The theology of Augustine's Confessions

This study of the Confessions engages with contemporary philosophers and psychologists antagonistic to religion and demonstrates the enduring value of Augustine's journey for those struggling with theistic incredulity and religious narcissism. Paul Rigby draws on current Augustinian scholarship and the works of Paul Ricœur to cross-examine Augustine's testimony. This analysis reveals the sophistication of Augustine's confessional text, which anticipates the analytical mind-set of his critics. Augustine presents a coherent, defensible response to three age-old problems: free will and grace; goodness, innocent suffering, and radical evil; and freedom and predestination. The Theology of Augustine's Confessions moves beyond commentary and allows present-day readers to understand the Confessions as its original readers experienced it, bridging the divide introduced by Kant, Hegel, Freud, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and their descendants. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title page 5 Copyright information 6 Dedication 7 Table of contents 9 Preface 11 Abbreviations, primary sources and translations 15 Introduction 19 1 Confessio 24 The Lyrical Life 24 Confessio Invests a Moment in History with an Absolute Character 33 Testimony as an Internal Act 38 The Trial of Testimony 41 Testimony and the “Rectified Heart” 46 False Consciousness 49 2 Fatherhood: From Neurotic Phantasm to Compassionate Symbol 52 Patricius and Augustine in an Economy of Desire 55 Augustine’s History of the Education of Desire 60 Augustine and Divine Fatherhood 65 Conclusion 72 3 Narcissism and Narrative’s Vital Lie 74 Narcissistic Readings of the Confessions: A Literary Analysis 77 Fragmentation Anxiety in Books 1–9 of the Confessions 77 Narcissistic Fusion with God 81 The Reader as Self-Object 82 Coerced Ordination and Narcissism: The Historical Evidence 83 Narrative’s Vital Lie: A Theological Interpretation 87 4 Evil, Suffering, and Dualistic Wisdom 89 A Reflexive Set of Confessional Criteria for Identifying God 91 The Failure of Augustinian Theodicy to Provide a Credible Criteriology for Evil 94 Beyond Ethics 97 Manichean Dualism 99 Platonic Dualism 102 Confessional Christianity 106 5 Original Sin: An Ineluctable Triple Hatred 112 A Narrative Response to Evil and Suffering 114 Ricoeur’s Threefold Critique of Augustine’s Teaching on Original Sin 117 The Voluntary Involuntary and the Power of Evil 120 The Positive Power of Evil is Self-Hatred 127 6 Original Sin and the Human Tragic 133 The Historical and Ontological Status of Original Sin 134 The Inscrutable Origin of Evil 141 Unbaptized Infants and the Figure of Suffering Itself 144 7 “The Platitudes of Ethical Monotheism” 148 Monica’s Trial 149 The Logic of Equivalence and the Law of Punishment 152 A Compassionate Justice Hidden in Mystery 159 Ransom Theory as a Tragic Memorial 162 8 Inscrutable Wisdom 165 Confessional Wisdom 165 Narrative Universals Revisited 167 The Irreplaceable Truths of Tragic Theology 169 “A Scandalous Theology of Predestination to Evil” 173 Theodicy or Tragic Theology 175 Narrative Wisdom 181 Tragic Wisdom 185 9 The Lyrical Voice 195 Love me! 195 Preaching Predestination and Narrative Theory 199 Suffering without Reserve 202 Absolute Freedom for Goodness 207 The Tragic Chorus 209 Predestination, Coercion, and the Donatists 212 10 The Life of a Bishop: Reinventing Plato’s Celestial Clock, Confessions 11–13 218 Time’s Internal Hierarchy 222 Two Levels of Hermeneutics 222 Fourfold Typology of Humanity 224 The Celestial Clock 226 “A Moving Likeness...” 228 Conclusion 229 11 Resurrection and the Restless Heart 231 Friendship and Devotion to Truth 233 “Loving Participation in Ideas” 235 Marriage, Celibacy, and the Status of Women 237 The Impure Heart and Finitude 244 Passion 249 Formless Ontological Feelings and the Analogia Fidei 252 Notes 257 Preface 257 Introduction 258 1 Confessio 258 2 Fatherhood: From Neurotic Phantasm to Compassionate Symbol 265 3 Narcissism and Narrative’s Vital Lie 272 4 Evil, Suffering, and Dualistic Wisdom 276 5 Original Sin: An Ineluctable Triple Hatred 284 6 Original Sin and the Human Tragic 289 7 “The Platitudes of Ethical Monotheism” 294 8 Inscrutable Wisdom 299 9 The Lyrical Voice 304 10 The Life of a Bishop: Reinventing Plato’s Celestial Clock, Confessions 11–13 309 11 Resurrection and the Restless Heart 318 Bibliography of Works Cited 327 Index 339 Engaging with contemporary philosophers and psychologists antagonistic to religion, this study of Augustine's Confessions reveals the sophistication of his response to timeless problems such as free will, predestination, and innocent suffering. Paul Rigby demonstrates the value of Augustine's testimony of conversion for those struggling with theistic incredulity and religious narcissism.