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25 pages, 360 KiB  
Article
Eusebius of Caesarea’s Representations of Christ, Constantine, and Rome: An ‘Eschatology of Replacement’
by Mario Baghos
Religions 2025, 16(6), 744; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16060744 - 9 Jun 2025
Viewed by 918
Abstract
The fourth-century historian Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, lived during the anti-Christian persecutions of the Roman emperor Maximinus Daia and believed fervently that Jesus Christ would imminently return to alleviate the suffering of God’s people. When Constantine the Great became emperor and converted to [...] Read more.
The fourth-century historian Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, lived during the anti-Christian persecutions of the Roman emperor Maximinus Daia and believed fervently that Jesus Christ would imminently return to alleviate the suffering of God’s people. When Constantine the Great became emperor and converted to Christianity, the bishop’s disposition towards the ‘last things’ or end times, known as eschatology, suddenly changed to a belief that God’s kingdom had already been inaugurated in this emperor’s reign. In this way, Eusebius conflated Church and Empire into a single organism governed by the emperor on behalf of Christ. This article demonstrates that this disposition in fact emerged from the bishop’s problematic Christology. Heretofore, the concept of the Logos had been applied to Son of God as creator of the world and who assumed human nature as Jesus. However, Eusebius’ disposition towards the Logos was subordinationist and dissociative, thus paving the way for him to depict the emperor as an agent of, and inhabited by, the Logos in the eschatological working out of earthly affairs from the vantage point of the city of Rome. Eusebius therefore essentially replaced Christ’s eschatological agency in the usurpation of the Church by the eternal city that was ultimately recapitulated within Constantine himself, even after the latter had died. Full article
16 pages, 310 KiB  
Article
A Spiritual Theology of Integral Human Development: To “Grow in Holiness”
by Glenn Joshua Morrison
Religions 2023, 14(10), 1233; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14101233 - 26 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3240
Abstract
The article identifies the nature of integral human development as a Christian imperative and an incarnational life of responsibility for others. To grow in holiness through the truth of the Gospel signifies overcoming the egoism of the self, being generous in responsibility (love [...] Read more.
The article identifies the nature of integral human development as a Christian imperative and an incarnational life of responsibility for others. To grow in holiness through the truth of the Gospel signifies overcoming the egoism of the self, being generous in responsibility (love in truth), and discovering a beatitude of hope to become sons and daughters of God (truth in love). Engaging truth in the light of history, evil, and death, the article proceeds to relate the encounter of the soul with “the depths of God” (1 Cor 2:10) to learn from the Spirit a life aimed for the common good. The path to “the depths of God” is one of hope to encounter the vulnerability of the other and oneself, a journey into boldness, newness, and redemption with Christ towards the face of the forsaken and poor. Integral human development, a pathway of peace and healing “to the far and the near” (Isa 57:19), is otherwise than an evasion of love and responsibility. For in the proclamation and witness that “God is love” (1 Jn 4:16) lies the hope to build the earthly city of God and herald an end to war, indifference, and hatred of others. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Continental Philosophy and Christian Beliefs)
21 pages, 377 KiB  
Article
The Relationship between Augustine’s Anthropological Duality and His Doctrine of the Two Cities
by Anthony Dupont, Bernard Bruning and Kristiaan Venken
Religions 2023, 14(6), 791; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14060791 - 14 Jun 2023
Viewed by 3437
Abstract
Augustine of Hippo’s early works distinguish between the earthly human person, driven by worldly desires, and the reborn person, oriented towards heaven. Later, in his monumental De ciuitate Dei (On the City of God), Augustine expands on this distinction, proposing the [...] Read more.
