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The author argues that embarrassment over references to divine wrath in more recent times reflects a similar embarrassment or at least ambivalence among writers, pagan and Christian, in Late Antiquity. Patristic writers were especially sensitive to the ways human rage could inform Scripture readers' understanding of divine wrath. Although insisting that God's indignation was a component of divine justice, these writers employed a range of strategies to dissociate God from forms of violence generated by anger., THEOLOGIANS OF ALL GENERATIONS have betrayed discomfort with images of an angry God. In our own age, however, acutely aware of the ways religious sentiment can fuel and legitimate violence, [...]

* Intertextual Tension The Aeneid of Vergil and the Psalter traditionally attributed to David so influenced Augustine's writing that one scholar has called the Confessions "a recapitulation of Vergilian epic [...]

The manner in which St. Augustine's bold expressions of religious intensity reflect a theology of creation that is deeply rooted in his thinking is described. His constant emphasis on the ongoing and growing participation in God's wisdom in the 'Enarrationes In Psalmos' points repeatedly to a theology of creation that is the basis of his treatment of the psalms.

[The author offers a new approach to Augustine's understanding of Church and exegesis by concentrating on his practice of preaching about the psalms. More than other biblical books, the psalms were conceived not principally as texts to be explained. Rather, they were the 'voice of the whole Christ' that gave expression to a wide variety of experiences of the ecclesial body. The practice/performance of Augustine's preaching is itself theologically significant. Attention to the theological dynamics of his biblical interpretation not only suggests the need to revise categories of 'exegesis' and 'ecclesiology' when speaking about Augustine but also offers insight into a Church that continues to groan under the burden of scandal.], IN RECENT ISSUES of Theological Studies, the history of exegesis has claimed the attention of biblical scholars, historians, and systematic theologians. Michael Cahill hears a 'definite crescendo' sounding from those [...]

THE GNOSTICS: MYTH, RITUAL, AND DIVERSITY IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY. By David Brakke. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 2010. Pp. xii + 164. $29.95. This is an excellent book on a complicated [...]

To KNOW GOD AND THE SOUL: ESSAYS ON THE THOUGHT OF ST. AUGUSTINE. By Roland J. Teske, S.J. Washington: Catholic University of America, 2008. Pp. xviii + 289; $74.95. Students [...]

WHAT IS GNOSTICISM? By Karen L. King. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University, 2003. Pp. xii + 343; $29.95. Only 'those in the know' will understand why the title of this excellent [...]

Augustine and Apocalyptic. Edited by John Doody, Kari Kloos, and Kim Paffenroth. Augustine in Conversation: Tradition and Innovation. Lanham: Lexington, MD, 2014. Pp. x + 258. $90. The book gathers [...]

EVOKING LAMENT: A THEOLOGICAL DISCUSSION. Edited by Eva Harasta and Brian Brock. New York: T. & T. Clark International, 2009. Pp. vi + 228. $130; $44.95. Originally published as Mit [...]

ASCETICISM IN THE GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD. By Richard Finn, O.P. Key Themes in Ancient History. New York: Cambridge University, 2009. Pp. xii + 182. $83.99; $29.99. Cambridge's Key Themes series provides [...]

THE SEX LIVES OF SAINTS: AN EROTICS OF ANCIENT HAGIOGRAPHY. By Virginia Burrus. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 2004. Pp. vi + 216. $42.50 Burrus's thesis is brilliant and important, though [...]

FOUCAULT AND AUGUSTINE: RECONSIDERING POWER AND LOVE. By J. Joyce Schuld. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 2003. Pp. x + 299. $55; $25. This is a daring and illuminating [...]

FREEDOM AND NECESSITY: ST. AUGUSTINE'S TEACHING ON DIVINE POWER AND HUMAN FREEDOM. By Gerald Bonner. Washington: Catholic University of America, 2007. Pp. xii + 142. $24.95. The title may suggest [...]