Augustine and Contemporary Social Issues

This book focuses on applying the thought of Saint Augustine to address a number of persistent 21st-century socio-political issues. Drawing together Augustinian ideas such as concupiscence, virtue, vice, habit, and sin through social and textual analysis, it provides fresh Augustinian perspectives on new—yet somehow familiar—quandaries. The volume addresses the themes of fallenness, politics, race, and desire. It includes contributions from theology, philosophy, and political science. Each chapter examines Augustine’s perspective for deepening our understanding of human nature and demonstrates the contemporary relevance of his thought.

Introduction Paul Allen I Human Nature and Contemporary Fallenness 1. On the Alleged Empirical Verifiability of the Doctrine of Original Sin Jesse Couenhoven 2. Saint Augustine and the Modern-Day Demon David Meconi, S.J. 3. Explorations of Emptiness: Spiritual Famine and Fullness in Augustine’s Confessions and Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast Mark Scott II Augustine and Politics 4. Truth, Lies, and Politics: Augustine and Havel on the Problem of Civic Integrity and "Living in Truth" Mary Keys 5. Ye Shall Till Thy Field: The Goodness and Fall of Work in Augustine and Marx Michael Giles III Augustine and Race 6. Redeeming Hybridity: Augustine’s Christological Correction of a Postcolonial Category David Wilhite 7. Immigration, Migration, Personhood, and the Body of Christ Matthew Drever 8. Black Lives Matter and the African Bishop Burt Fulmer IV Augustine and Desire 9. Mercy for Lucretia: Augustine’s Christian Retelling of a pagan Roman Myth Ashleen Menchaca-Bagnulo 10. The Love of Habits and the Habit of Love: Augustine and Addiction Paul L. Allen 11. "The Colossal Force of Libido": How Augustine Thought and Preached on Sexual Desire Timo Nisula

Paul L. Allen is Academic Dean of Corpis Christi College and Professor of Theology at St. Mark's College in Vancouver, Canada.