Augustine

by John M. Rist

The aim of this work is to show how Augustine adapted a deeply Platonic outlook to the new world of Christianity, and how he constructed a vision in which Platonism and Christianity pointed in the same direction. Augustine is skillfully contextualized, while the enduring, if often unpopular, power of his claims on a variety of topics is discussed in a manner that puts a fresh perspective on some of his chief concerns. These include: divine and human love; marriage and sexuality; the lust for power; and God's providence and omnipotence.

Genres: Philosophy, Theology

356 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 1994

About the author

John Michael Rist is a British scholar of ancient philosophy, classics, and early Christian philosophy and theology, known mainly for his contributions to the history of metaphysics and ethics. He is the author of monographs on Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Epicurus, Plotinus, the dating of the Gospels, and Augustine of Hippo. Rist is Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Toronto and part-time Visiting Professor at the Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum in Rome, held the Father Kurt Pritzl, O.P., Chair in Philosophy at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. (from 2011 to 2017), and is a life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University. During his lengthy academic career he has been Regius Professor of Classics at the University of Aberdeen (1980-1983), Professor of Classics and Philosophy at the University of Toronto (1983–1996), and the Lady Davis Visiting Professor in Philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1995).
His work focuses in the fields of ancient philosophy and historical theology.

Reviews

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[I-kai · Rating 4 out of 5]

helpful introduction and balanced assessment by a well-known scholar