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Augustine: Philosopher and Saint

By: Phillip Cary, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Phillip Cary
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Summary

These 12 illuminating lectures paint a rich and detailed portrait of the life, works, and ideas of this remarkable figure, whose own search for God has profoundly shaped all of Western Christianity. You'll learn what Augustine taught and why he taught it – and how those teachings and doctrines helped shape the Roman Catholic Church.

These lectures are rewarding even if you have no background at all in classical philosophy or Christian theology. Professor Cary explains any special religious or philosophical concepts you need to know in order to appreciate Augustine's impact, with real-life examples and analogies that make even the most subtle concepts clear and easy to understand. You'll gain a sense of what Augustine was saying, how his own experiences led him to say it, and how his thoughts fit into the theological, philosophical, and political worlds that swirled around him.

First, you'll study Augustine's life, with a three-angled look at the Confessions, his great spiritual autobiography, written when he was a 45-year-old bishop. Then, you'll investigate key concepts of Augustine's thoughts on faith and love, grace, original sin, the Church, and more. And finally, you'll gain a greater familiarity with Augustine's concept of persons, both human and divine, by focusing on his great work, The City of God.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1997 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1997 The Great Courses

What listeners say about Augustine: Philosopher and Saint

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Philip nails it again

I've enjoyed all of Dr Cary courses - I hope there are more to come.

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Excellent overview of Saint Augustine

Great insight into the life and thought of one of Christianity's most important thinkers. As the author of a play based on The Confessions, I found this course most useful in exploring the character of Saint Augustine.

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very enlightening

A very good investment in time and thought. Who st.Augustine is? what was he for? what was he against? his main additions to christianity, what is loved and hated about him.

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I love this

Professor Phillip Cary is hilarious, wish he was my university lecturer. Please never stop being funny

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Interesting and thought provoking

A detailed introduction into one of the most influential Church Fathers. Charting the rise of early orthodoxy and posing questions on future interpretations of scripture.

As always Cary enthuses often dry subject matter with zest and charm.

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The Great Courses strikes again

As usual the Great Courses provides a wonderful overview into a deeply complex topic and comes out the other side better than ever.

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Just a brilliant book!

This book gave me a wonderful insight into the thinking of Augustine. I thoroughly recommend it.

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Useful but generally uninspiring introduction.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. The lecturer here was informed and by no means a bad speaker but he did not manage to extract much fun from his subject. Perhaps there is little to be had with Augustine. I thought the informal, discursive style of the lecturer would have injected some lightness but it did not - there is frequent stumbling, repetition, and no really interesting asides, so perhaps a fuller lecture 'script' would have been the way to go here.

If you’ve listened to books by The Great Courses before, how does this one compare?

One of the least - it is the shortest of the Great Courses lectures I have come across though so perhaps there is inevitably more scanning of the subject and less time for anecdotes and sidetracking.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Professor Phillip Cary?

David Brakke's Gnosticism lectures are the closest in subject matter that I have listened to in the Great Courses series. They are delivered somewhat more formally but I found them much more appealing.

Could you see Augustine: Philosopher and Saint being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

If we are staying true to the spirit of these lectures we have to go with someone that we know is 'important' but that we don't really care about. I am going to say Sean Penn.

Any additional comments?

None.

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