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Document Details : Title: Towards Articulating the Unity of Confessions-Confessio of Divine Incarnation Author(s): DAVID, Barry Journal: Augustiniana Volume: 72 Issue: 1 Date: 2022 Pages: 93-131 DOI: 10.2143/AUG.72.1.3290927 Abstract : This essay makes two closely related claims concerning Augustine’s Confessiones (conf.). These are, first, that conf.’s proximate cause is Confessor Augustine’s notion of confessio, i.e., of praising God for His infinite goodness manifest in Christ so that, by co-operating therewith, one’s union with Him can become immutable and second, in a related vein, that conf.’s exemplar cause is Augustine’s notion of divine Incarnation. This conclusion is arrived at in three complementary stages. To begin with, it is argued that conf.’s formal unity is grounded in Augustine’s doctrine of confessio. Next, it is claimed that Augustine’s teaching on confessio is reasonable. And finally, it is maintained that confessio, looked at doctrinally, notably embodies the Christian doctrine of Incarnation and, through that, the Christian doctrine of Trinity. On this score, moreover, Augustine emphasizes the significance of the order of discovery to the order of being. In any event, since conf.’s proximate cause is confessio, and the latter is guided by the doctrine of divine Incarnation, conf.’s exemplar cause is likewise. |
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