ONLINE FIRST
published on July 19, 2024
Margaret R. Miles
https://doi.org/10.5840/augstudies202471887
Augustine on God¡¯s Intus Activity
St. Augustine¡¯s commitment to the doctrine of predestination did not change from the early days of his ministry in the mid-390s to his last writings and sermons, shortly before his death in 430 CE. Two genres of Augustine¡¯s late communications address his teachings on predestination: First, his treatises, including De praedestinatione sanctorum and De dono perseuerantiae (CE 427¨C428); second¡ªand of greater interest for this article¡ªhis often-overlooked mature and late sermons. Although treatises and sermons were contemporaneous, Augustine¡¯s purposes differ in each. Against arguments that ¡°the beginning of faith is of ourselves,¡± in treatises, Augustine relied heavily on scriptural proof-texts to support his contention that God both foreknew and foreordained individuals¡¯ eternal destiny. The first intent of his sermons, however, was not to present scriptural authority for the doctrine, but to encourage his listeners¡¯ belief by helping them discern God¡¯s activity within themselves. Certainly, his congregation was attracted by the hope of eternal life and by the fear of eternal punishment, yet their present affections and actions also mattered in substantial ways that Augustine¡¯s doctrinal writings do not fully describe. We must look to his sermons, that is, to his (in-person) conversations with fellow members of Christ¡¯s body, if we are to recognize his attentiveness to the urgency of the present.