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The Mestizo Augustine: A Theologian Between Two Cultures
Augustine experienced what Latino/a theology callsmestizaje, which means being of a mixed background. Cuban American historian and theologian Justo Gonzalez looks at the life and legacy of Augustine from the perspective of his own Latino heritage and finds in the bishop of Hippo a remarkable resource for the church today. The mestizo Augustine can serve as a lens by which to see afresh not only the history of Christianity but also our own culturally diverse world."
176 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2014
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245 people want to read
About the author
Justo L. González
159 books190 followersJusto L. González, author of the highly praised three-volume History of Christian Thought and other major works, attended United Seminary in Cuba, received his MA at Yale, and was the youngest person to be awarded a PhD in historical theology at Yale. He is one of the few first generation Latino theologians to come from a Protestant background. He helped to found the Association for Hispanic Theological Education and the Hispanic Theological Initiative. Dr González is now on the faculty of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta.
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March 28, 2017
A fascinating frame to reconsider Augustine--as a theologian of hybridity, living between two cultures. This lens tends to get out of focus in the middle of the book, but even then it is an engaging introduction to Augustine's life and thought.
March 8, 2018
I read three introductory biographies on Augustine trying to find the best one to recommend and this one is the best of three. Gonzalez is a master of making church history more accessible and at the same time pointing out new perspectives here that make a lot of sense.
(Note: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book. 3 = Very good; 4 = Outstanding {only about 5% of the books I read merit this}; 5 = All time favorites {one of these may come along every 400-500 books})
(Note: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book. 3 = Very good; 4 = Outstanding {only about 5% of the books I read merit this}; 5 = All time favorites {one of these may come along every 400-500 books})
November 6, 2016
St. Augustine, whether you like him or agree with him, if you're a Western Christian, you have been influenced by him, even if you don't realize it. In many ways he set the direction for Latin Christianity, out of which the Reformation emerged. He set in place the conversation about grace and salvation and more. I've read him and read about him, not just because I'm a church historian by training and thus must read him, I've engaged him because whether I agree or not he has had something important to say that I can't ignore.
Over the years I've gotten a better sense of the importance of context to life and to theological discussion. Theologians don't live in a vacuum. Like the biblical writers, they respond to the issues and culture of the day. Augustine was born and raised in North Africa. His father was a Roman and his mother a native of the region, probably a Berber. He was the child of two cultures, and this influenced his life and his views of God and society. At least that's the point made by historian Justo Gonzalez, in this most enlightening read of Augustine.
In his preface to the book, Gonzalez writes that "i began to suspect that Augustine's restlessness was not due only to his distance from God, as he tells us in his "Confessions," but also to the inner struggles of a person in whom two cultures, two legacies, two world visions, clashed and mingled -- in short, of a meztizo" (p. 9). Gonzalez uses this analogy of the meztizo to help us understand how Augustine's dual heritage as Roman and African helped create the person, the Christian, and the theologian who came to dominate Western Christianity. More than anyone he paved the way for the influence of Platonism in the West, a philosophical foundation that lasted until the reintroduction of Aristotle in the 13th century.
If one hasn't engaged Augustine's story, this will be a good introduction. Gonzalez understands the value of clarity and ease of reading. After all, he has been writing for students through the years. So this can be a good introductory text to Augustine's life and theology. He begins in his introduction with laying the groundwork for viewing Augustine as a meztizo. From there he takes us on a journey leads from his immediate context in North Africa through his childhood, his education, and his later embrace of Manichaeism. He helpfully defines what African meant at that moment of time, when Rome still ruled the Mediterranean. Africa in the Roman context was a province centered on teh ancient city of Carthage, which had been a center of Christianity from the first century. It was a region that produced Tertullian and Cyprian. It was a region that was populated by Romans, but also by Berbers and descendants of ancient Carthage, the Punics. Gonazalez believes there is sufficient evidence to suggest that Monica, Augustine's Christian mother, was a Berber. The Berbers were a semi-nomadic culture whose members populated the lower and working classes. Through marriage to a Roman official, she was able to move out of that context, but she still retained parts of her cultural background. These were in ways not always perceptible passed on to her son.
