Talk:Augustine of Hippo

Influence on the Protestant Reformers is insufficient

The influence of Augustine on the reformers is lacking in many ways. Calvin himself claimed that 'Augustine is ours'. Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk. Following the reformation the Jansenism movement in the Roman Catholic church also held to doctrines similar to Calvin's viewpoints. One I remember for sure is Limited Atonement. I think 4 other points of what is today known as calvinism was held to as well. Since they were Augustinians this gives additional foothold to the idea that these were indeed Augustine's view that the reformers were at least particularly correct. It has also commonly been stated among scholars that the reformation was simply Augustine's ecclesiology versus his soteriology. Also in regards to what is currently there regarding the will. It leaves room for some of Augustine's later works to say that he believed the Fall completely destroyed man's ability to choose good. I am not an Augustinian scholar, but I do know in his later works he published corrections to his former theology. Is this a correct view that he changed his position on this? If so it should be noted as the bondage of the will was at the heart of the reformation.139.102.233.236 (talk) 06:19, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Infobox OD

There is a saint and a theologian infobox here, as well as an Augustine template! Pretty confusing and a lot of overlap. I think just one or two of them are enough, if expanded. The theologian template can move to the Augustinian theology page. The page is just too long and too hard to follow and had I been a new reader, new to the topic, I would have avoided the page due to indigestion. Needs to be simplified and the theology moved out, as above. History2007 (talk) 21:09, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Views on birth

Simone de Beauvoir's attribution to Augustine of the sentence, "Any woman who does what she can so as not to give birth to as many children as she is capable of is guilty of that many homicides, just as is a woman who tries to injure herself after conception" is, to my knowledge, without any grounds. de Beauvoir is well known for controversial quotes for which she gives no source. I am very familiar with St. Augustine and, having applied a search engine to all his works in Latin, cannot find this text or anything like it. I am therefore removing this section. If anyone can show where the statement appears in Augustine’s writings, then by all means restore it.Unimpeder (talk) 12:37, 23 September 2011 (UTC)

I can only find two other books that use this quote, and neither book is impressive enough to restore it here, in my opinion. They are "Sexual behavior and the law" by Ralph Slovenko (1965) and "Sex, gender, and sexuality: the new basics : an anthology" by Abby L. Ferber, Kimberly Holcomb and Tre Wentling (2008). But I would like to ask if it is perhaps unfair for you to say "Beauvoir is well known for controversial quotes for which she gives no source". What is your source for that statement? SusanLesch (talk) 04:35, 26 September 2011 (UTC)

Her Le deuxième sexe (which I have read in the original) is itself the best confirmation. See the section on “Histoire”, IV where she has twenty pages filled with negative views attributed to early and later Christian writers, without a single source being given (see especially p. 159). Again on pages 169 and 171 she makes further attributions precisely to Augustine, without citing any source. This is not serious scholarship.Unimpeder (talk) 14:28, 2 October 2011 (UTC)

That also makes it your opinion and not true, unless you supply a source, that she is "well known" for "controversial quotes". -SusanLesch (talk) 17:17, 3 October 2011 (UTC)

Ok, I’ll retract that and say it is just my view. But if pushed for a ‘source’, I’d say it is there precisely in her best-known book. Reading through it shows dozens of unsourced attributions.Unimpeder (talk) 15:40, 5 October 2011 (UTC)

Abortion in "Theology"

Abortion should not classed under Augustine's theology. It should be classed under another category such as Ethics. Also, I'm not convinced it doesn't undermine the neutrality of the article - especially with the claim that Augustine was following in the tradition of the Church Fathers - who were not so concerned with abortion as they were laying out the basic doctrines of the Christian church. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.111.220.6 (talk) 15:14, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

Flash photography and paintings regarding "St Augustine and Monica"

the photograph of this painting is reflecting the strobe or flash used to light the painting. it is not an acurate representation of the painting. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.106.173.24 (talk) 03:15, 22 January 2012 (UTC)