Augustine on Evil [Paperback]

This well-written and highly-acclaimed study on Augustine and the problem of evil.Augustine first became preoccupied with the problem of evil in his boyhood. This evocative study follows his philosophical progress and considers its influence upon the Western world for more than a thousand years.Augustine first became preoccupied with the problem of evil in his boyhood. This evocative study follows his philosophical progress and considers its influence upon the Western world for more than a thousand years.Augustine, perhaps the most important and most widely read Father of the Church, first became preoccupied with the problem of evil in his boyhood, and this preoccupation continued throughout his life. Augustine's ideas about evil were to mark out the boundaries of the problem for those who came after him; his influence was greater and more widespread than any other early Christian thinker and is still of importance both with those who agree with him and with those who do not. Augustine's personality, so loveably and intricately revealed in his Confessions, has always made him a figure of intense interest.Preface; 1. The experience of evil; 2. The problem presents itself; 3. Evil in the mind; 4. Evil in the universe; 5. The antidote to evil; 6. Becoming and being good; 7. The divine imperative; Notes; Bibliography; Index. A brilliant, stimulating, and engagingly written volume which loses nothing of its scholarly interest by its general appeal. Methodist Missionary Society Dr. Evans' book can be recommended to anyone seeking a way into the Augustinian world in general; and its epilogue, relating Augustine to the whole involved story of mediaeval and Reformation debates about evil, grace, and liberty, will be very valuable to the student of doctrinal history...[it] fills a notable gap in the literature. Religious Studies