The Spirit of Augustine's Early Theology: Contextualizing Augustine's Pneumatology. By CHAD TYLER GERBER.

Abstract

A ugustine’s reflections on the Holy Spirit began soon after the Council of Constantinople had met in 381 to affirm the equality of the Holy Spirit along with the other two persons. At this time not much thought had been given to the Spirit’s distinguishing characteristics and so it is here, Gerber notes, that Augustine made a ‘distinctive, decisive and ultimately divisive’ contribution to Christian thought. In this clearly written and well-argued book, the publication of his doctoral thesis, Gerber traces Augustine’s developing understanding of the Holy Spirit through his early works up to, and including, the last work he wrote as a layman, De vera religione , examining his thinking process and assessing the respective influences of his sources (pro-Nicene theology, Scripture, and Neoplatonism). As a result, we see both Augustine’s originality and his early, if undeveloped, orthodoxy. These early works show us a man finding his way to a fuller understanding of Neoplatonism and Christian doctrine and also to a greater clarity of thought and expression. Gerber recognizes the equivocal nature of much of the material and does not seek to minimize the difficulties of analysis involved: the ambiguity of the referent of particular words ( ratio being the classic case); the extent to which Augustine’s access to Neoplatonic ideas was direct or mediated through pro-Nicene Milanese Christians and, therefore, already interpreted for the pro-Nicene cause.