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Augustine's Theology of Preaching
Scholarship has painted many pictures of Augustinethe philosophical theologian, the refuter of heresy, or contributor to doctrines like Original Sinbut the picture of Augustine as preacher, says Sanlon, has been seriously neglected. When academics marginalize the Sermones ad Populum , the real Augustine is not presented accurately. In this study, Sanlon does more, however, than rehabilitate a neglected view of Augustine. How do the theological convictions that Augustine brought to his preaching challenge, sustain, or shape our work today? By presenting Augustine's thought on preaching to contemporary readers Sanlon contributes a major new piece to the ongoing reconsideration of preaching in the modern day, a consideration that is relevant to all branches of the twenty-first century church.
200 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 7, 2025
A book on my favourite theologian’s theology of my favourite topic = instant 5 stars
May 11, 2022
Sanlon's work on Augustine's view of preaching made for a fascinating read. While Salon spent some time giving the cultural context for Augustine's world and the importance of his sermons to his overall theology, he focuses chiefly on Augustine's two-fold emphasis in his hermeneutic which shaped his homiletic. It is this that was, to me, of particular interest. Sanlon takes a bit of an inductive study of Augustine's sermons to put forth his thesis that what drove his homiletic were the hermeneutical principles of interiority and temporality.
Interiority, on the one hand, was Augustine's way of engaging his hearers's hearts in the text of Scripture. Sanlon notes four distinctive threads that contributed to Augustine's hermeneutical principle of interiority: self-reflection, the Inner Teacher, the heart, and the hierarchy. Pertaining to self-reflection, Augustine exhibited a keen sense of awareness into his own psychological condition. This was undoubtedly present in The Confessions, but Sanlon expresses how it is a hermeneutical principle revealed in his sermons as well. In the idea of self-reflection, Augustine is not just describing some sort of introspection, but understand self-reflection as the soul's first move to engagement with God. God's revelation, according to Augustine, is meant to be internalized as one examines himself and journeys in order to encounter God. The Inner Teacher is structured on a neo-Platonic understanding of communication. Sanlon argues that for Augustine, communication is symbolic. And the only way that symbols can have any real meaning is if their reality already exists within someone. Augustine maintains that this Inner Teacher, who deposits the reality of the things symbolized in words, is Christ. Here we see that Augustine understood humanity's need on God in order to know God. Sanlon says thirdly, Augustine stresses the need to have the heart involved in the preaching of the Word. Augustine's sermons display this great concern as Augustine understood the heart as the center (i.e. cor) of the self and the predominant sphere were love is exercised. But in addition, Augustine perceived the need to understand and relate to the hearts of people. Sanlon observes that this is what added depth to Augustine's preaching and took it beyond superficialities. Fourthly, there is the element of hierarchy. In Platonic fashion, Augustine understood the hierarchy inherent in all beings. Sanlon's specific emphasis here though, is on the emphasis of structure and ordering through the duality of means and ends. Augustine understood God as the only proper end of all things and therefore everything is to be a means to that end. Specifically, the soul is longing for the enjoyment of God in all things.
Regarding temporality, Sanlon argues that there are particularities that draw this out in Augustine's sermons. There is first, Augustine's anti-Manichean understanding of the world and created matter as good. Second is the aspect of time, which Sanlon maintains is important for it is only in time that we can converse with God, allowing time to be the stage on which we relate with God. Thirdly, Augustine understood that life was a journey in which Christians were moving towards heaven. The impetus that allows us to move in this direction is the incarnation where Christ journeys into the world that we might go to him.
These are the two hermeneutical principles that drive Augustine's homiletics. Sanlon then turns to an inductive case studies focusing on riches and money (chp. 5), death and resurrection (chp. 6), and relationships (chp. 7).
In his conclusion, Sanlon gives a fresh overview of what he was accomplishing in his book. Here, Sanlon brings together his insights in the following way. Augustine's ultimate goal of being driven by interiority and temporality was to drive his people deeper into the Scriptures. Sanlon contrasts Augustine's approach with a stereotypical characterization of much modern preaching that seems to see the Christian life as hovering above the text of Scripture. Augustine, he argues, was thoroughly committed to the perspective that the transformation of the Christian is only found as s/he is driven deeper into the text. Augustine's great homiletical endeavor was to drive the truth into the minds and hearts of his hearers such that they participated in the realities signified in the text. Central to Sanlon's thesis is the survey of Augustine's sermons which he states has been largely overlooked. It is in his sermons that once sees the fruition of his theological thought and understands the center of Augustine's ministry to the church, and in this, Augustine ought to be remembered as a preacher.
