Augustine on election: the birth of an article of faith
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Date
2012
Authors
De Boer, Erik A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State
Abstract
The doctrine of divine election is part of the heritage of Western Christianity.
Discussions in the reformed tradition point to the older Augustine as the one
who developed the doctrine of double predestination in the controversy with the
semi-Pelagians. The thesis of this study is that the birth of this doctrine can be
found in the writings of the young Augustine in the early years of his episcopacy.
Personal explorations into St. Paul’s letter to the Romans and written questions
from Simplician of Milan prompted him to write on Chapter 9. Augustine’s reading
of Romans 9 is compared with the preceding works of Marius Victorinus and
Ambrosiaster. The account of Augustine’s conversion in his Confessiones document
indicates his involvement in Romans. Especially his Ad Simplicianum documents “a
veritable revolution in his theology” towards a fully developed doctrine of grace. The
concept of God’s foreknowledge of human acts no longer sufficed to understand
the diverse fates of the twins Esau and Jacob.
There is a book titled Augustine the Algerian. The place where he was
born in 354, Thagaste, is now called Souk Ahras and is part of modern
Algeria. The fact that Aurelius Augustine, the famous church father, was
born an Africa and worked in North Africa all his life appeals to me. The
more recent book title, Augustine the African, is less anachronistic but still
somewhat romantic. Augustine never went so far south that he crossed
the Sahara on a camel, let alone rounding the Cape of Good Hope on
a ship. It speaks to the heart of the present author, a Dutchman who is
honoured to be invited to teach patristics in South Africa, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ reached the north of this beautiful and terrible continent
as early as the second century A.D. I hope to share with my students and
colleagues my encounters with Tertullian, Cyprian, Augustine, Arnobius
and Lactantius – to name but the Latin “big five”.
Currently, in the Netherlands, many people take an interest in the
church fathers. The steady stream of new translations of their works
suggests that there is a market. The Center for Patristic Studies (CPO),
a joint venture of the Amsterdam Free University and the Tilburg Catholic
University, draws quite a number of scholars together and is training a new
generation. Where does this renewed focus on the fathers come from?
First, the realisation that the Christian church is a minority in society directs
our attention to the early centuries when Christianity had to find its way in
a non-friendly environment. Second, the fragmentation of the Church into
many denominations, factions and groups fosters a longing for catholicity
when the Christian church could rightfully be called one.
The chair for patristic studies at the University of the Free State in
Bloemfontein has been inspired by a more academic motive: Theology
should be grounded in the knowledge of its source texts. When theology
is true to its vocation, it can help the academic community to react to the
vivid interest in the early Church.
Description
Keywords
Augustine, Predestination, Election
Citation
De Boer, E. A. (2012). Augustine on election: the birth of an article of faith. Acta Theologica, 32(2), 54-73.