Conclusions

In a concluding chapter the answers to the three subquestions in the Introduction are given. Augustine develops himself as a representative of the anti-Gnostic tradition. In the course of his development, he retains its theodicy, but breaks with its pedagogical understanding of divine grace. Further, Augustine clearly places himself in the classical pedagogical tradition. This becomes evident in the way he speaks about the educating meaning of fortuna and the pedagogy of dialogue. Having become presbyter, classic notions regarding ‘corrective friendship’ keep determining his thinking, but he increasingly Christianizes them. The research also shows that the debate about grace among Augustine scholars can be enriched with the insight that Augustine increasingly emphasizes the unique meaning of the death of Christ for man’s salvation. With regard to the discussion on Augustine’s justification of coercion, the research shows that there is no rupture in Augustine’s thinking, but, rather, an organic development.

Confessions

The fifth chapter asks whether Augustine’s view of the relationship between judgement and grace, as it had developed until 396, returns in his theological autobiography, the Confessions. The conclusion is affirmative. Augustine’s life between the deferral of his baptism and its reception is described as God’s lawsuit with him, which finally leads to his surrender to God as Father. It is further argued that Augustine does not regard his conversion in the garden of Milan as the central moment of his conversion, but rather the moment of his baptism. After his conversion in the garden of Milan, he still had to learn at Cassiciacum—by divine chastisement—that the reign of sin in the Christian life is rather broken through the death of Christ (of which baptism assures the believer) than by the inward, spiritual strenght of the reborn heart.

Reappropriating Paul and Exercising Discipline

The fourth chapter describes Augustine’s intellectual production and practice as presbyter of the Catholic congregation of Hippo Regius. It addresses his rereading of Paul against the Manichees, and describes the development of his thought on sin and free will (in relation to the Origenist tradition), his view of the salvific meaning of the Old Testament law, and his changing interpretation of the cross of Christ. Furthermore, the chapter describes the development of Augustine’s view of divine chastisement in the Christian life. A final series of sections deals with different aspects of fraternal correction and ecclesiastical discipline, and poses the question of how Augustine’s thought on these subjects relates to his later justification of coercion against the Donatists.

God’s Pedagogy of the Embodied Soul

This chapter deals with Augustine’s thinking on the soteriological meaning of God’s judgement during his stay in Rome and Thagaste. In this period, Augustine starts to engage explicitly with the Manichaean view of evil in the world. Against the Manichees, he interprets the evil that we suffer as a corrective punishment of the Creator on the sinful soul. In continuity with the Alexandrian tradition, Augustine still believes that man by his free will is capable of making a good use of this divine incentive to return. The chapter also addresses God’s use of judgement in the history of salvation. It opposes the views of scholars who have argued that the early Augustine sees the history of salvation as a process of moral progress from the Old to the New Testament, which would imply that God ceased using earthly punishments to educate his people in the time of the New Testament. A final section treats Augustine’s experience of ordination. It argues that Augustine understood his ordination as divine chastisement for his own arrogance.

Cassiciacum

The second chapter covers the period of Augustine’s stay on the estate Cassiciacum. It addresses three central themes. First, it describes how Augustine Christianizes the pagan idea of fortune, and its disciplinary function. A second theme covered in this chapter is the pedagogical meaning of the dialogues that Augustine organizes for his students at Cassiciacum. It describes how Augustine uses dialogue to confront them with the spiritual poverty of their own souls. The third central theme is Augustine’s view and experience of divine punishment on the road to the contemplation of God. He discovers that his experiences of being ‘pushed back’ on the road to contemplation should not just be seen as spiritual failures, but also as pedagogical means through which God makes Augustine aware of his dependence on God’s grace.

Introduction

This chapter contextualizes the central question of this book from three perspectives. The first perspective is the anti-Gnostic Alexandrinian tradition, and its discourse on the pedagogical function of divine judgement. The book addresses the question of how Augustine’s developing thought on grace and judgement relates to this tradition. The second context in which the research is situated is the context of philosophical psychagogy. Augustine learned about this psychagogical tradition via Cicero and the Neoplatonists. How does he relate to this tradition when he speaks about the administration of divine and human discipline? A third context is that of Augustine research itself. First, the chapter briefly describes the discussion concerning the development of Augustine’s doctrine of grace. Second, it sketches the conversation on the historical and theological roots of Augustine’s justification of state-sponsored coercion against the Donatists.