Preserving the Double Mystery: Augustine's Confessions on Self and God

It is well attested that Augustine's notion of confession has the double sense of praise and acknowledging sin. However, little has thus far been said about precisely how this double sense bears on the understanding of self. This article proposes that the genre of confession sets a particular h...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dahl, Espen 1974- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: [2016]
In: Literature and theology
Year: 2016, Volume: 30, Issue: 1, Pages: 99-111
IxTheo Classification:CB Christian life; spirituality
KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity
NBC Doctrine of God
NBE Anthropology
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Summary:It is well attested that Augustine's notion of confession has the double sense of praise and acknowledging sin. However, little has thus far been said about precisely how this double sense bears on the understanding of self. This article proposes that the genre of confession sets a particular hermeneutic circularity into play which unfolds between self and God. This circularity does not, however, allow Augustine to arrive at any final knowledge with respect to the self and God. But if such non-knowledge can be conceived as one of Confessions central teachings, it is not a negative result, but rather a result that preserves the mysteries at the heart of its concerns.
ISSN:1477-4623
Contains:Enthalten in: Literature and theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1093/litthe/fru063