The Myth of Pelagianism

by Ali Bonner

Pelagius, the first known British author, is famous for his defence of free will as the Roman Empire disintegrated. A persuasive advocate of two ideas - that human nature was inclined to goodness, and that man had free will - Pelagius was excommunicated in 418 after a campaign to vilify him for inventing a new and dangerous heresy. Setting this accusation of heresy against Pelagius in the context of recent scholarship, The Myth of Pelagianism proves that Pelagius did not teach the ideas attributed to him or propose anything new.

In showing that Pelagius defended what was the mainstream understanding of Christianity, Bonner explores the notion that rather than being the leader of a separatist group, he was one of many propagandists for the ascetic movement that swept through Christianity and generated medieval monasticism.

Ground-breaking in its interdisciplinarity and in its use of manuscript evidence, The Myth of Pelagianism presents a significant revision of our understanding of Pelagius and of the formation of Christian doctrine.

Genres: Theology

362 pages, Hardcover

First published November 13, 2018

Reviews

[Aidan Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Christian who is deep into theology should read this, especially Orthodox Christians.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a groundbreaking work. I don't say that lightly, or as a throw around description. I say that because Bonner has demonstrated that Pelagianism as a school of thought or as some novel movement is a myth and, as such, she argues that it is not historical responsible to continue using the term 'Pelagian' or 'semi-Pelagian' to designate a theological category. The most compelling reason for this, in my mind, is her work which demonstrates that Pelagius's teachings really are in the ascetic parenesis of such authors as Athanasius and Evagrius and the early Jerome so, her reasoning goes, if we are to condemn Pelagius as a heretic, we have to condemn the long line of ascetic teachers whom he follows after as well.

However, as an analogy, Brian Daley's fantastic work, God Visible, shows how many statements of the early church fathers prior to the Nicene settlement (if you will) could be seen as falling into one of the categories of heresy. Now, it could be said that prior to Nicaea, these church fathers simply hadn't fully worked out their Christology and as such we should cut them some slack but if they were to make the same unguarded or careless assertions post-Nicaea, then they would be deemed a heretic. I think the same could apply to the ascetic tendencies of church fathers, of which Pelagius is an heir. With some darkness of understanding, Athanasius endorsed something approximating what is now known as 'Pelagianism' but we would cut him some slack but if any, after these matters were clarified with Augustine, were to advocate for these positions, then they would deemed heretical. The recognition that the church continues to discover theological truth ought not to be considered out of bounds nor ought said development be ignored, effectively allowing heretical teachings to be endorsed as within proper orthodox boundaries.

Despite this aside, Bonner's work is an excellent example of careful and clear historical scholarship.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy and thorough (if slightly dense) look at how Pelagius, the alleged 5th-century heretic, has largely been slandered and misunderstood since his fierce opposition by his contemporary Augustine of Hippo. This work shows how "Pelagianism" as a coherent movement is nothing but a historical myth. Pelagius was writing in the tradition of Western ascetic Christianity and taught nothing that hadn't already been taught and even assumed by others in his own time and well before.

While Chapter 6 does bring in some postmodern constructs regarding the motives of Pelagius' detractors and those who would accuse others of heresy in general (constructs that I think are suspect at best and wholly unwarranted at worst) and the work can be somewhat "overly-thorough" at times, this is still very much worth a read.

[Nelson Banuchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bonner convincingly shows just how the opponents of Pelagius had misrepresented him, painting him as a heretic when his ascetic teachings were consistent with the ruling contemporary views of the Christian faith and more in line with Christian antiquity than even the teachings of his opponents. Bonner says, "The aim of this book is to show that Pelagianism never existed" (p.xvii), that is, that Pelagius teachings were misrepresented and mischaracterized in order for their opponents, mainly Augustine and Jerome, in order to secure against him the charge of heresy and set up their own novel theological views, e.g.,predestination as foreordination.

An excellent read for anyone who view Pelagianism as a teaching in opposition to the Christian faith.

[Max Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Ali Bonner does a great job at debunking an age-old myth that has plagued Christianity for centuries. For many years being called a "Pelagian" by an Augustinian/Calvinistic teacher has been a crushing blow. However, Dr. Bonner dismantles the idea that the monk Pelagius had any unorthodox views that warrants his name being turned into the cuss word that it is today. She shows us that Pelagianism is now what it always has been; it is "the boy who cried heretic" threatening to spread rumors about the views held by Christians that are entirely under the umbrella of orthodoxy. Though this book is very dense and difficult to get through, it is a must read for anyone who has ever heard "Pelagian" used as an insult.

[Derek Kreider · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t adhere to libertarian free will, so significantly differ from Pelagian bents. However, his views as presented in this work were clearly not heretical and should have been an open dialogue.

The book does a great job showing how others, like Jerome and Augustine, had shifting views of political convenience or power grabbing, and conveniently failed to condemn other works or individuals who were more pelagian than Pelagius.

The book discussing propaganda and scapegoating were amazing, and the hypothesis that triumphalism was suppressed as Rome fell in order to help explain theologically how this could be (and save face for Christianity) was brilliant.

A great work regardless of your theological convictions.