Augustine: De Civitate Dei The City of God Books XI and XII

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Latin Text ◽  
City Of God ◽  
Holy Trinity ◽  
The World ◽  
Two Cities ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The City ◽  
The Universe

In books I–V of De Civitate Dei, St. Augustine rejects the claim that worship of the pagan gods had brought success in this life, and in books VI–X, the prospect of a happy afterlife. In books XI–XII, Augustine turns from attack to defence, for at this point he initiates his apology for the Christian faith. Books XI and XII document the initial phase of the rise of the two cities, the city of God and the city of this world, beginning with the Creation of the world and the human race. In Book XI, Augustine rejects the theories of Aristotle, Plato and the Epicureans on the creation of the universe and addresses the creation of angels, Satan, the role of the holy Trinity and the importance of numerology in the Genesis account. In Book XII, Augustine is chiefly concerned with refuting standard objections to the Christian tradition, returning to discussion of the Creation, including his calculation, based on the scriptures, that the world was created less than 6,000 years ago. This book is the only edition in English to provide not only a text but also a detailed commentary on one of the most influential documents in the history of western Christianity. It presents Latin text, with facing-page English translation, introduction, notes and commentary.

Introduction

2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Initial Phase ◽  
Human Race ◽  
City Of God ◽  
Holy Trinity ◽  
The World ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The City

This chapter analyses Augustine's Books XI and XII of The City of God, which document the initial phase of the rise of city of God and the city of this world, beginning with the creation of the world and the human race. It examines the claim of the inerracy of scripture, in which God had spoken to the minds of the Old Testament prophets through His Son the Mediator, Jesus Christ. It also talks about Augustine's concern about the historicity of his initial account of the Creation. The chapter turns to the topic of the angels and the city of God that exists in heaven, where the righteous angels dwell with the holy Trinity. It confronts the taxing problem of the revolt of the wicked angels and the foreknowledge of God.

scholarly journals Synet på natur og historie hos Grundtvig og Løgstrup

1994 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-106
Author(s):  
Hans Henningsen
Keyword(s):  
Sense Perception ◽  
Historical View ◽  
Self Recognition ◽  
The World ◽  
Art Forms ◽  
History Of ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Historical Life

The View of Nature and History in Grundtvig and LøgstrupBy Hans HenningsenGrundtvig’s and K.E. Løgstrup’s thoughts move in two different dimensions, but with the same intention of demonstrating that it was not the capacity of man to create culture that first gave significance to the world. But where Grundtvig speaks about history, Løgstrup speaks about »phenomena«, »nature«, and »universe«.While Grundtvig was largely unaffected by Kant, the latter - with his concepts of the selfexistent subject and the idea of the faculty of cognition as productive - became a challenge to Løgstrup. Kant heralds an era whose relationship with the universe is characterized as a »marginal existence«. Our culture became an emancipatory culture which was all to the good, but the era lost its sense of the .pre-cultural. structures in which life is »encased«.The era has also emancipated itself from Grundtvig’s historical view. But a history on the premisses of relativism is no history. Or, in Løgstrup’s words, there is no other history than the history of what is essential in life. Therefore, in reality, Løgstrup’s phenomenological and philosophical endeavours become a defence of history. Grundtvig’s view of nature was determined by his radical prioritization of history. He prefers to view nature as part of the historical life of man, which again determines his use of nature images. In Grundtvig there is no religious interpretation of any experience or perception of nature in spite of the fact that everything in the Creation is to be understood as images of the eternal.In Løgstrup there is no such cautions attitude towards nature. Here nature and sense perception are liberating, but as is the case with Grundtvig, nature is seen as the foundation of man’s life, as immediate experience.Grundtvig’s radical prioritization of history colours his view of art. The Creation itself is the greatest work of art; part of it is the upbringing through which all history must be the object of the individual’s own experience. Among the art forms, poetry ranks highest, with the song above all other forms, while Grundtvig only uses disparaging words about painting and sculpture because these art forms are wordless and preclude changes. Løgstrup, however, attaches much greater importance to sense perception and self-recognition through art.These contrasts may be regarded as what Løgstrup calls uniting opposites; it must be remembered, however, that such disparities cannot be harmonized so as to disappear, but are uniting precisely by virtue of the tension that exists between them. The actual existence of the contrasts does not preclude the possibility that in a wider sense the two views may be contained within the same framework and express a common intention.

