Synopsis
In this volume, André Barbera considers the question of faith, how an individual may act faithfully, and what good (if any) faithful action is. Drawing on the letters of the Apostle Paul and the work of philosophical thinkers such as Sřren Kierkegaard, Barbera explores numerous aspects of faithful living: from religion, original sin, and tests of faith, to the power of prayer and even the concept of atheism. In particular, Barbera formulates a postulate drawn from Augustine of Hippo's Confessions: God is not bound by time. The person of faith, however, is enslaved by time. Augustine’s expression “faith seeking understanding” stakes the claim, but the mode of faith and the end of faith are inherently contradictory. The faithful person its in pursuit, choking. Works, the anxiety of faith, ensue. Barbera concludes that the person of faith engages in endless trial, struggle, and contradiction, but in so doing attempts to produce a meaningful life.
About the Authors
André Barbera is a Tutor at St John's College, USA.
Miles Hollingworth is Research Fellow in the History of Ideas at St. John's College, Durham. His writing on Augustine has won awards from the Society of Authors (2009 Elizabeth Longford Grant for Historical Biography) and the Royal Society of Literature (2009 Jerwood Award for Non-Fiction). He is the author of The Pilgrim City: St. Augustine of Hippo and his Innovation in Political Thought (also published by Bloomsbury), which was shortlisted for the Royal Historical Society's Gladstone History Book Prize.
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