For whatever marketing reasons, Logos and Verbum are sold separately, with their own sales and specials. But the libraries we own are shared between both, so it is good to look at the other site for sales at times. And this month, all Logos users should be aware of the specials on some volumes of the recent New City Press translation of Augustine.
I know it is certainly easy to ignore the “Church Fathers” like Augustine within Protestantism. But it would be a shame to ignore Augustine. Almost certainly your theology and world view has been influenced by either Augustine or people who have read Augustine. It is hard to image the thought of Luther, Calvin or Wesley without Augustine. It is also hard to imagine Sigmund Freud either.
While we have been influenced in so many ways by his thought, it is also not always the easiest to understand, simply because Augustine was a Roman from Northern Africa near the end of the Roman Empire, and wrote in Latin, referencing the authors of antiquity, using all his skills he had developed as a teacher of classical rhetoric. And so having a good annotated edition is quite helpful, and this edition of Augustine from New City Press has been lauded by just about all the experts.
So when the Verbum Free Book of the Month is from this series, it is self-recommending. The work itself may not be as famous as Confessions or City of God, but it is still an important theological reading of John’s Gospel. And the biggest problem with this edition is that it is incomplete – NCP has another volume to finish it, but it isn’t in Logos yet. So DO pick it up.
The next work I strongly recommend is Teaching Christianity. In it, Augustine spends a great deal of time talking about how to read and study the bible, and then a good bit about how to communicate this from the pulpit. Of course, this treatment is “dated”, but it is still the work of a brilliant mind using all his abilities to communicate God’s Word.
If you start reading other works of Augustine, it is good to have a copy of Revisions. Augustine wrote a LOT. And one of the problems with interpreting an author who wrote a lot is that sometimes the same topic comes up repeatedly, but with different treatments. But late in his life, Augustine went through what he had written and tells us when it was written and for what purpose – and gives his understanding of its value, and what he missed when writing the work. And so it gives important context for just about everything he wrote.
The book On Genesis has not one, but rather three different commentaries on the opening of Genesis, written at different points in his life, with slightly different concerns. While there are better commentaries out there for looking at the text in detail, Augustine is still quite good at bringing out the Christian meaning of the text.
The other volumes in this sale are various sermons that Augustine preached to his flock. All can be read for profit. But all are volumes of larger collections, and the quality varies. I would seriously consider getting the volume on Psalms 51-72. It is obvious that Augustine has prayed the Psalms quite often and his treatment shows how “head” and “heart” can – and probably should – work together.
So thank you Faithlife and New City Press for offering these all at good discounts. And even if you are not the type who often digs deep into patristic writers, I urge you to consider taking advantage of this sale.
