Primary Authors & Sources
Students read Augustine of Hippo across the major doctrinal and polemical corpora that formed Western theology—the City of God, the Trinity, the Manichaean and Donatist controversies, the Pelagian dispute, and the treatises on teaching and the will. The City of God and Christian Doctrine (NPNF) set the Christian philosophy of history and the rules of biblical interpretation against pagan Rome and rhetorical vanity. On the Holy Trinity, with the doctrinal and moral treatises of the same volume, is Augustine’s sustained architecture of Father, Son, and Spirit and the life that confession requires. The Writings against the Manichaeans and against the Donatists show him defending creation’s goodness and the church’s unity under catholic order. The Anti-Pelagian Writings press grace, original sin, and predestination where the gospel itself was at stake. The Teacher, The Free Choice of the Will, and Grace and Free Will sharpen the philosophical and pastoral questions of knowing, willing, and divine help. Together they serve Reformed ministry that still learns grace from Hippo.
What You Will Study
Students engage Augustine's mature theology on grace, predestination, church, sacraments, and anti-Pelagian polemics alongside his philosophical works engaging Manichaeism, skepticism, and Platonism. Primary readings include selections from City of God, On Christian Doctrine, anti-Pelagian treatises, and Confessions with attention to how Augustine shaped Western Christianity and anticipated Reformation debates centuries later. The course examines Reformed appropriation and critique of Augustinian soteriology, comparing Augustine with later Protestant articulations of grace alone. Students analyze Augustine's exegesis, pastoral concerns, and intellectual rigor as a model and caution for Protestant ministers. The syllabus follows Augustine's corpus on the BCFK reading list with weekly reflection papers.
Course Objectives
Objectives include explaining Augustine's doctrines of original sin, grace, and predestination, comparing Augustinian soteriology with Pelagian and semi-Pelagian alternatives, evaluating Reformed use of Augustine in Calvin and subsequent theologians, and writing critical essays on Augustine's ecclesiology and sacramental theology. Students will identify where Augustinian thought aligns with Westminster standards and where Protestant Reformers modified his legacy. The course cultivates nuanced appreciation for the church's most influential Latin father. Students will summarize Augustine's rules for interpretation and assess their value for Reformed hermeneutics. Assessments require primary source engagement demonstrating comprehension of Augustinian vocabulary and argument structure.
Ministry & Life Application
Augustine teaches ministers to wrestle honestly with sin, grace, and God's sovereignty in preaching and pastoral care. Reformed pastors who know Augustine can show congregants that Protestant doctrine of grace has deep roots in patristic soil, countering claims that Reformation theology invented novelty. House church elders across the Florida Keys gain a master teacher for prayer, repentance, and intellectual devotion to Scripture. Pastoral ministry is strengthened by Augustine's example of passionate love for God combined with rigorous theological labor. Congregations flourish under leaders who understand grace as Augustine did after years of struggle against Pelagian self-sufficiency.