Having devoted the entirety of Book 21 to eternal judgment, Augustine balances the end of his tome with a Book devoted entirely to the "eternal bliss of the City of God." It is called eternal because the kingdom will have no end, nor will any of its citizenry, obtaining to the immortality the angels have … Continue reading City of God, Book 22: Eternal Felicity
Augustine
City of God, Book 21: Eternal Punishment
The entirety of Augustine's Book 21 is devoted to defending the reality and the justice of eternal punishment. This book roughly breaks down into two parts: the first part addresses the objections of unbelievers to the doctrine of eternal punishment (ch. 2-16) and the second part addresses errors of "compassionate Christians who refuse to believe … Continue reading City of God, Book 21: Eternal Punishment
City of God, Book 20: Final Judgment
Augustine sets out in Book 20 to instruct the reader on the day of God's final judgment from Scripture. In large part, the book is a series of expositions on relevant passages from both the New and Old Testaments. I will not, in the summary, rehash all of Augustine's exposition, simply highlight the main points … Continue reading City of God, Book 20: Final Judgment
City of God, Book 19: The Supreme Good.
Book 19, while one of my favorites so far, is long. Augustine begins this book by probing into the philosophical debates related to the Supreme Good and the Supreme Evil. "Our Final Good," Augustine defines, "is that for which other things are to be desired, while it is itself to be desired for its own … Continue reading City of God, Book 19: The Supreme Good.
City of God, Book 18: A Brief History of Nearly Everything
In Book 18, Augustine takes up a history of "the earthly city" with was growing alongside the heavenly city. This society of mortal men, though men share a common nature, is divided against itself as "one part of it oppresses another." In the providence of God, some nations have "been entrusted with empire, while others … Continue reading City of God, Book 18: A Brief History of Nearly Everything