St Augustine of Hippo

Book excerpt: "This study provides an outline of St. Augustine's career and discusses three major fields of his controversial writings: against the Manichees, who denied the essential goodness of the material creation; the Donatists, who conceived of the Church only as an assembly of saints, and denied that God would operate through a sinful minister; and against the British theologian Pelagius and his supporters, whose concern for personal holiness and individual responsibility for conduct led them to deny the Fall and to maintain a theology of divine grace which saw infant baptism as desirable but not essential for salvation. Augustine's attacks on Pelagianism initiated a debate which lasted for many centuries, and still remains controversial to this day; but whatever view is taken with regard to his doctrine, his influence has been profound, and no serious Christian theologian can afford to ignore the issues which he raised." [Back cover].