Theology, Ethics, and Doctrine Still Matter

I’ve blocked out roughly twenty years of my life (give or take, and should the Lord keep me here that long) to reading the roughly 40 volume set of Church Fathers. I do not recommend this. I mean, I recommend reading the Church Fathers. For all their failings (and there are many of them–as there are with any generation) they are mostly devout examples of holding fast to the inspiration and authority of Scripture under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. So sure, read the Church Fathers. But I don’t recommend reading the version edited by Alexander Roberts and Philip Schaff that you often see for sale in Christian book catalogs. Instead, I recommend picking up New City Press’s translations of Augustine and enjoying the modern language. In the 19th century they believed that translations should sound old-timey, and that can be a challenge for the modern reader to hammer through.

That said, the new translations are expensive and I’ve already got the older set (occasionally on sale in hardback, cheap on Kindle, and free online), so that’s what I’m going to focus on. Specifically this post will look at Volume 3 of the first series of the Nicene/Post-Nicene Fathers: Augustine’s writings on the Trinity, on doctrine, and on ethical issues.

Overall, this volume is simply excellent. That’s not to say you should start here with Augustine. Your first exposure to his writings and thought should be the Confessions, while your second exposure should be to the City of God. But this volume is a fine third place to start. I’d recommend reading in this order (with a few comments on some of the essays therein):

1. On the Catechising of the Uninstructed. Reviewed here, this short piece really is excellent, simple, and one that lays the groundwork for understanding how Christians were to witness to nonbelievers in the ancient world. (It is of course remarkably similar to the way we’re supposed to do so now.)
2. The Enchiridion.
3. Against Lying. This is Augustine’s set of practical arguments against lying, and why Christians ought never do it (even if they’re hiding heretics in the attic from would-be persecutors).
4. On Patience. If you’re as impatient as I am, this one is especially convicting.
5. On Lying. This is Augustine’s set of theological arguments against lying, and why Christians ought never do it (even if they’re hiding heretics in the attic from would-be persecutors).
6. On the Good of Marriage. Marriage is a good thing!
7. On the Profit of Believing. A treatise against the Manichees and in favor of reading the Bible (including the Old Testament) as an organic whole that provides guidance for life and reveals the way to salvation, this essay is especially useful in our increasingly Gnostic era. Augustine argues that this is proved by the central role that faith (or ‘belief’) has in the human life. All of our interactions with each other, our friendships, and indeed our relationship with God are based in some way on faith. This faith (specifically in the Son of God Incarnate, Crucified, and Resurrected) is the foundation of Christianity, and is that which has undergirded the church as it has progressed through the centuries from the Apostolic origins. (Warfield has some excellent writings on Augustine’s thought here.)
8. Concerning Faith of Things Not Seen.
9. On Continence. This is Augustine’s treatise on the virtue most absent in the modern world.
   

   This, therefore, is the business in hand, so long as this our mortal life under grace lasts, that sin, that is the lust of sin… reign not in this our mortal body. But it is then shown to reign, if obedience be yielded to its desires. There is therefore in us lust of sin, which must not be suffered to reign; there are its desires, which we must not obey, lest obeying it reign over us. Wherefore let not lust usurp our members, but let continence claim them for herself; that they be weapons of righteousness unto God, that they be not weapons of unrighteousness unto sin; for thus sin shall not rule over us. For we are not under the Law, which indeed commandeth what is good yet giveth it not: but we are under Grace, which, making us to love that which the Law commands, is able to rule over the free. (8)

10. On the Holy Trinity. This is probably technically the most important work in the volume, yet it’s not the place to dive into Augustine. Densely theological and robustly Scriptural (albeit working with not-so-great translations into the Latin, given that Jerome’s Vulgate wasn’t available yet), Augustine’s articulation and defense of the doctrine of the Trinity is a must-read. It’s just not a must-read-first.
11. Of the Work of Monks. Despite how the title makes it sound, this really isn’t so much about life in the monastery as it is about reconciling the apparent contradiction between considering ‘the lilies of the field‘ and ‘the man who does not work shall not eat.’
12. Of Holy Virginity. Marriage is still a good thing, but it’s not for everyone!
13. On Care to Be Had for the Dead. Is there anything to the silly popular superstitions about being buried in an extra holy place? For the most part no, but occasionally yes. Also, there’s not much to dreams and visions, except on the rare occasions when there is. In any case dreams and visions ought to be very closely investigated, rather than simply believed outright.
14. A Treatise on Faith and the Creed.
15. On the Good of Widowhood. I would prefer that my wife not read this one.
16. On the Creed.

It goes without saying that this isn’t an ordering of quality (they’ve all got their strengths and weaknesses), just an ordering according to what I think are easier places to begin (closer to one); harder essays (closer to 15); and ones that I don’t remember as distinct from others (16–I know it’s different from 14, but I sure can’t tell you how off the top of my head).

The weaknesses of this volume are the weaknesses you’d expect to find in Augustine, i.e. an occasional assumption of baptismal regeneration (though his theology by no means depends on it–for more on this see Gerald Bray’s superb book on Augustine); the 19th century translation; and the occasional over-deference to church hierarchy (though see the Warfield book mentioned above for a nuanced interpretation of those passages). The strengths of course more than counterbalance the weaknesses. Augustine is robustly biblical, rigorously theological, and deeply pastoral in his writing. So take up and read!

Dr. Coyle Neal is co-host of the City of Man Podcast and an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO.