Trinitarian theology is a difficult subject. Scriptural references are few and their meaning is not obvious - indeed, they can easily be read as contradictory. In fact, there is no explicit description of the Trinity in the scriptures at all - the orthodox view of the Trinity (three persons in one God) is an inferential conclusion from scripture that took generations to piece together. Having arrived at that conclusion, the next problem was to understand exactly what it meant - a problem difficult enough that many argued that it was simply a mystery the answer to which we might know in the next life but not this.

This famously difficult problem is the subject of Augustine's "The Trinity". In addressing it, he has two motives. His first motive is to combat non-Trinitarian heresy by showing the scriptural support for the concept and by showing that it is not inherently contradictory. His second motive is to attempt to understand the Trinity more deeply, to satisfy the scriptural directive to "seek His face evermore".

"The Trinity" is a long book, the second longest work in the Augustinian corpus, and one that he worked on, intermittently, for sixteen years. He might not have finished it had not the unauthorized publication of the first twelve "books", led him to write the final three in order to avoid having the work available only in an incomplete form.

"The Trinity" begins with a consideration of the Scriptural references to the Trinity, with the aim of reconciling them and explaining them through the supposition of three equal persons in one God. Augustine is at particular pains to maintain the equality of the persons: that the Son is equal to the Father, and the Holy Spirit equal to both. Of particular concern to Augustine are the references to the Son and Holy Spirit being sent, with the implication that the Father who sends must be superior to them. This presentation takes up the first eight books.

From there Augustine aims to develop some deeper understanding of the nature of the Trinity. His approach is to use the fact that the Man was created in the image of God. Given this, Augustine reasons, there should be some image of the Trinity in man. This leads to the consideration of a succession of trinities - the lover, beloved, and love; memory, understanding, and will; the objects of sense, the will to attend to them, and the sense impressions of them; etc. This presentation, which take up the next four books, is interesting, but often perplexing. It is easy for the reader to see that the trinities he names are not analogues of the divine Trinity, and it can be perplexing to attempt to understand how Augustine intends to bring this discussion of the trinities in man together.

It is in the last few books, written after the premature publication of the earlier books, that Augustine works to reverse the centrifugal tendencies of his discussion of the trinities in man and unify them into a whole. The trinities in man are held up not as exact analogues to that in God, but as a ladder, starting with the most carnal and rising towards the most spiritual; we do not find a single Trinity like that of God within ourselves, but we do find a series of them that we can ascend, and in ascending it we approach the divine Trinity and a deeper understanding of God.

There is much discussion in contemporary theology about the Trinity (e.g. Moltmann, LaCugna, Gunton, Pannenberg, Rahner, Barth). In order to appreciate the discussion intelligently, you ought to go back to the source of the Western model of the Trinity. One of Augustine's analogies for the Trinity is the Father the Lover, the Son the Beloved, and the Spirit as the Love. Quite a few theologians are critical of Augustine's emphasis on the unity of the Triune God (e.g. Moltmann, Pannenberg, LaCugna). It is worth reading this work just to put their work in perspective.

This work is more than just an exposition of theology. Augustine has a long discussion of perception (memory, understanding and will), because he needs to give an account for how human seeing can fulfill its supernatural vocation to see God. Some of his discussion anticipates some of the concerns of the Enlightenment. E.g. if the representation I recall in my mind is from my memory, but is also shaped by my will, how do I know I have an accurate representation of reality?

Another reason to get this work is that any attempt to tackle the Trinity ends up by a mini-systematics. In a fairly short space, a close read of the work will pay a mountain of dividends.

In particular, Edmund Hill did an invaluable job editing and translating the work. The introductory notes, the endnotes, and the essays scattered throughout the work are worth the price of the book itself. I have gotten a lot more out of the work because of Hill's commentary (and they are not overly intrusive). Some of Hill's translations are a little bit too colloquial for my taste, but he wanted to write a dynamic translation. If you want a literal translation of this work, you can like in other places.

All in all, this is one of the all-time classics in Christian theology.

This is volume 5 of the series produced during the time the Liturgy of the Hours was being revised. Rotelle compiled six volumes of daily biblical readings, along with selections of writings from the saint of the day or other non-biblical readings from a variety of authors. Great inspirational reading to compliment your daily prayer.

Arianism and Other Heresies

This is a collection of short works by Augustine. The table of contents is as follows:

The Heresies (with Introduction and correspondence between Augustine and Quodvultdeus)

To Orosius in Refutation of the Priscillianists and Origenists (with Introduction and Orosius's "Memorandum to Augustine on the Error of the Priscillianists and Origenists")

Answer to the Arian Sermon (with Introduction and "The Arian Sermon", by an unknown author)

Debate with Maximus (with Introduction)

Answer to Maximus the Arian (with Introduction)

Answer to an Enemy of the Law and the Prophets (with Introduction)

Index of Scripture

Index

The translations, introductions, and notes are by Roland J. Teske. The supplementary material provided by Teske is quite good. He gives every work its own introduction, which he uses primarily to provide the historical context of the work. The extensive notes which Teske provides are used mainly to identify Augustine's references to people, movements and other works. The index, interestingly, locates references by the book and chapter in the structure of the original work rather than the page number in this edition. The only caveat I would have is that I prefer notes at the bottom of each page, rather than collected together at the end of each work, which is how Teske does it.