Augustine showed promise as a scholar and was sent off to school. He was, as he notes in the Confessions, given to following his passions. In time he embraced Manichaeism, in part to make sense of the Christianity of his mother and questions he had about the nature of God. The dualism of Manichaeism helped him make sense of the presence of evil. Over time, however, he experienced conversion, a process that began with his move to Milan to teach rhetoric, his embrace of Neoplatonism, and eventually his encounter with Ambrose. His journey to baptism was a long one, but in the end he embraced the faith, chose a monastic life, and then ended up back in North Africa, where he was finally ordained a priest and then bishop of Hippo.
The heart of the book is found in chapters four through seven. In these chapters we are introduced to Augustine's theological work in the context of four engagements. His theological work began with his felt need to refute his former embrace of Manichaeism. Gonzalez notes that Manichaeism presented itself as an intellecteual/rational system. His refutation allowed him to engage in arguments that were both rational and personal. In many ways his efforts led to the disappearance of his former religious/philosophical community.
For me, the chapters on his response to Donatism and Pelagianism were the most important. In part that is due to the fact that it allows Gonzalez to point out the conflicting visions that Augustine wrestled with. Donatism was a religious force in North Africa that emerged out of the persecutions. It had strong roots in the Berber culture. The Donatists advocated for a pure church, arguing that the efficacy of sacraments and ordinations were rooted in the purity of the officer. They revered martyrs and opposed bishops and priests who had in some way collaborated with the Romans. Augustine used the Roman legal vision of the centrality of office against the Donatist vision of charismatic leadership to refute the Donatists. he also argued for the catholicity of the church against the Donatist's regionalism. The Donatists, however, had a strong presence in the region, especially among the Berbers, who saw the Roman government as an oppressor. Augustine would win out, but at the cost of denying part of himself.
When it came to Pelagius, things were turned on their heads. Pelagius's insistence on the ability to fulfill the law of God was rooted in his Roman legal background. How could God issue laws if God did not expect that God's people could fulfill them. To saw otherwise was to blame God for evil. Augustine responded in someways out of his African roots, emphasizing the personal, and developing his vision of grace and predestination from within this context. For Romans everything was guided by law. For Berbers and other Africans, law and order were in the hands of the clan or tribe. Again it was much more of a personal, charismatic vision. In the Roman context, virtue is rooted in the individual. For North Africans, "the virtue and rank of an individual depend on the chief's decision-- and when this chief no longer has the strength to make his authority obeyed he is no longer the chief" (p. 149). In other words, it is perfectly within God's power and privilege to decide who is among the elect and who is not, for all deserve to be excluded, but God has chosen to include some.
As you read these chapters you can begin to place yourself in the discussion. You may be sympathetic to some of the concerns of the Donatists, but recognize that Augustine is probably correct that the holiness of the church is present not in the individual but in the office. You may, like me, be uncomfortable with Augustine's vision of predestination, but feel uncomfortable with the legalism of Pelagius. What's interesting about both of these debates, is that on matters of orthodoxy everyone was on the same page. The issues had to do with the practical working of the faith. They could agree on the Trinity, but not the sacraments and church life.
The chapter that follows these two focuses on how Augustine responded to the ongoing presence of paganism, which Gonzalez helpfully defines for us. I think that it is commonplace to believe that after Constantine's embrace of Christiianity, everyone became a Christian and that the older religious order disappeared. It's clear that it did not. In fact, even at the end of the fourth century many leading Romans found that embracing Christianity put them at a social disadvantage. When Rome fell in 410, leading to Augustine's great work "The City of God," he found it necessary to defend the embrace of Christianity against the charge that by abandoning the gods of the pantheon, Christians had undermined Rome's glory. To make Rome great again meant returning to the old religion. Augustine tried to make it clear that Christianity was not at fault. What was at fault was the aging of Roman society. It was a natural progression of the the human city. Only the City of God had eternal value. Gonzalez writes that the "mestizo vision was one of the factors that allowed Augustine to serve as a bridge between the Greco-Roman past that was waning and the new regime that was dawning -- a regime of disorder, obscuratism and violence, from which eventually, as a new incarnation of the earthly city, Western civilization would develop" (p. 166).
