The Mestizo Augustine: A Theologian Between Two Cultures
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Few thinkers have been as influential as Augustine of Hippo. His writings, such as Confessions and City of God, have left an indelible mark on Western Christianity. He has become so synonymous with Christianity in the West that we easily forget he was a man of two cultures: African and Greco-Roman. The mixture of African Christianity and Greco-Roman rhetoric and philosophy gave his theology and ministry a unique potency in the cultural ferment of the late Roman empire. Augustine experienced what Latino/a theology calls mestizaje, which means being of a mixed background. Cuban American historian and theologian Justo González looks at the life and legacy of Augustine from the perspective of his own Latino heritage and finds in the bishop of Hippo a remarkable resource for the church today. The mestizo Augustine can serve as a lens by which to see afresh not only the history of Christianity but also our own culturally diverse world.
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- Looks at the life and legacy of Augustine from the perspective of his own Latino heritage.
- Demonstrates the rich fruit of a lifetime of scholarly research.
- Focuses on the mestizajes of Augustine's life.
In a particularly insightful study, Justo González both introduces the breadth of St. Augustine’s thought to modern readers and explains why his theology should be considered mestizaje (characterized by in-between-ness). Augustine—as both Roman and African, as a mediator between early Christianity and medieval Christianity—becomes a potent model for the many others, like González himself, who stand between worlds, cultures, and perspectives. It is a fine book.
--Mark Noll, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History emeritus, University of Notre Dame, author of Protestantism: A Very Short History
I am deeply pleased to see the new book by Justo González on Augustine, which places him rightly in the African context. The author's theme of the crosscultural intricacies of Augustine’s life illumines many other issues Christians face today. It is an extremely readable book by a distinguished church historian.
--Thomas C. Oden, emeritus professor, Drew University, executive director, Center for Early African Christianity, general editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
There are many fine introductions to Augustine’s life and thought. But it is hard to think of one more timely for a new generation of readers than The Mestizo Augustine. With concise elegance and critical appreciation, Justo González recasts our imagination for Augustine’s restless pilgrimage as the struggle and the wisdom of a mestizo. In doing so, he offers a compelling theological portrait of this massively influential figure of late antiquity and, importantly, of his continued relevance for our own era tempted by misplaced rage for purity.
--Eric Gregory, Princeton University
- Title: The Mestizo Augustine: A Theologian Between Two Cultures
- Author: Justo L. González
- Publisher: IVP Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2016
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Pages: 176
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- ISBNs: 9780830873081, 9780830851508, 083085150X, 0830873082
- Resource ID: LLS:9780830873081
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-06T20:55:52Z
Dr. Justo L. González was born and raised in Cuba where he did his first university and seminary studies. In 1961 he became the youngest person to be awarded a Ph. D. in historical theology at Yale University. He is an ordained Minister of Word and Sacraments by the Methodist Church. For thirty years he taught in a variety of theological institutions. He has given hundreds of lectures in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Justo has written over one hundred books, although he is better known for his two-volume The Story of Christianity and his three-volume A history of Christian Thought, which have been translated into eight languages. Besides his passion for connecting theology with the life of the church through publications, his most cherished and valued activity is the mentoring and encouraging of Hispanics and other minority scholars. Today, as a retired professor, he devotes his time to research and writing and to promoting Latino theological education.