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8 - God

from Part II - Main Themes and Topics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2020

By
Paul van Geest
Edited by
Tarmo Toom
Tarmo Toom
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
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Summary

Whether Augustine is eager to increase knowledge of God in his “Confessions,” to refute heterodox ideas – even ideas that he himself once espoused – about God the creator of matter, space, and time, or whether his aim is to heighten a particular awareness of God, he always tries to convince his readers that God is present in creation and in themselves (cf. Books 1–10), and is close to humankind (cf. Books 11–13). But as a person who is incomprehensible to human beings, God is always as much hidden as he is near.

Keywords

“Confessions,” (knowledge of) Godmystagogy(negative, apophatic) theology
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's 'Confessions' , pp. 123 - 137
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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References

Further Reading

Bouton-Touboulic, A.-I. L’ordre caché. La notion de l’ordre chez saint Augustin. Collection des Études Augustiniennes. Série Antiquité 174. Paris: Études Augustiniènnes, 2004.Google Scholar
Brachtendorf, J., Augustins “Confessiones.” Darmstadt: Wissenschaffliche Buchgesellschaft, 2005.Google Scholar
Courcelle, P. Recherches sur les Confessions de Saint Augustin. Paris: Boccard, 1968.Google Scholar
Feldmann, E. “Confessiones.” In Augustinus-Lexikon, ed. Mayer, C.. Basel: Schwabe, 1994, vol. 1, 1134–1193.Google Scholar
Fischer, N. and Mayer, C. (eds.), Die Confessiones des Augustinus von Hippo: Einführung und Interpretationen zu den dreizehn Büchern. Forschungen zur europäischen Geistesgeschichte 1. Freiburg: Herder, 1998.Google Scholar
Kotzé, A. Augustine’s Confessions: Communicative Purpose and Audience. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 71. Leiden: Brill, 2004.Google Scholar
Madec, G. “Deus,” in Augustinus-Lexikon, ed. Mayer, C.. Basel: Schwabe, vol. 2, fasc. 1/2 (1996), 314–322; fasc. 3/4 (1999), 322–366.Google Scholar
O’Donnell, J. J. Confessions: Introduction, Text and Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992, two vols.Google Scholar
Van Geest, P. The Incomprehensibility of God: Augustine as a Negative Theologian. Late Antique History and Religion 4. Leuven: Peeters, 2010.Google Scholar

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  • God
  • Edited by Tarmo Toom, Georgetown University, Washington DC
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's 'Confessions'
  • Online publication: 22 February 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108672405.011
Available formats
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  • God
  • Edited by Tarmo Toom, Georgetown University, Washington DC
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's 'Confessions'
  • Online publication: 22 February 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108672405.011
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • God
  • Edited by Tarmo Toom, Georgetown University, Washington DC
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's 'Confessions'
  • Online publication: 22 February 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108672405.011
Available formats
×