In his final chapter, Gonzalez suggests that Augustine can be lens to examine Western Christianity. There are important doctrinal questions that Augustine helps us understand, but also to make sense of our own cultural diversity and the coming together of cultures. We are all, in a sense, mestizos. Thus, he writes: "that very mestizaje some see as a sign of shame, and some would try to forestall or to deny, may well be a sign of the future from which God is calling us" (p. 171). That is, I believe, why this book is so important. It not only introduces us to Augustine and his theology, but it helps us, examine ourselves so that we might embrace God's future.
This a book to take and read, to enjoy and to ponder, for the message is important.
Over the years I've gotten a better sense of the importance of context to life and to theological discussion. Theologians don't live in a vacuum. Like the biblical writers, they respond to the issues and culture of the day. Augustine was born and raised in North Africa. His father was a Roman and his mother a native of the region, probably a Berber. He was the child of two cultures, and this influenced his life and his views of God and society. At least that's the point made by historian Justo Gonzalez, in this most enlightening read of Augustine.
In his preface to the book, Gonzalez writes that "i began to suspect that Augustine's restlessness was not due only to his distance from God, as he tells us in his "Confessions," but also to the inner struggles of a person in whom two cultures, two legacies, two world visions, clashed and mingled -- in short, of a meztizo" (p. 9). Gonzalez uses this analogy of the meztizo to help us understand how Augustine's dual heritage as Roman and African helped create the person, the Christian, and the theologian who came to dominate Western Christianity. More than anyone he paved the way for the influence of Platonism in the West, a philosophical foundation that lasted until the reintroduction of Aristotle in the 13th century.
If one hasn't engaged Augustine's story, this will be a good introduction. Gonzalez understands the value of clarity and ease of reading. After all, he has been writing for students through the years. So this can be a good introductory text to Augustine's life and theology. He begins in his introduction with laying the groundwork for viewing Augustine as a meztizo. From there he takes us on a journey leads from his immediate context in North Africa through his childhood, his education, and his later embrace of Manichaeism. He helpfully defines what African meant at that moment of time, when Rome still ruled the Mediterranean. Africa in the Roman context was a province centered on teh ancient city of Carthage, which had been a center of Christianity from the first century. It was a region that produced Tertullian and Cyprian. It was a region that was populated by Romans, but also by Berbers and descendants of ancient Carthage, the Punics. Gonazalez believes there is sufficient evidence to suggest that Monica, Augustine's Christian mother, was a Berber. The Berbers were a semi-nomadic culture whose members populated the lower and working classes. Through marriage to a Roman official, she was able to move out of that context, but she still retained parts of her cultural background. These were in ways not always perceptible passed on to her son.
Augustine showed promise as a scholar and was sent off to school. He was, as he notes in the Confessions, given to following his passions. In time he embraced Manichaeism, in part to make sense of the Christianity of his mother and questions he had about the nature of God. The dualism of Manichaeism helped him make sense of the presence of evil. Over time, however, he experienced conversion, a process that began with his move to Milan to teach rhetoric, his embrace of Neoplatonism, and eventually his encounter with Ambrose. His journey to baptism was a long one, but in the end he embraced the faith, chose a monastic life, and then ended up back in North Africa, where he was finally ordained a priest and then bishop of Hippo.
The heart of the book is found in chapters four through seven. In these chapters we are introduced to Augustine's theological work in the context of four engagements. His theological work began with his felt need to refute his former embrace of Manichaeism. Gonzalez notes that Manichaeism presented itself as an intellecteual/rational system. His refutation allowed him to engage in arguments that were both rational and personal. In many ways his efforts led to the disappearance of his former religious/philosophical community.
