Dept of Theology

While On the Trinity can justifiably receive the greater share of scholarly attention as Augustine's statement of his Trinitarian theology, it is a mistake to regard that work either as his only significant treatment of the doctrine of the Trinity or as his last word on the subject. Augustine's reflections on the Trinity are spread across a wide variety of genres, including sermons, letters and scriptural commentaries. Moreover , these reflections are often written with very specific purposes and audiences in mind. Perhaps most importantly, Augustine learned from his experiences and his engagements with others. Finally, it probably needs to be said that Augustine's Trinitarian theology was not a static thing that achieved its complete expression in On the Trinity and then froze in his mind, never to develop further—silently awaiting the birth of Thomas Aquinas in order to be nally and truly made perfect. The purpose of this chapter is to examine Augustine's last treatments of the Holy Spirit. In this paper I will examine two of the most important ones: the 99th Tractate on John and the collection of writings produced from Augustine's public debate with Maximinus, a Homoian bishop. These texts are read with a specii c methodological judgment in mind, namely, that the 99th Tractate on John is examined outside the context of the progress of Augustine's argument in On the Trinity. The tractate obviously does not postdate the completion of On the Trinity , and cannot contain the developments in Augustine's thought achieved in that work. I will discuss the tractate as a polemical work arising within a tradition of pro-Nicene polemic on the status of the Holy Spirit. The importance of the works against Maximinus is suf ciently guaranteed by their being literally Augustine's " last words " on Trinitarian theology. He died less than two years later. Enough has been said in the previous chapter by way of context to allow me to move directly to the 99th Tractate on John.

A common thread runs through Gregory of Nyssa's works that treat his moral psychology and asceticism: that human sexuality is the mirror image of mortality. Sexuality (the capacity for sexual desire) and mortality are connected as effects of passion.

The modern "rediscovery" of Gregory of Nyssa -- especially Gregory the "Mystic" -- occurred in the Nineteen-Forties largely due to three books, all written in French, and all in less than ten years: Von Balthasar's book Presence and Thought, Danielou's book on Gregory the mystic, and Lossky's book on the Vision of God. This essay examines these three works, their relationship to one another, and posits a common intention that reveals a unity among them. Why was Gregory so interesting, even attractive as a theologian, to these three authors?

A foray into what is now called "political theology" but is really more (1) on sin, guilt, and God; (2) the character of contemporary modern theologies (a forensics); and (3) privation and theodicy. Principally from something like an "Augustinian" perspective, with a bit of Gregory of Nyssa thrown in.

An account of the influence of Harold Cherniss and Peter Cavarnos in scholarship on Greek philosophy in Gregory's psychology during the 'sixties, 'seventies, and early 'eighties. How Gregory was perceived, and how that perception shaped the questions in scholarship. The influence of "authorities". A WORK IN PROGRESS

The new uncovering of a "trajectory" in Christology which is continuous from the NT until now: "Virtue Christ".
Quote:
There is one question about Jesus the Christ that has been active and central during the entire history of Christianity: how – in what ways – does Jesus function as the moral exemplar for those who ‘believe in him’?