Six major treatises presented in this volume include Miscellany of Questions in Response to Simplician I, The Punishment and Forgiveness of Sins and the Baptism of Little Ones, The Spirit and the Letter, Nature and Grace, The Predestination of the Saints, and The Gift of Perseverance.

G. K. Chesterton wrote, "Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead." This book pays homage to major theologians of the Christian tradition that tell the history of theology. Matt Jenson engages in charitable yet critical exposition and dialogue with eleven select thinkers, offering a lucid, synthetic account of their theology with a view to ongoing systematic theological issues. He engages directly with core primary texts and treats individual theologians in greater depth and nuance than most overview textbooks.

Twenty-first century neuroscience has discovered that in some severe cases, addiction may so constrain human freedom that the will is only able to choose to use substances of abuse. At this advanced stage, substance use has become the primary driver of salience, co-opting and subsuming other moral priorities and human rewards. Scholars have investigated Aristotle's concept of akrasia as an ancient mirror of this understanding and there have been some preliminary discussions of Augustine's concept of the divided will as it bears on addiction. No detailed and comprehensive exploration of the work of Augustine has yet been undertaken as it relates to three contemporary models of addiction: the choice, learning, and brain disease models. Augustine's psychological awareness, his mastery of ancient theological and philosophical thinking, and his enormous and enduring influence on both Catholic and Protestant theology, make him an ideal subject for such research. This incisive book argues that Augustine's doctrine of the captive will offers a theological parallel of each of these contemporary models of addiction.

A bold new interpretation of Augustine’s virtue of hope and its place in political life When it comes to politics, Augustine of Hippo is renowned as one of history’s great pessimists, with his sights set firmly on the heavenly city rather than the public square. Many have enlisted him to chasten political hopes, highlighting the realities of evil and encouraging citizens instead to cast their hopes on heaven. A Commonwealth of Hope challenges prevailing interpretations of Augustinian pessimism, offering a new vision of his political thought that can also help today’s citizens sustain hope in the face of despair. Amid rising inequality, injustice, and political division, many citizens wonder what to hope for in politics and whether it is possible to forge common hopes in a deeply polarized society. Michael Lamb takes up this challenge, offering the first in-depth analysis of Augustine’s virtue of hope and its profound implications for political life. He draws on a wide range of Augustine’s writings—including neglected sermons, letters, and treatises—and integrates insights from political theory, religious studies, theology, and philosophy. Lamb shows how diverse citizens, both religious and secular, can unite around common hopes for the commonwealth. Recovering this understudied virtue and situating Augustine within his political, rhetorical, and religious contexts, A Commonwealth of Hope reveals how Augustine’s virtue of hope can help us resist the politics of presumption and despair and confront the challenges of our time.

Reviving the ancient political wisdom of St. Augustine in combination with insights drawn from contemporary political theorist John Rawls, Joseph Rivera grapples with the polarizing nature of religion in the public square. Political theology, as a discipline, tends to argue that communitarianism remains the only viable political option for religious practitioners in a complex, pluralist society. Unsurprisingly, we are increasingly accustomed to think the religious voice is anti-secular and illiberal. On the contrary, Christian theology and political liberalism, Rivera argues, are not incompatible. Political Theology and Pluralism challenges the longstanding antithesis between theology and political liberalism by asking his readers to focus not on difference, but on our common humanity. Outlining real strategies for public dialogue in a liberal state, Rivera offers the opportunity to discover what it means to practice civic friendship in pluralist context.

This book presents an overview of the best of contemporary scholarship on the fourth and fifth century bishop, Augustine of Hippo. His life, his sermons and letters, doctrinal writings and pastoral work, as well as his own faith and spirituality are reviewed in light of new research. This Father of the Church emerges as a dynamic thinker struggling to integrate his Christian faith with the demands of reason, and to discern Christian meaning amidst the political and social controversies that plagued the late Roman world. The circumstances of his life and the dynamism of his faith are more relevant to the contemporary Christian than one might suspect. The early- and mid-twentieth century saw new scholarly interest in and understanding of Augustine. His persistent influence on Christian theology, especially in the West, was evident, mid-century, at the Second Vatican Council; his thought is cited liberally in Council documents. Since the Council there has been an explosion in Augustine studies, marked largely by the shift from doctrinal to historical approaches and methodologies. New appreciations of Augustine s pastoral role have arisen from careful study of his sermons and letters, several of which have been rediscovered in the past several decades. Controversy about Augustine s teachings on original sin, human sexuality, and the relationship of church and state continue. However, contemporary Augustinian scholarship invites a reconsideration of long-standing presumptions about Augustine, among both those who defend him as well as those who revile him.

This carefully crafted ebook: "The Essential Writings of Philip Schaff" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. "History of the Christian Church" is an eight volume account of Christian history written by Philip Schaff. In this great work Schaff covers the history of Christianity from the time of the apostles to the Reformation period. "The Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical Notes" is a three volume set in which Schaff is classifying and explaining many different statements of belief and articles of faith throughout the Christian history. He deals with the history of the creeds, starting with the Ecumenical creeds, and moving to Greek and Roman creeds, then Old Catholic Union creeds, and finally to the Evangelical creeds and Modern Protestant creeds.

The Trauma of Doctrine is a theological investigation into the effects of abuse trauma upon the experience of Christian faith, the psychological mechanics of these effects, their resonances with Christian Scripture, and neglected research-informed strategies for cultivating post-traumatic resilience. Paul Maxwell examines the effect that the Calvinist belief can have upon the traumatized Christian who negatively internalizes its superlative doctrines of divine control and human moral corruption, and charts a way toward meaningful spiritual recovery.

"John Davenant's hypothetical universalism has consistently been misinterpreted and misrepresented as a via media between Arminianism and Reformed theology. This study examines Bishop John Davenant's hypothetical universalism in the context of early modern Reformed orthodoxy. In light of the various misunderstandings of early modern hypothetical universalism, including English hypothetical universalism, as well as the paucity of studies touching on the theology of John Davenant in particular, this dissertation: (1) Gives a detailed exposition of Davenant's doctrine of universal redemption in dialogue with his understanding of closely related doctrines such as God's will, predestination, providence, and covenant theology; and (2) defends the thesis that Davenant's version of hypothetical universalism represents a significant strand of the Augustinian tradition, including the early modern Reformed tradition. In service of these two aims, this dissertation examines the patristic and medieval periods as they provide the background for the Lutheran, Remonstrant, and Reformed reactions to the so-called Lombardian formula ("Christ died sufficiently for all; effectually for the elect"). Moreover, it traces how Davenant and his fellow British delegates at the Synod of Dordt shaped the Canons of Dordt in such a way as to allow for their English hypothetical universalism. A careful exposition of the various theses found in Davenant's De Morte Christi makes up the central core of this dissertation. Finally, this study explores Davenant's covenant theology and doctrine of the divine will"--

Gathers selections from St. Augustine's autobiographical Confessions, sermons on Christian life and the Psalms, and his discussion of the secular and Christian views of happiness.