Outward Signs: The Powerlessness of External Things in Augustine's Thought
Brand: Oxford University Press
Categories: Books, New, Used & Rental Textbooks, Humanities



Dimensions: 9.3 x 1.1 x 6.4 inches
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195336496
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Print length: 384 pages
Publication date: April 2, 2008
ISBN-13: 978-0195336498
Edition: 1st
subtitle: 1st Edition
author: Visit Amazon's Phillip Cary Page search results Phillip Cary
review: Editorial Reviews Review "Phillip Cary's Inner Grace and Outward Signs together constitute a fascinating account of how Augustine's Platonism shaped his account of grace, of faith, of language, of sacraments ― indeed, of almost everything he ever wrote about. Cary's discussion was full of surprises for me; the Augustine that emerges is much more strange and much more creative than the Augustine I thought I knew. Many readers won't like this new Augustine; Cary's treatment will be controversial. But it is so remarkably original and so thoroughly documented that no Augustine scholar will be able to ignore it." --Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology, Yale University; Senior Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia "Philip Cary's new books, Inner Grace and Outward Signs , are major contributions to scholarship on Augustine. They are also controversial ones, since the upshot of one of his central arguments is that Augustine not only doesn't but can't have any genuine sacramental theology because on his assumptions there can be no intimate and transformative causal connection between material objects and inner states. Cary supports this argument with learning, wit, and intellectual passion. It deserves what it will undoubtedly receive, which is much lively discussion." --Paul J. Griffiths, Duke Divinity School "Augustine's thought has informed the mind of the Christian West for the past sixteen centuries, and occasionally a book is published that marks a watershed in Augustinian scholarship. Cary's book Outward Signs is, I believe, such a book. Like many important books on Augustine, Cary's is both brilliantly enlightening, and bound to rouse fruitful controversy." --Roland Teske, Donald J. Schuenke Professor of Philosophy, Marquette University "These two handsome volumes by Phillip Cary complete a trilogy on Augustine's theology...Altogether the trilogy constitutes an energetic and challenging interpretation of Augustinian theology." -- Journal of Religion About the Author Phillip Cary is Professor of Philosophy at Eastern University in St. Davids, PA, where he is also Scholar-in-Residence at the Templeton Honors College.