For me, the chapters on his response to Donatism and Pelagianism were the most important. In part that is due to the fact that it allows Gonzalez to point out the conflicting visions that Augustine wrestled with. Donatism was a religious force in North Africa that emerged out of the persecutions. It had strong roots in the Berber culture. The Donatists advocated for a pure church, arguing that the efficacy of sacraments and ordinations were rooted in the purity of the officer. They revered martyrs and opposed bishops and priests who had in some way collaborated with the Romans. Augustine used the Roman legal vision of the centrality of office against the Donatist vision of charismatic leadership to refute the Donatists. he also argued for the catholicity of the church against the Donatist's regionalism. The Donatists, however, had a strong presence in the region, especially among the Berbers, who saw the Roman government as an oppressor. Augustine would win out, but at the cost of denying part of himself.
When it came to Pelagius, things were turned on their heads. Pelagius's insistence on the ability to fulfill the law of God was rooted in his Roman legal background. How could God issue laws if God did not expect that God's people could fulfill them. To saw otherwise was to blame God for evil. Augustine responded in someways out of his African roots, emphasizing the personal, and developing his vision of grace and predestination from within this context. For Romans everything was guided by law. For Berbers and other Africans, law and order were in the hands of the clan or tribe. Again it was much more of a personal, charismatic vision. In the Roman context, virtue is rooted in the individual. For North Africans, "the virtue and rank of an individual depend on the chief's decision-- and when this chief no longer has the strength to make his authority obeyed he is no longer the chief" (p. 149). In other words, it is perfectly within God's power and privilege to decide who is among the elect and who is not, for all deserve to be excluded, but God has chosen to include some.
As you read these chapters you can begin to place yourself in the discussion. You may be sympathetic to some of the concerns of the Donatists, but recognize that Augustine is probably correct that the holiness of the church is present not in the individual but in the office. You may, like me, be uncomfortable with Augustine's vision of predestination, but feel uncomfortable with the legalism of Pelagius. What's interesting about both of these debates, is that on matters of orthodoxy everyone was on the same page. The issues had to do with the practical working of the faith. They could agree on the Trinity, but not the sacraments and church life.
The chapter that follows these two focuses on how Augustine responded to the ongoing presence of paganism, which Gonzalez helpfully defines for us. I think that it is commonplace to believe that after Constantine's embrace of Christiianity, everyone became a Christian and that the older religious order disappeared. It's clear that it did not. In fact, even at the end of the fourth century many leading Romans found that embracing Christianity put them at a social disadvantage. When Rome fell in 410, leading to Augustine's great work "The City of God," he found it necessary to defend the embrace of Christianity against the charge that by abandoning the gods of the pantheon, Christians had undermined Rome's glory. To make Rome great again meant returning to the old religion. Augustine tried to make it clear that Christianity was not at fault. What was at fault was the aging of Roman society. It was a natural progression of the the human city. Only the City of God had eternal value. Gonzalez writes that the "mestizo vision was one of the factors that allowed Augustine to serve as a bridge between the Greco-Roman past that was waning and the new regime that was dawning -- a regime of disorder, obscuratism and violence, from which eventually, as a new incarnation of the earthly city, Western civilization would develop" (p. 166).
In his final chapter, Gonzalez suggests that Augustine can be lens to examine Western Christianity. There are important doctrinal questions that Augustine helps us understand, but also to make sense of our own cultural diversity and the coming together of cultures. We are all, in a sense, mestizos. Thus, he writes: "that very mestizaje some see as a sign of shame, and some would try to forestall or to deny, may well be a sign of the future from which God is calling us" (p. 171). That is, I believe, why this book is so important. It not only introduces us to Augustine and his theology, but it helps us, examine ourselves so that we might embrace God's future.
This a book to take and read, to enjoy and to ponder, for the message is important.
July 28, 2021
This book is a fantastic read, truly difficult to put down! If you want to get to know Augustine’s life, theology, and impact this book will serve you well. The framework of Mestizo provides an excellent lens to view the “doctor of grace” and a new language for the ever-present cultural challenge of following Christ.