"The Heresies", the first work in this collection, was written as a reluctant response to repeated requests by a deacon of Carthage, Quodvultdeus. Quodvultdeus wanted a short summary of all the heresies that had existed since the beginning of Christianity. Augustine replied that it had already been done, and that there was no need for him to add another, but finally gave in and wrote it. Augustine's original plan was to prepare the work in two parts - the first listing and describing the heresies and the second defining what a heresy was. Augustine completed the first part, which is heavily derivative (as Augustine had complained that it would be), but Augustine died before writing the second part, which would likely have been the more interesting of the two.

"To Orosius..." is a short work. It was written against two heretical doctrines. The first was the Priscillianist belief that man's soul is part of God, as distinct from the orthodox Christian belief that the man's soul is a creation of God. The second was the Origenist belief that all spiritual beings created by God were equal at first, and then assigned bodies according to their merits, and that all (including the devil) could be redeemed. Against the first, Augustine argued that the soul could not be part of God because the soul was changeable while God was not. Against the second, Augustine argued that such a doctrine had some absurd aspects and was not supported by scripture.

"Answer to the Arian Sermon" was written in refutation to an Arian creed. While this document no longer exists, so much of it is quoted by Augustine that a reconstruction is possible. The central Arian doctrine asserted therein and attacked by Augustine was the Arian concept of the Trinity - not as a single God, but as three different divine beings: The Father, who begot the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who proceeded from the Son. The unity of God, according to the Arian position, was a unity of opinion, not of being. Augustine's rebuttal was primarily scriptural, focusing on the Old Testament assertions that there is only one God, and that the Arian position contradicted that scripture.

"Debate with Maximus" and "Answer To Maximus" are properly taken together. Near the end of his life, Augustine was summoned to debate Maximus, an Arian bishop. The debate degenerated into speeches, in which Arian's were much the longer. The debate was to be followed by an exchange of essays, of which only Augustine's survives (it is not known whether Maximus even wrote his). The documents are not a total success from the reader's point of view. The first problem is that the level of ad hominem on both sides is rather high, and while it might have been an expected rhetorical style, it does not advance the reader's understanding of either position. The second problem is that the format resulted in documents that are somewhat repetitive and not particularly well structured. The content is similar to "Answer to the Arian Sermon".

"Answer to an Enemy..." was written in rebuttal to a document circulating that was an attack on the God of the Old Testament, holding Him to be both evil and an antagonist of Jesus Christ, who was man's saviour from that God. Scripture that held to the contrary was asserted to be Jewish fabrication. Augustine's rebuttal focused on the continuity of the Old Testament and the New, that the alleged differences in God and Jesus were the result of selective citation of scripture, and that the unity of the Old and New Testament could clearly be seen in that the Old foretold the New in prophecy. Much of the "Enemy's" line of argument is still used by enemies of Christianity today, and much of Augustine's counter-arguments retain their value in Christian apologetics.

Maria Boulding's translation of the Confessions has been justly praised for its balance of literary style, non-sexist language, and clarity of expression. She now has turned her efforts to the translation of the Ennarationes in Psalmos, a collection of preached sermons and written commentary on all one-hundred fifty psalms. This first volume includes commentaries on the first thirty-two psalms, with two expositions of six psalms, three of Psalm 32, and four of Psalm 30.

These expositions show Augustine at prayer, albeit public prayer in front of a congregation, and addressing a mixed audience, i.e. one composed of more learned and less learned hearers, a distinction he sometimes make reference to as determining the nature of his discourse on a particular day. And thus they show Augustine to be the great preacher and teacher he is. Some of the expositions show Augustine thinking aloud, as when he considers verse six of the first psalm, "I rested and fell asleep," which he variously interprets. He notes that different translations interpret the original Greek differently, and he offers his own thoughts on possible interpretations.

For one not used to patristic interpretation of scripture, Augustine's commentary can be jarring, since he does not just deal with the text on the level of literal interpretation, but he also includes what have come to be known, since the middle ages, as the analogical and anagogical interpretations, i.e. interpretations of what the psalm means in terms of Christianity and what it says to us about moral behavior, all part of Augustine's sensus plenior.

Some of his well-known themes appear, also, and the commentary offers another light on them. In the exposition of Psalm 5, Augustine treats of lying, commenting on the verse, "You hate all those who work iniquity." He gives a brief summary of the discussion on lying and concealing the truth that are found in more expansive forms in his treatises on that subject. The footnotes often are helpful in noting echoes of other works, although here, strangely, there is no reference to his other discussions of lying. He also offers a reflection on God as father and mother in Exposition 2 of Psalm 26, a discussion that might be surprising to some readers.

