Slaves of God
Augustine and Other Romans on Religion and Politics
Published on 6. August 2024
Book
Hardback
328 pages
978-0-691-24423-5 (ISBN)
Description
A provocative look at the central role of slavery in Augustine's religious, ethical, and political thought
Augustine believed that slavery is permissible, but to understand why, we must situate him in his late antique Roman intellectual context. Slaves of God provides a major reassessment of this monumental figure in the Western religious and political tradition, tracing the remarkably close connections between Augustine's understanding of slavery and his broader thought.
Augustine is most often read through the lens of Greek philosophy and the theology of Christian writers such as Paul and Ambrose, yet his debt to Roman thought is seldom appreciated. Toni Alimi reminds us that the author of Confessions and City of God was also a Roman citizen and argues that some of the thinkers who most significantly shaped his intellectual development were Romans such as Cicero, Seneca, Lactantius, and Varro-Romans who had much to say about slavery and its relationship to civic life. Alimi shows how Augustine, a keen and influential student of these figures, related chattel slavery and slavery to God, and sheds light on Augustinianism's complicity in Christianity's long entanglement with slavery.
An illuminating work of scholarship, Slaves of God reveals how slavery was integral to Augustine's views about law, rule, accountability, and citizenship, and breaks new ground on the topic of slavery in late antique and medieval political thought.
Augustine believed that slavery is permissible, but to understand why, we must situate him in his late antique Roman intellectual context. Slaves of God provides a major reassessment of this monumental figure in the Western religious and political tradition, tracing the remarkably close connections between Augustine's understanding of slavery and his broader thought.
Augustine is most often read through the lens of Greek philosophy and the theology of Christian writers such as Paul and Ambrose, yet his debt to Roman thought is seldom appreciated. Toni Alimi reminds us that the author of Confessions and City of God was also a Roman citizen and argues that some of the thinkers who most significantly shaped his intellectual development were Romans such as Cicero, Seneca, Lactantius, and Varro-Romans who had much to say about slavery and its relationship to civic life. Alimi shows how Augustine, a keen and influential student of these figures, related chattel slavery and slavery to God, and sheds light on Augustinianism's complicity in Christianity's long entanglement with slavery.
An illuminating work of scholarship, Slaves of God reveals how slavery was integral to Augustine's views about law, rule, accountability, and citizenship, and breaks new ground on the topic of slavery in late antique and medieval political thought.
Reviews / Votes
"Finalist for the American Academy of Religion Book Award, Best First Book in History of Religions" "Game-changing. . . . [Slaves of God] should occasion a reckoning."---James K. A. Smith, The Christian Century "Slaves of God is a stimulating read about the role of slavery for Augustine. . . . Toni Alimi contributes to a much more nuanced understanding of the mind of the most important Western church father. Greek and Roman slavery, its persistence and especially its role in the history of ideas in Late Antiquity has not been sufficiently studied-Slaves of God is therefore an important, a necessary book."---Michael Hahn, Bryn Mawr Classical Review "An expansive and engaging analysis of what Augustine thought about slavery and-of equal interest-how he thought with slavery."---James Robert Burns, Journal of Medieval History "This volume lies somewhere between the philosophy of the human relationship to the divine and the history of Roman religious philosophy. Alimi's scholarly command of Augustine's thought illuminates both strands of thought, rightly leaving intact the mystery of how one can befree in service to God." * Choice * "Toni Alimi's superb engagement with, and historically contextualized treatment of, Augustine on slavery in Slaves of God illuminates the long and pernicious influence of Augustine's convictions on universal and eternal slavery."---Emily S. Pruszinski, Reviews in Religion & Theology "A bold and provocative book. . . . Alimi's discussion is impressively well structured and consistently judicious; the claim that slavery is a central axis of Augustine's reflection has been conclusively proven." * Greece & Rome *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
5 tables.
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
658 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-24423-5 (9780691244235)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
08/2024
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€34.49
Available for download
Person
Toni Alimi is assistant professor in the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University.