Overall, I found this book incredibly insightful and helpful. There are many things to commend it—particularly the great emphasis of this early church father on engaging people with the Scriptures and not merely using the Scriptures to engage people in other secondary or tertiary issues. Notwithstanding the many complementary things, there were a couple hurdles to Sanlon's thought. First, his definitions of interiority and temporality seemed unnecessarily cumbersome and difficult to precisely define. Clearly, Augustine's hermeneutic was not a simple—which makes it so provocative. But I was left wondering, has Sanlon invented particular categories? Would Augustine have agreed with Sanlon's hermeneutical principles? Or was Sanlon's endeavor an attempt to systematize what did not need to be systematizing. For example, Sanlon argues when it comes to the Inner Teacher that the only way that the signs of communication make sense is if there is something of the reality/knowledge previously imparted to the soul. But this seems to demand a particular answer: if the reality/knowledge is inherent in the soul, then what purpose is there in the sign? Second, Sanlon acknowledges that Augustine was indebted to neo-Platonic thought. While he said Augustine had no issues in correcting Platonic thought, he also noted that one must acknowledge the influence. But the balance was difficult to discern. If Augustine was driven by neo-Platonism in his understanding of interiority and temporality, and if neo-Platonism is to be rejected, then are Augustine's hermeneutical principles inherently obsolete? My suspicion would be “No.” But then I wonder how useful it is to embed Augustine's thought, however sparsely Sanlon did, in neo-Platonic thought especially as Sanlon is not simply approaching Augustine from a historical perspective but a pedagogical conclusion. Third, while I appreciated the way in which Sanlon tied hermeneutics to homiletics, it was unclear to me if interiority and temporality were really hermeneutical in nature and not just homiletical. I think it is safe to assume that preachers have particular homiletical licenses that are not always afforded in hermeneutical approaches. Was Augustine structuring his hermeneutic by interiority and temporality, or was he making use of these two homiletical points to reach his hearers? While I would hope that interiority and temporality were hermeneutical principles that influenced his homiletics, I am not sure that Sanlon successively proved his case.
Interiority, on the one hand, was Augustine's way of engaging his hearers's hearts in the text of Scripture. Sanlon notes four distinctive threads that contributed to Augustine's hermeneutical principle of interiority: self-reflection, the Inner Teacher, the heart, and the hierarchy. Pertaining to self-reflection, Augustine exhibited a keen sense of awareness into his own psychological condition. This was undoubtedly present in The Confessions, but Sanlon expresses how it is a hermeneutical principle revealed in his sermons as well. In the idea of self-reflection, Augustine is not just describing some sort of introspection, but understand self-reflection as the soul's first move to engagement with God. God's revelation, according to Augustine, is meant to be internalized as one examines himself and journeys in order to encounter God. The Inner Teacher is structured on a neo-Platonic understanding of communication. Sanlon argues that for Augustine, communication is symbolic. And the only way that symbols can have any real meaning is if their reality already exists within someone. Augustine maintains that this Inner Teacher, who deposits the reality of the things symbolized in words, is Christ. Here we see that Augustine understood humanity's need on God in order to know God. Sanlon says thirdly, Augustine stresses the need to have the heart involved in the preaching of the Word. Augustine's sermons display this great concern as Augustine understood the heart as the center (i.e. cor) of the self and the predominant sphere were love is exercised. But in addition, Augustine perceived the need to understand and relate to the hearts of people. Sanlon observes that this is what added depth to Augustine's preaching and took it beyond superficialities. Fourthly, there is the element of hierarchy. In Platonic fashion, Augustine understood the hierarchy inherent in all beings. Sanlon's specific emphasis here though, is on the emphasis of structure and ordering through the duality of means and ends. Augustine understood God as the only proper end of all things and therefore everything is to be a means to that end. Specifically, the soul is longing for the enjoyment of God in all things.
Regarding temporality, Sanlon argues that there are particularities that draw this out in Augustine's sermons. There is first, Augustine's anti-Manichean understanding of the world and created matter as good. Second is the aspect of time, which Sanlon maintains is important for it is only in time that we can converse with God, allowing time to be the stage on which we relate with God. Thirdly, Augustine understood that life was a journey in which Christians were moving towards heaven. The impetus that allows us to move in this direction is the incarnation where Christ journeys into the world that we might go to him.
These are the two hermeneutical principles that drive Augustine's homiletics. Sanlon then turns to an inductive case studies focusing on riches and money (chp. 5), death and resurrection (chp. 6), and relationships (chp. 7).
In his conclusion, Sanlon gives a fresh overview of what he was accomplishing in his book. Here, Sanlon brings together his insights in the following way. Augustine's ultimate goal of being driven by interiority and temporality was to drive his people deeper into the Scriptures. Sanlon contrasts Augustine's approach with a stereotypical characterization of much modern preaching that seems to see the Christian life as hovering above the text of Scripture. Augustine, he argues, was thoroughly committed to the perspective that the transformation of the Christian is only found as s/he is driven deeper into the text. Augustine's great homiletical endeavor was to drive the truth into the minds and hearts of his hearers such that they participated in the realities signified in the text. Central to Sanlon's thesis is the survey of Augustine's sermons which he states has been largely overlooked. It is in his sermons that once sees the fruition of his theological thought and understands the center of Augustine's ministry to the church, and in this, Augustine ought to be remembered as a preacher.
