Augustine: Philosopher and Saint by Phillip Cary is an overview of Augustine of Hippo’s work is a fun easy listen designed specifically for its audio format.
I
like reading Augustine but I also like listening to summaries such as
this. It gives me a feel for how an author very distant in time fits
into intellectual current both today and through history. It also helps
me see some big picture things that I might not see when I’m looking
closely at texts to understand an author in a very different cultural
setting.
A couple of things struck me in listening to this. Augustine is
inventing the concept of love; the thing the will does is always love;
love is always a seeking to be united with the beloved. So the will is
free, because it can not be compelled by circumstances, it is like
falling love, not one can force it on you from the outside. You can
compel someone, through force, or payment, or social pressure, to decide
to walk down a road or smile and shake hands, or work at solving a math
problem, but the actual desire to be united with something else is
always internal. The other thing is the idea that maybe a biblical
interpretation doesn’t have to be strictly “correct” in order to be
good, it just has to point towards truly loving God. This makes me feel
better my view of Job.
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