scholarly journals Theophany in the Old Testament and its Interpretation in Aramaic Translations (The Concept of the Divine Word in the Targum)

2007 ◽  
pp. 27-37
Author(s):  
Dmytro V. Tsolin
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Epic Poetry ◽  
Material World ◽  
The World ◽  
Genesis 1 ◽  
History Of ◽  
Repeated Use ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Experienced Researcher

Every reader of the Old Testament, both experienced researcher and newcomer, cannot fail to pay attention to one peculiarity in the presentation of the idea of ​​God: it is a harmonious (and, at times, amazing) combination of transcendence and immanence. The History of the Creation of the World (Genesis 1: 1 - 2: 3), which begins the first book of the Strictly Testament - Genesis - is an example of an exquisite prose genre with elements of epic poetry. In it, the Creator of the Universe appears to the Almighty, the Wise, and the All-Powerful, standing above the created world: Only one word of it evokes the material world from nothingness. This is emphasized by the repeated use of the formulas אלהים וימר / wa-yyo'mer 'ělohîm ("And Elohim said ...") and ויהי־כן / wa-yəhî khēn ("And so it became"). This use of two narrative constructs at the beginning and at the end of messages about the creative activities of God clearly emphasizes the idea of ​​reconciling the divine Word and being. God is shown here to be transcendental.

De Civitate Dei Books III and IV

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augustine
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Roman History ◽  
Latin Text ◽  
Roman Religion ◽  
City Of God ◽  
Its Analysis ◽  
Christian Perspective ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City

This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in the history of western Christianity. In these books, Augustine offers a Christian perspective on the growth of Rome, which its pagan apologists attribute to the providential protection of its gods. Book III spotlights both the injustices inflicted and the privations endured by the Romans, thus rebutting such claims. Book IV offers a withering account of the Roman deities, basing its analysis on the researches of Terentius Varro. This section of The City of God is a vital document for students of Roman history, and especially of Roman religion, for it provides the most detailed evidence of Varro's learned works. The volume presents Latin text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.

Augustine: De Civitate Dei The City of God Books VI and VII

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Detailed Account ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
Latin Text ◽  
Roman Religion ◽  
City Of God ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
History Of ◽  
Roman Antiquity ◽  
The City

This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in the history of western Christianity. In these books, written in the aftermath of the sack of Rome in AD 410 by the Goths, Augustine replies to the pagans, who attributed the fall of Rome to the Christian religion and its prohibition of the worship of the pagan gods. Books VI and VII focus on the figure of Terentius Varro, a man revered by Augustine's pagan contemporaries. By exploiting Varro's learned researches on Roman religion, Augustine condemns Roman religious practices and beliefs in order to refute pagan claims that the Roman deities had guaranteed a blessed life in the hereafter for their devotees. These books are therefore not only an invaluable source for the study of early Christianity but also for any student of Classical Rome, who is provided here with a detailed account of one of the most learned figures of Roman antiquity, whose own works have not survived in the same state. The volume presents Latin text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.

Augustine: De Civitate Dei The City of God Books I and XII

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Latin Text ◽  
City Of God ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
History Of ◽  
Fall Of Rome ◽  
The City

This edition of books I and II of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only edition in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in the history of western Christianity. In these books, written in the aftermath of the sack of Rome in AD 410 by the Goths, Augustine replies to the pagans, who attributed the fall of Rome to the Christian religion and its prohibition of the worship of the pagan gods. Latin text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.

