Augustine's Theology of the Resurrection

This book explores Augustine's developing theology of the resurrections of Jesus Christ, of Christian souls, and of all human flesh.

Augustine M. Reisenauer (Author)

9781009269063, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 30 March 2023

262 pages
23.5 x 15.5 x 2.2 cm, 0.57 kg

In this volume, Augustine M. Reisenauer, O.P. provides a comprehensive study of Augustine's theology of the resurrection, the human return from death to life. Contextualizing Augustine within the early Church and the intellectual and religious cultures of the late Roman Empire,he interrogates the development of Augustine's thoughts on the historical resurrection of Jesus Christ, the spiritual resurrection of the soul in time, and the fleshly resurrection of the body at the end of time.  Augustine offers profound insights into issues of personal and communal identity, human continuity and transformation, historical and eschatological events, and the God of the resurrection. He also elaborates a biblical paradigm that acknowledges how the resurrected Christ offers an intrinsic participation in his paschal mystery to the souls and bodies of the rest of humanity. Proposing fresh ideas regarding a central topic in Christian theology, Reisenauer's, study also reveals Augustine's defenses of the resurrection against its pagan, philosophical and heretical opponents.

I. Early Considerations of the Resurrection: 1. The Adumbration of the Resurrection
2. The Restoration of Humanity to the Pristine Stability of Paradise
3. The Transmutation of Human Flesh into an Angelic Body
II. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ: 4. The Enduring Reality of Christ's Resurrected Flesh
5. The Encounter with Christ's Resurrected Flesh
6. The Sacramentality and Exemplarity of Christ's Resurrected Flesh
III. The Resurrection of the Human Spirit: 7. The Contents of the Spiritual Resurrection
8. The Spiritual Resurrection of Augustine's Soul
9: Extreme Expressions of the Spiritual Resurrection
IV. The Resurrection of Human Flesh: 10. The Future Event of the Fleshly Resurrection
11. The Fleshly Resurrection of the Damned
12. The Fleshly Resurrection of the Saints
Epilogue: Augustine Advancing towards the Resurrection.

Subject Areas: Theology [HRLB], Christian theology [HRCM], Christianity [HRC]