The Protomodern Augustine? Colin Gunton and the Failure of Augustine

Abstract:  The late Colin Gunton often criticized Augustine in two key areas: (1) Augustine's supposed emphasis of the one over the many effectively severed any meaningful link between creation and redemption (contra the theological understanding of Irenaeus); and (2) because of Augustine's supposed emphasis on the timeless essence of God at the expense of the three real persons, Augustine failed to bequeath to the Western intellectual tradition the benefits of a truly Christian ontology (effectively losing the insights of theologians such as the Cappadocian Fathers). This article argues that for all of Gunton's insights – and there are many – a close reading of Augustine actually shows that Augustine is not guilty of such weaknesses and that in fact Augustine provides some of the very theological insights and strengths Gunton wishes to mine from other sources.