Revelation 20:12-15: Augustine on the “book of life,” and the conflicting picture of predestination in De civitate dei 20,14-15
The article examines how Augustine’s interpretation of the “book of life” (liber vitae uniuscuiusque) in Rev20:12 and the “book of life” (liber vitae) in Rev20:15 in De civitate dei20,14–15 seems to put him at variance with his own theory of predestination. The contradictions that his two “books of...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2017
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| In: |
Zeitschrift für antikes Christentum
Year: 2017, Volume: 21, Issue: 3, Pages: 472-495 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Augustinus, Aurelius, Saint 354-430, De civitate dei
/ Bible
/ Predestination
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| IxTheo Classification: | HA Bible HC New Testament KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity NBL Doctrine of Predestination |
| Further subjects: | B
Bible. Offenbarung des Johannes 20,12-15
B Judgement prescience Scripture human works language use final destinations |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | The article examines how Augustine’s interpretation of the “book of life” (liber vitae uniuscuiusque) in Rev20:12 and the “book of life” (liber vitae) in Rev20:15 in De civitate dei20,14–15 seems to put him at variance with his own theory of predestination. The contradictions that his two “books of life” create are explored in connection with his use of language, his previous and incompatible interpretations of liber vitae in the course of 27years (so far unaddressed in scholarship), tensions internal to Revelation, conflicts intrinsic to Augustine’s theory of predestination, and other interpretations of liber/libri vitae in the patristic literature. Showing that Augustine could not offer a commentary consistent both with Rev20:12–15 and his own views on judgement and predestination contributes something to the virtually unexplored interplay between Augustine’s theory of predestination, De civitate dei and Revelation. |
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| ISSN: | 1612-961X |
| Contains: | In: Zeitschrift für antikes Christentum
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/zac-2017-0031 |