Overall, I found this book incredibly insightful and helpful. There are many things to commend it—particularly the great emphasis of this early church father on engaging people with the Scriptures and not merely using the Scriptures to engage people in other secondary or tertiary issues. Notwithstanding the many complementary things, there were a couple hurdles to Sanlon's thought. First, his definitions of interiority and temporality seemed unnecessarily cumbersome and difficult to precisely define. Clearly, Augustine's hermeneutic was not a simple—which makes it so provocative. But I was left wondering, has Sanlon invented particular categories? Would Augustine have agreed with Sanlon's hermeneutical principles? Or was Sanlon's endeavor an attempt to systematize what did not need to be systematizing. For example, Sanlon argues when it comes to the Inner Teacher that the only way that the signs of communication make sense is if there is something of the reality/knowledge previously imparted to the soul. But this seems to demand a particular answer: if the reality/knowledge is inherent in the soul, then what purpose is there in the sign? Second, Sanlon acknowledges that Augustine was indebted to neo-Platonic thought. While he said Augustine had no issues in correcting Platonic thought, he also noted that one must acknowledge the influence. But the balance was difficult to discern. If Augustine was driven by neo-Platonism in his understanding of interiority and temporality, and if neo-Platonism is to be rejected, then are Augustine's hermeneutical principles inherently obsolete? My suspicion would be “No.” But then I wonder how useful it is to embed Augustine's thought, however sparsely Sanlon did, in neo-Platonic thought especially as Sanlon is not simply approaching Augustine from a historical perspective but a pedagogical conclusion. Third, while I appreciated the way in which Sanlon tied hermeneutics to homiletics, it was unclear to me if interiority and temporality were really hermeneutical in nature and not just homiletical. I think it is safe to assume that preachers have particular homiletical licenses that are not always afforded in hermeneutical approaches. Was Augustine structuring his hermeneutic by interiority and temporality, or was he making use of these two homiletical points to reach his hearers? While I would hope that interiority and temporality were hermeneutical principles that influenced his homiletics, I am not sure that Sanlon successively proved his case.
January 31, 2019
This is no page turner, but it is worth a pastor's time. If nothing else, Augustine's commitment to Scripture is an encouraging example. I was spurred on to dive deeper into the Bible because of reading this book.
Sanlon's methodical style exposes the reader to Augustine's sermons in a way that makes you feel like you're hearing them yourself (as one of the blurbs on the back says), but with the benefit of the director's commentary. Sanlon's thesis is that the concepts of "interiority" and "temporality" provide the keys to how Augustine preached the Scripture in such a way to engender change and growth in his hearers.
My best crack and explaining what these terms mean is that Augustine's preaching aimed at the heart (interiority), and he preached in such a way as to draw the hearer into the narrative of redemptive history and Jesus' own story (temporality). The first of these fits well with the current emphasis on gospel-centered preaching. The second, I think, is a helpful expansion on how preachers can make use Biblical Theology in their sermons. Augustine's preaching shows us that the fact that the gospel comes as a historically-situated act of God, and that the gospel is at the center of history itself, can be powerful tools in helping Christians internalize the gospel. This insight isn't foreign to preachers who see the significance of union with Christ, but it encouraged me to consider how I can draw listeners into the biblical story and help them to see themselves in light of the gospel.
Sanlon also provides helpful background in the opening chapters, situating Augustine in his historical context, and also offering insight into how Augustine transformed from a pagan orator to a Christian preacher (spoiler: Augustine's immersion in the Scriptures made the difference).
This book is a carefully measured, academic dissertation. You probably won't be quote-tweeting it. But you will be rewarded by spending time with the preaching of one Christianity's most important theologians.
Sanlon's methodical style exposes the reader to Augustine's sermons in a way that makes you feel like you're hearing them yourself (as one of the blurbs on the back says), but with the benefit of the director's commentary. Sanlon's thesis is that the concepts of "interiority" and "temporality" provide the keys to how Augustine preached the Scripture in such a way to engender change and growth in his hearers.
My best crack and explaining what these terms mean is that Augustine's preaching aimed at the heart (interiority), and he preached in such a way as to draw the hearer into the narrative of redemptive history and Jesus' own story (temporality). The first of these fits well with the current emphasis on gospel-centered preaching. The second, I think, is a helpful expansion on how preachers can make use Biblical Theology in their sermons. Augustine's preaching shows us that the fact that the gospel comes as a historically-situated act of God, and that the gospel is at the center of history itself, can be powerful tools in helping Christians internalize the gospel. This insight isn't foreign to preachers who see the significance of union with Christ, but it encouraged me to consider how I can draw listeners into the biblical story and help them to see themselves in light of the gospel.
Sanlon also provides helpful background in the opening chapters, situating Augustine in his historical context, and also offering insight into how Augustine transformed from a pagan orator to a Christian preacher (spoiler: Augustine's immersion in the Scriptures made the difference).
This book is a carefully measured, academic dissertation. You probably won't be quote-tweeting it. But you will be rewarded by spending time with the preaching of one Christianity's most important theologians.
January 2, 2019
Some excellent and very useful insights, especially (for me) on how Scripture is fitted for preaching by it's very nature
May 27, 2017
Placeat error eveniet odio nam. Nemo omnis atque qui repellat esse. Officiis quasi aspernatur ex ut unde cum.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews