The Conversion and Therapy of Desire

Reviews / Votes

"In this age when 'desire' is defined in ways that are destructive to souls and families, we could hardly do better than to retrieve understandings of the word from Augustine, perhaps the greatest Christian thinker ever. Dr. Boone's fine study is both historically rich and eminently timely."
Gerald R McDermott, Anglican Chair of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School

"Meticulously researched and well argued, Mark Boone presents a lucid account of the early Augustine's theology of desire. After situating Augustine's moral theory in the context of competing pagan descriptions of the good life, Boone walks the reader through each of the Cassiciacum dialogues to show how, at every turn, Augustine's faith in the Trinitarian and incarnate God has prompted him to adapt and to transform this central moral category."
Ryan Topping, Fellow of Thomas More College, New Hampshire

"What is a human being? Mark Boone, a courageous young scholar who is leading the way in Augustinian studies, in this fine book also asks this question. Dr. Boone tells us in his investigation of the early Augustine at Cassiciacum shortly after his conversion, the answer to this question-one asked by the 'sweet psalmist of Israel' in Psalm 8:4-what is man? We are lovers. We are people of desire. By God's grace, we all need converting and a therapy of our desires. In this book, Mark Boone speaks eloquently about Augustine's early (and lifelong) views. We learn about Augustine's perspective of true happiness, and we have an answer to a most puzzling question. Five stars for this volume."
David Naugle, Professor of Philosophy and Distinguished University Professor, Dallas Baptist University; Author of Reordered Loves, Reordered Lives: Learning the Deep Meaning of Happiness (2008)

In this fascinating and meticulously researched study of Augustine's Cassiciacum diaglogues, Mark Boone shows Augustinian scholars a productive way forward for better understanding how these philosophical texts can and should be analyzed both on their own terms and as part of Augustine's evolving ideas about ancient philosophy and Christian theology. Boone's work is a valuable contribution to Augustinian studies, and especially to the study of the Cassiciacum dialogues. It is carefully researched, well-written, and easy to follow, even by a generalist Augustinian scholar.
- Jennifer Ebbeler, Associate Professor of Classics at University of Texas, Reading Religion, 21st August 2018

IThe book is warmly recommended for the introductory and intermediate study of the Classiciacum-Dialogues. May it above all serve to encourage the reading of the dialogues themselves so that the long tradition of debate, advocated by Boone, never dies.
Josef Loessl, Theologische Literaturzeitung November 2018