Augustine of Hippo’s early works distinguish between the earthly human person, driven by worldly desires, and the reborn person, oriented towards heaven. Later, in his monumental De ciuitate Dei (On the City of God), Augustine expands on this distinction, proposing the existence of two cities: the earthly city, characterized by the love of self; and the city of God, characterized by the love of God. This tension between the two loves shapes human understanding of and place in the world. This article explores how the said tension reflects a duality in human nature, tracing the development of the relationship between Augustine’s doctrine of the two cities and his reflections on the dual human nature from his early works to De ciuitate Dei. The article studies whether the duality of human nature mirrors the dichotomy between the ciuitas Dei (city of God) and the ciuitas terrena (earthly city), examining how the conflict between good and evil within individuals and society serves as a model for the conflict between the two cities in Augustine’s doctrine, with a focus on how these concepts are expounded in his earlier writings and articulated in his De ciuitate Dei. It examines how the interaction between these loves manifests in human actions and desires, and shapes our understanding of the good and desirable. Ultimately, this article seeks to address the question of whether the tension between the love of God and the love of self, both in society and in human nature, is capable of harmonious resolution in Augustine’s mindset. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Augustine’s Concept of God and His Trinitarian Thought)
19 pages, 307 KiB  
Article
Pathology, Therapeutic Discipline and Its Limits in Augustine: A Dialogue with Foucauldian Readings
by Eun Young Hwang
Religions 2020, 11(7), 326; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11070326 - 2 Jul 2020
Viewed by 2218
Abstract
Recently, there have been some attempts to reframe the Augustinian view of political realism in terms of the Foucauldian concept of resistance and discipline; attempts which resonate with another Foucauldian, post-colonial understanding of Augustine. This paper addresses both political realist and post-colonial ‘Foucauldian [...] Read more.
Recently, there have been some attempts to reframe the Augustinian view of political realism in terms of the Foucauldian concept of resistance and discipline; attempts which resonate with another Foucauldian, post-colonial understanding of Augustine. This paper addresses both political realist and post-colonial ‘Foucauldian approaches’ to Augustine, examining how Augustine envisages critical resistance and counter-disciplines in the midst of the earthly city’s domination. Redefining political realism as the tragic ambiguity of healing intermixed with disease, it will examine how Augustine allows (and offers) social criticism of the earthly city’s ethos, civic rituals and networks of disciplinary power, not least through the heavenly city’s counter-disciplines, including the sacraments, oration, rebuke, coercion, and civic virtues. It is argued that, as Augustine’s understanding of social criticism and counter-discipline is concerned with spiritual freedom and the effect of grace, it does not collapse into support for disciplinary measures of human control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Provinces of Moral Theology and Religious Ethics)
10 pages, 200 KiB  
Article
The Justice Game: Augustine, Disordered Loves, and the Temptation to Change the World
by Kristen Deede Johnson
Religions 2015, 6(2), 409-418; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel6020409 - 8 Apr 2015
Viewed by 5491
Abstract
Augustine’s thought on justice offers enduring wisdom to today’s undergraduates as they grapple with the difficult questions that arise when they ponder what it means to change the world in the light of the reality of injustice in this world. By juxtaposing Augustine’s [...] Read more.
Augustine’s thought on justice offers enduring wisdom to today’s undergraduates as they grapple with the difficult questions that arise when they ponder what it means to change the world in the light of the reality of injustice in this world. By juxtaposing Augustine’s theological writings on the nature of justice and power within the earthly and heavenly cities with Augustine’s letters that demonstrate his public engagement with injustice, we learn how Augustine thought about justice and how his convictions intersected with his practice. Through exposure to Augustine’s life and thought, students can be encouraged to wrestle with the existence of injustice, their complicity in its existence, their understanding of justice, and what it takes to seek justice today. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Teaching Augustine)
10 pages, 56 KiB  
Article
Augustine’s Introduction to Political Philosophy: Teaching De Libero Arbitrio, Book I
by Daniel E. Burns
Religions 2015, 6(1), 82-91; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel6010082 - 30 Jan 2015
Viewed by 6796
Abstract
Book I of Augustine’s work On Free Choice (De Libero Arbitrio) offers a helpful introduction to some of the most important themes of political philosophy. The paper makes a case for teaching this text in introductory courses on political thought, theology [...] Read more.
Book I of Augustine’s work On Free Choice (De Libero Arbitrio) offers a helpful introduction to some of the most important themes of political philosophy. The paper makes a case for teaching this text in introductory courses on political thought, theology of social life, and similar topics, alongside or even in place of the more usually assigned excerpts from City of God. The text is written as a dialogue in which Augustine seeks to introduce a student of his to reflection on the ways in which our moral outlook is profoundly shaped by our political citizenship. It invites all of us, whether Christian or non-Christian citizens, to enter into the dialogue ourselves as Augustine’s students and so to reflect on the moral significance of our own citizenship. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Teaching Augustine)
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