to those involved in the life of the Church, were a very considerable way of fighting against heresies and schisms - less from a doctrinal point of view, but rather from the pastoral one. In this paper the author decided to focus on Augustine’s letters which present a wealthy source of considerations on the topic of heresies, treatment of heretics and schismatics, as well as the chances for reunion. Augustine in his letters, answering the question invoked in the title of this paper, gives also a twofold answer. On the one hand, he demonstrares the greatness of God and His works for the reconciliation and conversión of heretics and schismatics, but on the other hand, Augustine shows the immensity of human sin and human weakness that sometimes effectively obstruct God’s action. It must be remembered, however, that a significant part of Augustine’s letters concerns Pelagian controversy based on the erroneous understanding of grace and human freedom. Thus, in a way of answering this question, Augustine also presents a solution to the Pelagian problem. In human terms the issue of reconciliation and conversión of heretics and schismatics looks hopeless, but thanks to the involvement of God and thanks to His action, there is hope to overcome human hatred and disability.

13. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Pablo Irízar, Enrique A. Eguiarte B.

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14. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Emmanuel Falque, Enrique A. Eguiarte B.

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In this article E. Falque offers an original reading of the Augustinian epithet “I am a weight to myself” (oneri mihi sum, conf. 10.28). The question for Falque is not to determine whether Augustine belongs to the history of metaphysics (as is J.-L. Marión’s interest), but to determine what Augustine’s “weight of life” does to phenomenology in the backlash (‘le choc en retour’), or the after theafter, of metaphysics. Specifically, foliowing M. Heidegger, Falque finds the “weight of life” particularly relevant to frame the post-metaphysical experience of memory and the question of pain. Overall, the infamous Augustinian “restless heart” finquietum, conf. 1.1) ineludes, through the “weight of life”, an unquenchable dynamic which is the divine action in human beings. The “weight of life” is such in the finitude of human existence that there always remains restlessness in rest. Thus, Falque recovers the restlessness of rest through an analysis of the backlash of the “weight of life” in the after the after of metaphysics.

15. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251
Jean-Luc Marion, Enrique A. Eguiarte B.

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The aim of J.-L. Marion’s article is to revisit the important debate on the place of Augustine in the history of metaphysics. Often, quibbles arise upon considering the use of substance (substantia) by Augustine, not only as approximative of essentia and as synonymous with ousia, but in deciding whether in so doing Augustine effectuates a ‘metaphysical turn’. While he elsewhere argues that Augustine is a pre-metaphysical thinker, in this article Marion focuses on showing the diverse range of usages of the term substance in the Augustinian corpus. Marion observes: first, whenever substance seems a fixed definition, the term allows for equivocity; second, God is substance in an indeterminate sense or by negation; third, human beings are substances fundamentally to capture the mutability of human existence. As such, Marion concludes, the Augustinian use of substance is insufficient to inelude Augustine in the history of metaphysics.

16. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251

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17. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251

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18. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 250/251

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19. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 248/249
Enrique Eguiarte

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Although in St. Augustine’s time there was no ecological consciousness like the one we have today and the relationship with the environment was conditioned by other elements, the Augustinian thought about creation is extremely rich, and it helps us to discover different essential elements that can guide the ecological reflection in the present. The article presents some essential lines of the Augustinian ecological thought, such as the Augustinian thought about creation, the Trinity, the importance of Sacred Scripture, the doctrine of uti et frui, the universal destiny of the created things, the order, the Providence of God, the Trinity’s traces in all creatures as is presented in the text of Wis 11, 21, and it also stresses the linking of Protology with Eschatology in Augustine’s ecological thought.

20. Augustinus: Volume > 63 > Issue: 248/249
Kolawole Chabi

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The article discusses, from a study of Sermon 71 and other important texts of St. Augustine, that the human soul is the image and temple of the Trinity. On the other hand, the article focuses on the place that the Bishop of Hippo attri­butes to the Trinity in the life of the Christian as an individual, and within the Ecclesial reality. The article also discusses that the unity of Persons within the Trinity, according to St. Augustine is a model for constructing the unity among the Beleivers as members of the Church. The article shows the relationship that according to St. Augustine, exists between the Christian and each of the Persons of the Trinity.