| his dissertation is an exegetical exploration of Augustine's understanding of the Pauline theme of adoption as a son or daughter of God, with specific attention to the role of the Holy Spirit. To this end, it focuses on the imagery (in the Confessions primarily and in other of Augustine's writings secondarily) in terms of which Augustine understands and interprets the familial language in which the theme of adoption is stated and developed in the Pauline corpus. Four scriptural texts emerge as those which Augustine particularly associated with the subject of adoption and deification: Luke 15:11--24 (the parable of the Prodigal Son), Psalm 26 (LXX), 1 Cor. 13:12 and 1 John 3:2. The influence of Neoplatonism on Augustine's interpretation of these texts is included in the discussion.;Chapter One explores the traditional status, relationships, and duties among the members of a typical Roman household in Late Antiquity, specifically as these pertain to the roles of paterfamilias, son/inheritor, mother, and slave, all of which figure prominently in Paul's vocabulary of adoption. Chapter One also undertakes a brief survey of scriptural sources of the images, themes and vocabulary associated with "sons of God," including the only five instances (in the Pauline literature) where the Greek word huiothesia occurs.;Chapter Two focuses on Augustine as a "Prodigal Son" and the way he understands the connection between prodigal abandonment of the "Gentle Father" (God) and the influence of various "texts." It traces the narrative themes of the Biblical parable ("harlotry," "loss of substance," "famine," "feeding pigs," "return to the father") through Augustine's own encounter with his prodigal self as related in the first nine books of the Confessions . Baptism is shown to be the pivot on which Augustine's conversion from the "Old Man" to the "New Man" is anchored.;Chapter Three examines the imagery, scriptural texts, and secondary themes that constellate around "mother" and "father" as these two relational terms are developed, at both a personal and an archetypal level, in the first nine books of the Confessions. Special attention is given to the influence of a series of "mothers" and "fathers" on the formation of Augustine as a "prodigal son" and subsequently as an "adopted son.";Chapter Four explores the constellation of "adopted son" as it is configured in the final four books of the Confessions and in relation to Augustine's exegesis of the opening verses of Genesis. The analysis of texts moves from the earlier exploration of the imagery of "mothers", "fathers" and "sons" at the literal, exterior level of "family" to that of the spiritual, interior reformation (beginning at baptism) of the triadic and "familial" image of God within the believer.;Chapter Five comprises a brief summary and conclusions, asserting among other points the "rhetorical" nature of Augustine's concept of adoption and deification.;In addition, an exegetical study of Augustine's Sermon... |