Augustine: De Civitate Dei The City of God Book X

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Main Concern ◽  
Latin Text ◽  
City Of God ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
Fall Of Rome ◽  
The City ◽  
Christian Message

This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in the history of western Christianity. In these books, written in the aftermath of the sack of Rome in AD 410 by the Goths, Augustine replies to the pagans, who attributed the fall of Rome to the Christian religion and its prohibition of the worship of the pagan gods. Following on from Book IX, this book discusses the issue of demons and their role in Platonism as being partly identical with the lesser gods. Having previously argued that in order to achieve the blessed life, we must worship one true God alone, Augustine now continues his discussion using the celebrated Neoplatonist Porphyry as his main source. Whilst applauding aspects of Porphyry's views, Augustine's main concern is to deliver his message that the sole path to blessedness after death is acknowledgement of the Incarnation and Christ as Mediator. Increasingly concerned with promoting the Christian message, Augustine cites the Bible frequently in Book X. The edition presents Latin text with facing-page translation, introduction and commentary.

The History of the Two Cities

2020 ◽  
pp. 189-224
Author(s):  
Gerard O'Daly
Keyword(s):  
Human Being ◽  
City Of God ◽  
Tower Of Babel ◽  
Biblical History ◽  
Two Cities ◽  
Cain And Abel ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church ◽  
Of Greece

This chapter analyses Books 15–18, which present the two cities in history, stressing that two types of human being, self-centered or God-centered, may represent allegorically the two cities: Cain and Abel are human prototypes of the two cities. The Jews, a prophetic image of the city of God, are a part of the earthly city. Biblical history is selectively outlined, with concentration on texts that are prophetic (including the tower of Babel, the Flood, Isaac and Jacob narratives). Augustine’s synchronization of biblical and secular history, using Eusebius’ Canons and their continuation by Jerome, is examined. The sequence of empires, Assyrian (confused by Augustine with Babylon) and Roman, is traced, and the oddity of Sicyon as representative of Greece is explained. Jewish prophecies contrived to relate to Christ and the Church are highlighted. The concept of the Church as a ‘mixed body’ of true and false members becomes prominent.

Augustine on the Creation of the World

1953 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Christian
Keyword(s):  
City Of God ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
The World ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Book Of Genesis ◽  
The City

Few passages of Scripture intrigued Augustine as much as the first sentence of the book of Genesis. In the Confessions, in his treatises on Genesis, in the City of God, and elsewhere he dwells on it and recurs to it, as though he felt he could not exhaust its suggestions and implications. His reflections on this sentence are ample evidence of the acuteness, force, and fecundity of his mind.

Creation Ex Nihilo: Something from Nothing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vlatko Vedral
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Ex Nihilo ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Being Religious ◽  
Origin Of The Universe

Every civilization in the history of humanity has had its myth of creation. Humans have a deeply rooted and seemingly insatiable desire to understand not only their own origins but also the origins of other things around them. Most if not all of the myths since the dawn of man involve some kind of higher or supernatural beings which are intimately related to the existence and functioning of all things in the Universe. Modern man still holds a multitude of different views of the ultimate origin of the Universe, though a couple of the most well represented religions, Christianity and Islam, maintain that there was a single creator responsible for all that we see around us. It is a predominant belief in Catholicism, accounting for about one-sixth of humanity, that the Creator achieved full creation of the Universe out of nothing – a belief that goes under the name of creation ex nihilo. (To be fair, not all Catholics believe this, but they ought to if they follow the Pope.) Postulating a supernatural being does not really help explain reality since then we only displace the question of the origins of reality to explaining the existence of the supernatural being. To this no religion offers any real answers. If you think that scientists might have a vastly more insightful understanding of the origin of the Universe compared to that of major religions, then you’d better think again. Admittedly, most scientists are probably atheists (interestingly, more than 95% in the United Kingdom) but this does not necessarily mean that they do not hold some kind of a belief about what the Creation was like and where all this stuff around us comes from. The point is that, under all the postulates and axioms, if you dig far enough, you’ll find that they are as stumped as anyone else. So, from the point of view of explaining why there is a reality and where it ultimately comes from, being religious or not makes absolutely no difference – we all end up with the same tricky question. Every time I read a book on the religious or philosophical outlook of the world I cannot help but recognize many ideas in there as related to some ideas that we have in science.

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