Augustine and the Trinity

by Lewis Ayres

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) strongly influenced western theology, but he has often been accused of over-emphasizing the unity of God to the detriment of the Trinity. In Augustine and the Trinity, Lewis Ayres offers a new treatment of this important figure, demonstrating how Augustine's writings offer one of the most sophisticated early theologies of the Trinity developed after the Council of Nicaea (325). Building on recent research, Ayres argues that Augustine was influenced by a wide variety of earlier Latin Christian traditions which stressed the irreducibility of Father, Son and Spirit. Augustine combines these traditions with material from non-Christian Neoplatonists in a very personal synthesis. Ayres also argues that Augustine shaped a powerful account of Christian ascent toward understanding of, as well as participation in the divine life, one that begins in faith and models itself on Christ's humility.

Genres: Theology, Church History

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Hernan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ayres’s goal in "Augustine and the Trinity" is to offer a different treatment of Augustine’s Trinitarian theology that 1) seriously considers Augustine’s insistence on both the persons’ irreducibility and the Godhead’s unity and communion by the Father’s eternal act and 2) sees Augustine’s mature thought as the product of a highly idiosyncratic process (p. 319). Ayres succeeds admirably on both accounts. The way Ayres carefully traces Augustine’s sources and supports his conclusions with detailed textual evidence is impressive and informative. By doing so, he paints a more complex but clearer picture of Augustine’s manifold influences and concerns as a faithful theologian of his time. His exposition and analysis of Augustine’s Trinitarian theology are also convincing and illuminating. He rightly emphasises Augustine’s humble approach to this ineffable mystery that is the Trinity, while also highlighting his specific and timeless contribution to this doctrine. Ayres’s writing can be very dense and difficult to read at times, but given the subject, it is to be expected. If I could read it again, I would familiarise myself with the discussed texts prior to reading each chapter to better keep track of what Ayres is referencing.

[Ryan Jankowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ayres does a great job dispelling the myths surrounding Augustine and the psychological model of the trinity.

[Elias Turk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to discover the Holy Trinity with Saint Augustine's Theology

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing the argument in his Nicea and its Legacy, Ayres wants to posit Augustine as a faithful exponent of the “pro-Nicene” tradition. In order to do so, he must rescue Augustine from the charge that Augustine simply framed Trinitarian theology around explicitly neo-Platonic categories. Thus, Ayres argues that Augustine used a number of non-Christian sources ranging from Platonic to neo-Platonism; therefore, a 1:1 parallel between Augustine and Plotinus is unwarranted, or so Ayres argues. Ayres continues with a Latin context for Augustine, and here we are treated to some excellent expositions of Hilary and Ambrose.

Pro-Nicene, but…

I grant Ayres’ argument that Augustine was not a full-orbed neo-Platonist. Further, I can even agree with him that Augustine did not use the idea of “hypostases” in the Plotinian sense (he may well have, but I lack the ability to judge that topic). Notwithstanding, though, Augustine did say he was heavily influenced by Platonists and did admit he framed his doctrine of simplicity around Platonic categories (City of God, books 8 and 11). Elsewhere in the book, Ayres routinely says that Augustine’s models often follow Platonic categories (Ayres: 209, 314, 316). So, do we see Augustine as a neo-Platonist or not? Why not? Ayres has certainly advanced the scholarship on Augustine and neo-Platonism, but he has come nowhere close to overturning the earlier scholarly consensus. Earlier scholars, therefore, are not off-base for seeing Augustine within at least some category of neo-Platonism.

Ayres also wants to argue that Augustine held to a robust view of the irreducibility of the divine persons: in other words, an emphasis on the “three-ness” of the Trinity. A few questions arise, though: if the persons are irreducible, how can they subsist in the essence relatively? It seems the concepts of “relative subsistence” and “irreducibility” are mutually exclusive, especially given the fact that Augustine didn’t even like the term “persons!” Secondly, if the Holy Spirit is the love between Father and Son, or the love of the Father and Son, then one must immediately ask, “Is the Holy Spirit now an attribute of the other persons, or is he an irreducibly divine person?”

The book ends with a thorough discussion of how Augustine used the Trinitarian analogies. This chapter will be of varying interest depending on one's view of Trinitarian analogies. This book is quite fine in many ways. Ayres gives us careful arguments and advances much recent scholarship. I do not think his “pro-Nicene” thesis is as strong as he presents it, nor do I think he successfully disengages Augustine from the neo-Platonic model.