Abstract
It is a fascinating fact that interest in Augustine’s theology has never waned and that Protestant as well as Catholic theologians have time and again involved themselves in a study of Augustine’s views. The question is: why? In this article the author attempts to formulate an answer to this intriguing question, writing from an African and a Reformed perspective. He considers five possible answers and specifically highlights Augustine’s emphasis on the kingdom of God as an overriding concept in theology. The author argues that it is precisely this message of the kingdom of God, and not messages of secular utopias, that white and black Christians in South Africa need to hear today – more than anything else.
Highlights
I have been engaged in a study of Augustine for at least the past twenty years and has begun to think that I was the only theologian in South Africa who has taken an interest in Augustine, because, when one investigates contemporary Afrikaans2 theological journals as well as the Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, to mention only these, one hardly finds an article on Augustine
I was quite amazed to receive an invitation to deliver a paper on Augustine at the St Augustine College of South Africa in Johannesburg – an event that made me aware of their publication the St Augustine Papers
I have already written a few articles on Augustine – on his views on truth and lies, uti and frui, state and church (Van Wyk, 2001:70-152), Donatism (Van Wyk, 2002c:26-32), as well as on marriage and sexuality (Van Wyk, 2002a:327-348) and Scripture (Van Wyk, 2002b:594-601) – and I am planning to write a book on the ethics of Augustine
Summary
I have been engaged in a study of Augustine for at least the past twenty years and has begun to think that I was the only theologian in South Africa who has taken an interest in Augustine, because, when one investigates contemporary Afrikaans theological journals as well as the Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, to mention only these, one hardly finds an article on Augustine. I have already written a few articles on Augustine – on his views on truth and lies, uti and frui, state and church (Van Wyk, 2001:70-152), Donatism (Van Wyk, 2002c:26-32), as well as on marriage and sexuality (Van Wyk, 2002a:327-348) and Scripture (Van Wyk, 2002b:594-601) – and I am planning to write a book on the ethics of Augustine. At this point I have a multitude of notes on the subject, waiting to be systematised. In the monastry of Isidor of Seville [560-636], one would discover the following words:
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