Augustine
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A Reflection on the First Sunday of Advent
Thus, I suggest that this Advent, we work on our personal transformation—relying for this not just on ourselves, or even our political leaders, but by turning to God in prayer. Perhaps our transformation won’t be as dramatic as Augustine’s, but… Continue reading
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I Hate St. Augustine and So Should You
I do not say “hate” lightly. His worst rhetorical excesses pushed Christian theology to a radically toxic message, one that is hard to extricate from our doctrine. I did not come to this position in an offhand, uninformed way, though.… Continue reading
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“What About Rape?” Gender, Violence, and Policing
“They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, ‘Peace, peace’, when there is no peace.”[1] There has been a significant shift in the public conversation around policing in the last few weeks. Calls for dramatic reforms, defunding, and… Continue reading
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Saint Augustine, Donald Trump, and the Possibility of Change
Since I just finished teaching Augustine’s Confessions in my God and the Human Experience course, I’d like to take the time to explain to those who might not be as familiar with the text why Rudy Giuliani may have chosen… Continue reading
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On Objecting to ‘Hetero-Sex’: Any Augustinian Feminist Overlap?
When I was previously immersed in research for years about Augustine and his legacy for theological anthropology, I came across an article by John Cavadini entitled, “Feeling Right: Augustine on the Passions and Sexual Desire,” [Augustinian Studies 36.1 (2005): 195-217]. I… Continue reading
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Teaching Note: On Confronting Violence Against Women in the Christian Tradition
When I teach theology to undergraduates, I make sure to spend some time on Augustine, typically his Confessions. I don’t think this is a necessary practice for all theology instructors, but I personally find Augustine to be a useful entry… Continue reading
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Kendrick Lamar’s “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City” is Good Theology
Kendrick Lamar’s “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City” spent a good six months spinning inside the CD player of my old school Toyota Corolla. I wasn’t sophisticated enough to learn of it myself: I first heard about it from the blogger Ta-Nehesi… Continue reading
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“Can you forgive?”: Augustine and Silver Linings Playbook
I’ve been doing a frenzied amount of work on Augustine lately (surprise!). Specifically, I’ve been examining what he has to contribute to the issue of cultivating proper self-love. Despite his caricature, one in which he joyfully condemns people to hell… Continue reading
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If Catholics Should Give Up Hospitals For Lent, Should We Also Give Up The Military?
Several Catholic bishops have threatened that, if made to comply with the HHS ruling requiring Catholic hospitals to indirectly pay for their employees’ birth control, the Catholic church will have no choice but to “give up its health care institutions… Continue reading