The Golden Thread of Charity: Love and the Formation of Character in Origen and Augustine

Several recent educators have proposed a reconsideration of the importance of love in higher education. Drawing on resources from early Christian catechesis, this article explores ways in which educators might reflect on the role of love in the acquisition of virtue. In conversation with Origen and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Fogleman, Alex (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage Publishing 2020
In: Journal of spiritual formation & soul care
Year: 2020, Volume: 13, Issue: 2, Pages: 246-261
Further subjects:B Augustine
B Character
B Education
B Love
B Virtue
B Origen
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Several recent educators have proposed a reconsideration of the importance of love in higher education. Drawing on resources from early Christian catechesis, this article explores ways in which educators might reflect on the role of love in the acquisition of virtue. In conversation with Origen and Augustine, I argue that an account of love rooted in a theology of the Incarnation is fundamental to the initial processes of forming character, even while—and indeed especially while—remaining largely inconspicuous in the process. Love is everywhere present in teaching virtue to new Christians, though in much more complex and interesting ways than a simple explication of love as a topic of study among others. Though far apart in time and geography, the examples of Origen and Augustine provide a rich tapestry of pedagogical wisdom from which educators might draw today.
ISSN:2328-1030
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of spiritual formation & soul care
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/1939790920943895