The Perjured City

At once a compendious expropriation of enormousdiversity and a brisk narrative, this work seeks to"minimally circumscribe" a pivotal figure inWestern thought, Saint Augustine. In an effort tosatisfy the law of non-contradiction and therebypreserve God's omnipotence and justice - two termsin a configuration of three - Augustine boldlyconfronted the third, evil. Resorting to whatwere, by judicial norms, even then obsolescentnotions of pollution he instead confounded God withan all the more inscrutable evil, therebyconsigning Western civilization to a long blind alleyfrom which it has yet to completely return. Likethat of Blumenberg, Ricouer's charge that Augustiniantheology is "anti-gnostic gnosticism" is not simplysubstantiated here but amplified. Meissner goesfurther, suggesting that Augustine's unforgivinginterpretation of Christianity reduced its adherentsto an incapacity most recognizable in the figure ofthe slave; that is, a living nullity, static,undecidable and human - saved - only and always inpotentia, neither alive to this world nor certain togain acceptance in the next.

Autorentext

Joshua Meissner lives in New York with his wife, Francesca Butler, and their children.

Klappentext
At once a compendious expropriation of enormous diversity and a brisk narrative, this work seeks to "minimally circumscribe" a pivotal figure in Western thought, Saint Augustine. In an effort to satisfy the law of non-contradiction and thereby preserve God's omnipotence and justice - two terms in a configuration of three - Augustine boldly confronted the third, evil. Resorting to what were, by judicial norms, even then obsolescent notions of pollution he instead confounded God with an all the more inscrutable evil, thereby consigning Western civilization to a long blind alley from which it has yet to completely return. Like that of Blumenberg, Ricouer's charge that Augustinian theology is "anti-gnostic gnosticism" is not simply substantiated here but amplified. Meissner goes further, suggesting that Augustine's unforgiving interpretation of Christianity reduced its adherents to an incapacity most recognizable in the figure of the slave; that is, a living nullity, static, undecidable and human - saved - only and always in potentia, neither alive to this world nor certain to gain acceptance in the next.