This book is, along with Outward Signs (OUP 2008), a sequel to Phillip Cary's Augustine and the Invention of the Inner Self (OUP 2000). In this work, Cary traces the development of Augustine's epochal doctrine of grace, arguing that it does not represent a rejection of Platonism in favor of a more purely Christian point of view DL a turning from Plato to Paul, as it is often portrayed. Instead, Augustine reads Paul and other Biblical texts in light of his
Christian Platonist inwardness, producing a new concept of grace as an essentially inward gift. For Augustine, grace is needed first of all to heal the mind so it may see God, but then also to help the will turn
away from lower goods to love God as its eternal Good. Eventually, over the course of Augustine's career, the scope of the soul's need for grace expands outward to include not only the inner vision of the intellect and the power of love but even the initial gift of faith. At every stage, Augustine insists that divine grace does not compromise or coerce the human will but frees, heals, and helps it, precisely because grace is not an external force but an inner gift of
delight leading to true happiness. As his polemic against the Pelagians develops, however, he does attribute more to grace and less to the power of free will. In the end, it is God's choice which makes the
ultimate difference between the saved and the damned, and we cannot know why he chooses to save one person and not another. From this Augustinian doctrine of divine choice or election stem the characteristic pastoral problems of predestination, especially in Protestantism. A more external, indeed Jewish, doctrine of election would be more Biblical, Cary suggests, and would result in a less anxious experience of grace. Along with its companion work, Outward Signs,
this careful and insightful book breaks new ground in the study of Augustine's theology of grace and sacraments.
This book is, along with Outward Signs (OUP 2008), a sequel to Phillip Cary's Augustine and the Invention of the Inner Self (OUP 2000). In this work, Cary traces the development of Augustine's epochal doctrine of grace, arguing that it does not represent a rejection of Platonism in favor of a more purely Christian point of view DL a turning from Plato to Paul, as it is often portrayed. Instead, Augustine reads Paul and other Biblical texts in light of his
Christian Platonist inwardness, producing a new concept of grace as an essentially inward gift. For Augustine, grace is needed first of all to heal the mind so it may see God, but then also to help the will turn
away from lower goods to love God as its eternal Good. Eventually, over the course of Augustine's career, the scope of the soul's need for grace expands outward to include not only the inner vision of the intellect and the power of love but even the initial gift of faith. At every stage, Augustine insists that divine grace does not compromise or coerce the human will but frees, heals, and helps it, precisely because grace is not an external force but an inner gift of
delight leading to true happiness. As his polemic against the Pelagians develops, however, he does attribute more to grace and less to the power of free will. In the end, it is God's choice which makes the
ultimate difference between the saved and the damned, and we cannot know why he chooses to save one person and not another. From this Augustinian doctrine of divine choice or election stem the characteristic pastoral problems of predestination, especially in Protestantism. A more external, indeed Jewish, doctrine of election would be more Biblical, Cary suggests, and would result in a less anxious experience of grace. Along with its companion work, Outward Signs,
this careful and insightful book breaks new ground in the study of Augustine's theology of grace and sacraments.
INTRODUCTION; CONCLUSION; APPENDIX: PHASES OF AUGUSTINE'S ANTI-PELAGIAN WRITINGS
Phillip Cary is Professor of Philosophy at Eastern University in St. Davids, PA, where he is also Scholar-in-Residence at the Templeton Honors College.
"Phillip Cary's Inner Grace and Outward Signs together constitute a
fascinating account of how Augustine's Platonism shaped his account
of grace, of faith, of language, of sacraments DL indeed, of almost
everything he ever wrote about. Cary's discussion was full of
surprises for me; the Augustine that emerges is much more strange
and much more creative than the Augustine I thought I knew. Many
readers won't like this new Augustine; Cary's
treatment will be controversial. But it is so remarkably original
and so thoroughly documented that no Augustine scholar will be able
to ignore it." --Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor
Emeritus of Philosophical
Theology, Yale University; Senior Fellow, Institute for Advanced
Studies in Culture, University of Virginia
"Philip Cary's new books, Inner Grace and Outward Signs, are major
contributions to scholarship on Augustine. They are also
controversial ones, since the upshot of one of his central
arguments is that Augustine not only doesn't but can't have any
genuine sacramental theology because on his assumptions there can
be no intimate and transformative causal connection between
material objects and inner states. Cary supports this argument
with
learning, wit, and intellectual passion. It deserves what it will
undoubtedly receive, which is much lively discussion." --Paul J.
Griffiths, Duke Divinity School
"Cary's study of the Platonic and Pauline roots of the Augustinian
theology of grace has expertly clarified Augustine's thinking on
grace and has deftly disentangled the rather convoluted movement of
its development. Contrary to many Augustine scholars, Cary rightly
emphasizes the continued influence of Platonism on Augustine's
theology. He offers his readers a thoughtful analysis of where
Augustine's doctrine of election went wrong and suggests ways in
which
various forms of Western and Eastern Christianity have presented
corrections to certain factors in Augustine's theology of grace.
Cary offers us a fresh, fascinating, and challenging reading of
Augustine's later thought." --Roland Teske, Donald J. Schuenke
Professor of Philosophy, Marquette University
"These two handsome volumes by Phillip Cary complete a trilogy on
Augustine's theology...Altogether the trilogy constitutes an
energetic and challenging interpretation of Augustinian theology."
--Journal of Religion
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