Overall, the Expositions of the Psalms offers what amounts to a mini-course in Augustinian theology, since all of his keys themes are treated in an abbreviated manner at some point in the exposition. And Augustine offers his advice to the people on praying the psalms in his fourth exposition of Psalm 30: "If the psalm is praying, pray yourselves; if it is groaning, you groan too; if it is happy, rejoice; if it is crying out in hope, you hope as well; if it expresses fear, be afraid."

Michael Fiedrowicz's introduction offers a good exposition on how to read this work, placing it in historical and literary context, with an especially good explanation of Augustine's method of interpretation. At the back of the book is an index of Scripture citations and a general index.

Three items make this series of books timely. First, interest in the early church fathers is growing within the Protestant Churches (witness the Ancient Christian Commentaries series). Second the common lectionary - Catholics, Episcopaleans, Lutherans and main-stream protestants - provide a broader audience for lectionary resources. Third, writers such as Kathleen Norris (Presbyterian) and Robert Bondi (Southern Baptist) are introducing new audiences to the Liturgy of the Hours - with it's Office of Readings which includes selections from the early church fathers.

In this context, this collections of readings for the Cycle B (Gospel of Mark) Sunday readings should be useful to all Christians. The selections are well chosen and stand well as independent readings; they reflect on some point in the Sunday's Gospel - often in a thought-provoking way. The readings in this volume include selections from: Leo the Great, Basil of Seleucia, Cyril of Alexandria, John Justus Landsberg, Ephrem, Aelred, Origen ... i.e. a cross-section of the available texts.

Three items make this series of books timely. First, interest in the early church fathers is growing within the Protestant Churches (witness the Ancient Christian Commentaries series). Second the common lectionary - Catholics, Episcopaleans, Lutherans and main-stream protestants - provide a broader audience for lectionary resources. Third, writers such as Kathleen Norris (Presbyterian) and Robert Bondi (Southern Baptist) are introducing new audiences to the Liturgy of the Hours - with it's Office of Readings which includes selections from the early church fathers.

In this context, this collections of readings for the Cycle A (Gospel of Matthew) Sunday readings should be useful to all Christians. The selections are well chosen and stand well as independent readings; they reflect on some point in the Sunday's Gospel - often in a thought-provoking way. The readings in this volume include selections from: Paschasius Radbertus, Augustine, Thomas of Villanova, Bede, John Chrysostom, Guerric of Igny, Gregory Nazianzen ... i.e. a cross-section of the available texts.

Three items make this series of books timely. First, interest in the early church fathers is growing within the Protestant Churches (witness the Ancient Christian Commentaries series). Second the common lectionary - Catholics, Episcopaleans, Lutherans and main-stream protestants - provide a broader audience for lectionary resources. Third, writers such as Kathleen Norris (Presbyterian) and Robert Bondi (Southern Baptist) are introducing new audiences to the Liturgy of the Hours - with it's Office of Readings which includes selections from the early church fathers.

In this context, this collections of readings for the Cycle C(Gospel of Luke) Sunday readings should be useful to all Christians. The selections are well chosen and stand well as independent readings; they reflect on some point in the Sunday's Gospel - often in a thought-provoking way. The readings in this volume include selections from: Gregory Palamas, Nilus of Ancyra, Hilary of Poiters, Cyril of Alexandria, Leo the Great, Denis the Carthusian, Anselm of Canterbury ... i.e. a cross-section of the available texts.

I tend to think of this series as the modern version of the Journey with the Fathers series. The difference is that this series uses texts from a latter era i.e. after the post-Nicean church fathers. Again the selections are on the gospels from the common lectionary - therefore, they should be of interest to a wide variety of readers. The readings are well selected and well edited - they should provoke useful ruminations on the Gospel for all readers. For this volume - Cycle A which corresponds to the Gospel of Matthew - the selections include pieces by: Ronald Knox, Teresa of Jesus, Fulton J. Sheen, Catherine of Genoa, Henri de Lubac, Yves Conger, Thomas of Villanova, Edward E. Armstrong, Julian of Norwich, Lucien Cerfaux ...

I tend to think of this series as the modern version of the Journey with the Fathers series. The difference is that this series uses texts from a latter era i.e. after the post-Nicean church fathers. Again the selections are on the gospels from the common lectionary - therefore, they should be of interest to a wide variety of readers.

The readings are well selected and well edited - they should provoke useful ruminations on the Gospel for all readers. For this volume - Cycle B which corresponds to the Gospel of Mark - the selections include pieces by: Paul VI, Hugo Rahner, Paul Tillich, Catherine of Genoa, Anthony Bloom, Hildegard of Binger, Julian of Norwich ....

I tend to think of this series as the modern version of the Journey with the Fathers series. The difference is that this series uses texts from a latter era i.e. after the post-Nicean church fathers. Again the selections are on the gospels from the common lectionary - therefore, they should be of interest to a wide variety of readers. The readings are well selected and well edited - they should provoke useful ruminations on the Gospel for all readers. For this volume - Cycle C which corresponds to the Gospel of Luke - the selections include pieces by: Martin Luther, Karl Adam, Karl Rahner, Soren Kierkegaard, Anthony Bloom, Juan of Avila, Caterine of Genoa, Elizabeth of the Trinity ...