Abstract
In 419 or 420 some Carthaginian Christians came upon an anonymous volume that was being read aloud in a square near the harbor and attracting an interested crowd of people. These concerned Christians sent the volume to Augustine and begged him to write a refutation of the work without delay. Hence, the bishop of Hippo wrote the two books of his Answer to an Enemy of the Law and the Prophets — one of Augustine's less well known works which has not yet been published in an English translation, but a work, I believe, well worth more attention. This paper will first sum up the scholarly opinion with regard to the identity of the heresy which the work represents. Then it will turn to a series of questions concerning the beginning in which God created heaven and earth. Finally, it will briefly sum up what Augustine says in this work on the topic of human goodness.
Recommended Citation
Teske, Roland J.
(1994)
"Problems with “The Beginning” in Augustine’s Sixth Commentary on Genesis,"
University of Dayton Review: Vol. 22:
No.
3, Article 9.
Available at:
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/udr/vol22/iss3/9
Comments
Issue contains the subject matter of the 1994 Philosophy Colloquium, which had the theme "Augustine on Human Goodness: Metaphysics, Ethics and Politics." It was held April 7-9, 1994.