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“Our Hearts Are Restless . . .”

“Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.” (Augustine, Confessions (Book 1)The longing of our hearts for something more, something beyond ourselves is powerful. Intuitively, we know that we need something to complete our broken hearts, . . . . Continue Reading »

Augustinian Justice

Christ and the Just Society in the Thought of Augustine by robert dodaro cambridge university press, 262 pages, $75 In the year 412 Augustine received from the pagan pro-consul of Africa a series of questions about the Incarnation and other Christian teachings. The topics arose out of regular . . . . Continue Reading »

Just War, As It Was and Is

The just war tradition came into being during the Middle Ages as a way of thinking about the right use of force in the context of responsible government of the political community. With deep roots in both ancient Israel and classical Greek and Roman political thought and practice, the origins of a . . . . Continue Reading »

The Population of Hell

Sometimes the complaint is heard that no one preaches about hell any longer. The subject of hell, if not attractive, is at least fascinating, as any reader of Dante’s Inferno or Milton’s Paradise Lost can testify. Equally fascinating, and decidedly more pressing, is the question of how many of . . . . Continue Reading »

Augustine Then and Now

Living in Two Cities:  Augustinian Trajectories in Political Thought.By Eugene TeSelle.University of Scraton Press.  227 pp. $19.95 Augustine is a thinker for all seasons and all times in the portrait that emerges from Eugene TeSelle’s Living in Two Cities. TeSelle is intimately . . . . Continue Reading »

Enigmatic Subtleties

Saint Augustine: Confessions translated by Henry Chadwick Oxford University Press, 311 pages, $24.95 Translating Augustine’s Confessions is much like playing Hamlet: many feel called to the role, but few prove equal to its blistering demands. A professional knowledge of Latin is only a start; one . . . . Continue Reading »

The New “Lapsed”

In the aftermath of the victory over Communist domination of Eastern Europe, previously hidden divisions are surfacing within the churches that played such a crucial role in that struggle. For example, the recent book on religion in the Soviet Union by Michael Bourdeaux of Keston College documents . . . . Continue Reading »

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