Colin Gunton and the Failure of Augustine: The Theology of Colin Gunton in Light of Augustine

Bradley G. Greens close reading of Augustine challenges Colin Guntons argument that Augustine bequeathed to the West a theological tradition with serious deficiencies. According to Gunton, Augustines particular construal of the doctrine of God led to fundamental problems in the relationship between creation and redemption. However, Green persuasively argues that Augustine did not sever the link between creation and redemption, but rather affirmed that the created order is a means of genuine knowledge of God by which redemption is accomplished. Green suggests the prominent role this relationship plays in Augustines doctrines of man and God, provides the kind of relational Christian ontology that Gunton sought. In short, Augustine could have provided Gunton with fundamental theological resources in countering the modernity he so rightly challenged.