Augustine: Philosopher and Saint

By: Phillip Cary, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Phillip Cary

Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

These 12 illuminating lectures paint a rich and detailed portrait of the life, works, and ideas of this remarkable figure, whose own search for God has profoundly shaped all of Western Christianity. You'll learn what Augustine taught and why he taught it – and how those teachings and doctrines helped shape the Roman Catholic Church.

These lectures are rewarding even if you have no background at all in classical philosophy or Christian theology. Professor Cary explains any special religious or philosophical concepts you need to know in order to appreciate Augustine's impact, with real-life examples and analogies that make even the most subtle concepts clear and easy to understand. You'll gain a sense of what Augustine was saying, how his own experiences led him to say it, and how his thoughts fit into the theological, philosophical, and political worlds that swirled around him.

First, you'll study Augustine's life, with a three-angled look at the Confessions, his great spiritual autobiography, written when he was a 45-year-old bishop. Then, you'll investigate key concepts of Augustine's thoughts on faith and love, grace, original sin, the Church, and more. And finally, you'll gain a greater familiarity with Augustine's concept of persons, both human and divine, by focusing on his great work, The City of God.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1997 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1997 The Great Courses

empathetic understanding required

Good introduction to Augustine, but Cary struggles to think with the Church and the philosopher whenever it concerns even remotely challenging teachings.

Very listenable and informative

This is a good compliment to Books That Matter- City of god. Well put together.

Captured Medieval thinking

It was helpful in understanding Augustine's thinking, since I am interested in the thinking that permeated the Western Medieval mind, such so much dwelling on after death, his belief that we will have actual bodies in the after life and pure minds that communicate with each other.

a great introduction, wonderfully performed

Loved every bit of this. highly recommendable introduction to St Augustine's thought. Very good job.

Professor Cary explains Augustinian Theology and Life Extremely Well

Professor Cary explains Augustine’s life and writings better than some Catholic priests. He explains everything from an academic/theological perspective. He does a lot of comparisons to help you understand better. He did a great job breaking down Confessions in three lectures. I haven’t heard the City of God lecture but I am expecting the same quality. It’s my second series with Professor Cary and he is clear, concise, and very thorough in all the lectures.

Awesome

Great job Augustine . Very smart . Great book to listen to. Great points . Bravo

Enjoyed these lectures

Lectures well , I've wondered about Augustine for a lot of years and these these lectures help clear up a lot that I didn't know they are well done and easy to listen to

Excellent Introductory Study to Augustine

This course is a suburb introduction to Augustine, his thought, and his work. The presentation is broken up into clear topics which the presenter speaks about at length in a simple, engaging manner, beginning with Augustine's biographical Confessions, then getting in relative depth about the thought and theological stances of the Saint.

Quite interesting backgrounder on Augustine

The beginning of this has some weird focus on Augustine's personal proclivities, like author goes on tangent, however overall I found the remaining lectures on Augustine's philosophy very well done.

Insightful!

Thank you for helping me better understand Agustus, the history of church doctrine and my faith.