God S Eternal Gift A History Of The Catholic Doctrine Of Predestination From Augustine To The Renaissance

Guido Stucco holds a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Sait Louis University. He is currently working on a book documenting the developments in the doctrine of predestination, from the Council of Trent to the Jansenist controversy.

Over the centuries, the Protestant church has been severed into two major positions in regard to predestination and reprobation. On one side, the Arminians largely reject these doctrines, while the reformed readily embrace them as biblical truth. Although much has been written either rejecting or defending the doctrine of reprobation, little attention has been given to the historical development of the reformed position on the nature of reprobation and God's use of secondary causality in the hardening of the wicked. By means of historical analysis, Peter Sammons traces the development of the doctrine of reprobation from Augustine to the Synod of Dort. In this book, Sammons gives special attention to views on reprobation and its various parts, preterition and predamnation, along with how, historically, theologians have attempted to articulate its execution. Perhaps one of the greatest paradoxes in all of Scripture, theology, and philosophy is here addressed: "How does an omnibenevolent and omnipotent God predetermine and interact with sin in the world?" Answering the question proves vital, not merely to reconcile theological and philosophical concerns, but to answer the all-important question of life, "Who is God?" This volume is intended to provide a balanced analysis of the historical and intellectual development within reformed theology as to how God is simultaneously holy and sovereign by examining how reprobation and its parts have historically been defined. Reformed understanding on this doctrine was not done in a vacuum, nor was it concluded in the 180 meetings of the Synod of Dort; rather, it has a history within the church of thoughtful development.

The doctrine of predestination was one of the most discussed topics in the period that goes from the beginning of the Reformation to the end of the XVII century. In this book, Guido Stucco provides a nuanced and thorough description of the unfolding of events, doctrinal developments and controversies surrounding this complex doctrine.

This is the first complete English translation of De Ecclesiasticis Officiis (DEO) of St. Isidore of Seville (d. 636), considered the last Latin father of the church. The work is an invaluable source of information about liturgical practice and church offices.

Isidore of Seville is one of the dominant contributors to the development of medieval Catholic theology. Sententiae, his major theological work, is arranged in three divisions or books. The first is a dogmatic part, presenting the doctrinal assertions of the Catholic faith. This is followed by two additional books, developing the moral principles and correct behavior necessary to attain eternal union with God,the highest good -- summum bonum -- who is the subject oft the first assertion of faith in Book 1. The work presents a marvelously holistic view of faith and action, developing the relationship between the intellectual and moral, the individual and social life of the Christian believer, all in the context of eternal life.

The formation of the modern state, the rise of capitalism, the Renaissance and Reformation, the scientific revolution and the Age of Enlightenment have all been attributed to the "early modern" period. Nearly everything about its history remains controversial, but one thing is certain: it left a rich and provocative legacy of political ideas unmatched in Western history. The concepts of liberty, equality, property, human rights and revolution born in those turbulent centuries continue to shape, and to limit, political discourse today. Assessing the work and background of figures such as Machiavelli, Luther, Calvin, Spinoza, the Levellers, Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau, Ellen Wood vividly explores the ideas of the canonical thinkers, not as philosophical abstractions but as passionately engaged responses to the social conflicts of their day.

Contrary to popular assumption, the doctrine of predestination is part of the Catholic Church's teachings. The research in "Not Without Us" aims at showing how saints, bishops, and theologians from Augustine to the Second Council of Orange (529 a.d.) upheld this theology and even defended it. Together with a forthcoming volume, covering the developments in the history of this doctrine from Orange to Thomas Aquinas, author Guido Stucco outlines, in an easily accessible way to nonspecialists, the Catholic Church's comprehensive, pre-Reformation understanding of predestination.

No other theological text polarized the early modern Catholic world as much as Cornelius Jansen's Augustinus. In it the erudite bishop not only reconstructed St. Augustine's teaching on grace and free will, but also boldly claimed that his views were in line with the Council of Trent and the Society of Jesus. For Jansen the latter had marginalized the Church Father's doctrine on divine predestination by overemphasizing human free will. Published after his death in 1640, Jansen's work drew a large crowd of followers and inspired an Augustinian reform movement. Its papal condemnation unintentionally spread this theology, but stifled an impassionate, academic engagement with the Augustinus. This first-ever translation of some of its central chapters enables historians, philosophers and theologians to finally engage with the founding text of Jansenism.