Augustine and Social Justice
Exploring ancient wisdom for modern social justice challenges
Kim Paffenroth editor John Doody editor Teresa Delgado editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Lexington Books
Published:14th Nov '16
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£119.00(9781498509176)
This collection of essays explores how Augustine's writings can inform modern discussions on social justice, addressing issues like slavery, war, and poverty in today's world.
This volume delves into some of the most pressing social justice issues as reflected in the works of Augustine of Hippo. From human trafficking to the complexities of the global economy and the ongoing nature of warfare, the essays within Augustine and Social Justice aim to enrich the discourse surrounding social justice through the lens of Augustine's extensive writings. The contributors engage with themes found in Augustine's texts, such as his Confessions and City of God, to explore how his insights can be applied to contemporary societal challenges.
The book seeks to bridge the ancient wisdom of Augustine, a bishop from the early Christian Church, with modern theological and ethical considerations. Each essay thoughtfully examines how Augustine addressed issues like slavery, violence, and poverty in his time, and how these concerns resonate with today’s struggles for justice and equity. By reflecting on Augustine’s perspectives, the contributors provide a framework for understanding how his teachings can inform our approach to building a more just society in the twenty-first century.
In doing so, Augustine and Social Justice not only honors the historical significance of Augustine but also emphasizes the relevance of his thoughts in our current context. The contributors have made a concerted effort to analyze Augustine's work within his historical framework while simultaneously offering fresh insights that stimulate ongoing discussions about social justice in contemporary life.
The temptation in much conventional theological talk about Augustine is to reduce him to a limited set of clichés concerning the several heresies he critiqued: Manichaeism, Donatism, and Pelagianism. This fine collection of essays of course does not avoid all theoretical issues and abstract questions, but it primarily shows the way in which this practicing church theologian had a continuing concern for the administration of “the city of man.” These scholars trace the ways in which his commitment, from classical categories, to order led him to think about justice as giving ‘to each what belongs to him.’ This book will be a significant contribution to current thinking about justice and the theological underpinnings that are required for faithfulness about the political economy. This discipline of first order thinking is indispensable in the face of crusading fads. -- Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
Sixteen hundred years later, Saint Augustine is as popular as ever. A plethora of scholarship on the Bishop of Hippo's political theology and theological ethics is now available, even with different schools of Augustinian thinking circulating. Just when one might believe that Augustine's work and legacy have been exhaustively mined, along comes Augustine and Social Justice, a lode containing rich veins of original contributions by established and emerging scholars. With topics ranging from just war to restorative justice, and from consumerism to family ethics, this volume is a must-read for anyone interested in Augustine for today. -- Tobias Winright, Hubert Mäder Chair of Health Care Ethics, Saint Louis University
How I would have loved a volume like Augustine and Social Justice to help me explore the implications of such reflections on justice. Despite the many works written on Augustine, including those that address Augustine’s understanding of justice, very few helped me probe what Augustine’s thought means for how we conceptualize and seek social justice. This volume does just that. The essays in this volume represent an impressive diversity of perspectives and cover a remarkable array of topics. * Reading Religion *
ISBN: 9781498509190
Dimensions: 230mm x 151mm x 24mm
Weight: 513g
344 pages