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Eternal Goods (Chapter Five Of Discerning The Good In The Letters And Sermons Of Augustine), Joseph Clair

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

For Augustine, eternal goods are the virtues and goods of genuine friendship as they will exist in eternity—as the full expression of love for God and neighbor-love. This chapter considers such goods in their plurality and temporality. That is, it treats them as human beings are able to comprehend and pursue them—and sometimes even obtain and experience them—in this life. To do so, this chapter revisits Augustine’s letters to Ecdicia and Macedonius to take a closer look at where each succeeded and failed in their pursuit of higher, eternal goods. Augustine’s vision of obtaining eternal goods involves a process in …