"Creatio ex nihilo" and the Theology of St. Augustine: The Anti-Manichaean Polemic and Beyond

308 Pages·1999·12.58 MB·English

by  N. Joseph Torchia

Creatio ex nihilo and
the Theology of St. Augustine
The Anti-Manichaean Polemic and Beyond
N. JOSEPH TORCHIA, 0. P.
Creatio ex nihilo
and the Theology
of St. Augustine
American University Studies
Series VII
Theology and Religion
Vol. 205
PETER lANG
New York • Washington, D.C./Baltimore • Boston
Bern • Frankfurt am Main • Berlin • Vienna • Paris
N. Joseph Torchia, 0. P.
Creatio ex nihilo and the
Theology of St. Augustine
The Anti-Manichaean
Polemic and Beyond
PETER LANG
New York • Washington, D.C./Baltimore • Boston
Bern • Frankfurt am Main • Berlin • Vienna • Paris
ISBN978-1-4539-1077-1(eBook)
Dedicated To My Parents,
per quorum carnem introduxisti me in hanc uitam.
(Confessiones IX, 13, 37)
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Contents
Preface ix
Initial Observations/The Christian Doctrine of Crea tio
ex nihilo: Some General Presuppositions/The Signifi
cance of Creatio ex nihilo for Augustine/Methodology/
The Relation Between Augustine's Life and Thought/
Augustine and Neoplatonism/A Word on Texts/
Acknowledgements/Notes
Introduction The Scriptural, Patristic, and
Philosophical Background of St. Augustine's
Doctrine of Creatio ex nihilo 1
Creatio ex nihilo in Scripture/Patristic Theories of
Creation: The First to the Fourth Centuries/The Philo
sophical Background/The Debate Concerning Plato's
Timaeus/Later Platonism and Early Patristic Theories of
Creation/Possible Influences on Augustine: A Tentative
Hypothesis/Concluding Remarks/Notes
Chapter 1 The Manichaean Cosmogony:
A Point of Reference 65
The Religion of Mani/Methodology/The Manichaean
Cosmogony/Assessment: The Three 'Moments'/The
Manichaeans' Understanding of Creation: Salient
Themes/Concluding Observations: Augustine's
Knowledge of Manichaeism/Notes
Chapter 2 Saint Augustine's Exegesis of Genesis 97
The Act of Creation/The Ontological Status of Amor-
phous Matter/The Ontological Status of the Nihil!
Creatio ex nihilo Defined/Conclusion/Notes
Contents
VIII
Chapter 3 Augustine's Refutation of the
Manichaean Cosmogony 135
Opposition to Manichaean Claims of Authority/The
Primordial Conflict/The Two Bordering Regions/Creatio
de nihilo Affirmed/The Five Natures of the Region of
Darkness/The Goodness of the Whole/Evil as a Corrup-
tion of the Good/Salient Features of Augustine's Refuta-
tion of the Manichaean Cosmogony/Conclusion/Notes
Chapter 4 Augustine's Theodicy 165
Introductory Remarks/The Divine Nature/Corruption
Redefined/The Order of Creation/Evil Defined/Diverse
Senses of Evil/Creation and the 'Nihi/'/Conclusion/
Notes
Chapter 5 A Defense of Monotheism 193
The Contra Faustum Manichaeum : Salient Features of
Faustus's Critique of Catholic Teaching/Monotheism vs.
Polytheism/Monotheism vs. Dualism/Conclusion/Notes
Chapter 6 Creatio ex nihilo in Augustine's
Anti-Manichaean Polemic: A Brief Recapitulation 217
Introduction/The Exegetical Background of Augustine's
Anti-Manichaean Polemic/Augustine's Response to
Mani's Cosmogony/The Problem of Evil/The One, True
God/Concluding Assessment/Notes
Chapter 1 Broader Theological Implications
of the Doctrine 231
The Divine Nature and the Act of Creation/The Finitude
of Creatures/Human Nature, Free Will, and Sin/The
Necessity of Redemption and Grace/Divine Sovereignty
and Predestination/Conclusion: A Summary of Key
Themes/Notes
Epilogue: Creation, Contingency, and
Augustine's Theology 257
Bibliography 261
Name Index 275
Subject Index 277
Preface
Despite the seeming inexhaustiveness of investigations into the life
and work of St. Augustine of Hippo, his theology of creation remains
a relatively neglected area of his thought. This void in scholarship is
surprising, when one considers the importance which the doctrine of
creatio ex nihilo assumes in Augustine's writings. In a very real sense,
this seminal Christian teaching constitutes a crucial, if not the pivotal,
element in his theological deliberations on a wide variety of topics.
For this reason, it might serve as a useful point of departure for as
sessing the mainlines of Augustine's theology as a whole.
But it is interesting to observe that Augustine's theology "as a whole"
is rarely, if ever, addressed. Why is this the case? A somewhat facile,
yet thoroughly apt response immediately suggests itself: Augustine
himself was a rather non-systematic theologian. This is not to say that
his theology developed in a haphazard or poorly organized fashion.
But in actuality, Augustine's writings reveal a continually evolving in
quiry concerning a wide range of perennially compelling theological
problems. This is borne out, I think, by the fact that no single area of
his theology can be treated in complete isolation from the others.
For the most part, Augustine dealt with theological problems in the
context of the controversies that prompted them. In this respect, the
very nature of his thought dictates the method that should be em
ployed in its investigation and analysis. As Eugene TeSelle has ob
served, the most appropriate method will be "cinematic," that is, one
which enables us to appreciate Augustine's theologizing as an ongo
ing endeavor.1 In spite of this fluidity, the internal unity of Augustine's
theology should not be overlooked. While it was constantly changing
in order to confront new doctrinal challenges, it was very much an
evolving whole that exhibited a marked continuity over his lifetime. 2
In order to appreciate this continuity, we require a recurrent motif