July 12, 2025
I ran into this title in James Smith's On the Road with Augustine, which I reviewed a few years back and re-read recently. He quotes the experience of a mestizo, who is defined as a person born from Spanish and Indigenous blood, but is generalized into a mix of cultures/identities between a 'civilized' (in this book, Roman) and 'indigenous' group (here, Berbers). Gonzalez' basic thesis in the book is that an important way to understand St. Augustine, both is life and theology, is that he was a mestizo, born from a Roman father and a Berber mother. While the identification of Monica as Berber is not definitely settled (though it makes sense), there is certainly no doubt that her form of Christianity was heavily influenced by the distinctive African Christianity, which was prevalent around the time of Augustine. So, Augustine functioned between two cultures, two Christianities, which explains his reaction to both as well as his choices as he developed his theology in the Manichean, Donatist, Pelagian and pagan controversies of his day.
The thesis is bold and, I think, may be hard for those who identify Christianity with a purely Western point of view. But I also find it a fascinating reading of Augustine's life, career and theology. And it is a more nuanced way of seeing Christianity in the time in which Rome flourished. The fact is that we moderns have a tendency to see the Romans as a unitary culture, but what we are seeing more and more in the evidence is just how much hybrid cultures, joining Roman and local traditions, are the norm in the Roman Empire throughout its existence. Ethnic identity tended to morph and shift in this time and there was more than enough code-switching as individuals moved from one cultural context to another in just their everyday life. This book fits into that understanding and, I think, illuminates Augustine's theological moves in interesting ways.
This is very much well worth reading, both for Augustine specialists, but also for those interested in Rome of Late Antiquity.
The thesis is bold and, I think, may be hard for those who identify Christianity with a purely Western point of view. But I also find it a fascinating reading of Augustine's life, career and theology. And it is a more nuanced way of seeing Christianity in the time in which Rome flourished. The fact is that we moderns have a tendency to see the Romans as a unitary culture, but what we are seeing more and more in the evidence is just how much hybrid cultures, joining Roman and local traditions, are the norm in the Roman Empire throughout its existence. Ethnic identity tended to morph and shift in this time and there was more than enough code-switching as individuals moved from one cultural context to another in just their everyday life. This book fits into that understanding and, I think, illuminates Augustine's theological moves in interesting ways.
This is very much well worth reading, both for Augustine specialists, but also for those interested in Rome of Late Antiquity.
September 6, 2020
For the uninitiated, or for those simply needing a refresher, this is an excellent primer on Augustine. And those who are inclined to dig deeper into Augustinian thought will benefit from the footnotes that are almost entirely references to original works.
This small book is also important to today’s discussion of the worth in studying the works outside of what might be considered “the very best” if those other “lesser” works are from thinkers of other cultures or people that have minority status. González smashes the debate by pointing out that some of Augustine’s opponents tried to belittle his arguments based upon his African heritage. It was, in fact, his exposure to multiple cultures that helped Augustine to be such an erudite theologian.
This small book is also important to today’s discussion of the worth in studying the works outside of what might be considered “the very best” if those other “lesser” works are from thinkers of other cultures or people that have minority status. González smashes the debate by pointing out that some of Augustine’s opponents tried to belittle his arguments based upon his African heritage. It was, in fact, his exposure to multiple cultures that helped Augustine to be such an erudite theologian.
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June 2, 2025I really appreciated the mestizo approach to Augustine. The first chapter or two are worth the price of admission. It's also short and so is readable in ways that not all biographies or analyses of Augustine are. But the articulation of him as being between two cultures and how that shaped his writing and ministry was priceless. For so many of our students, being caught between cultures is their reality, and the Empire looms large. I appreciated learning more about how the cultural and political contexts impacted him and I think it is vital that people today learn about the indigenous and African Fathers/Mothers of the church.
October 22, 2019
Very good beginning and end. The middle portion is a bit redundant if you are already familiar with Augustine, donatism, peglagianism, etc.... It overall comes to show how his mixture of cultures contributed to the various ways in which he engaged people and topics.
August 21, 2023
I was attracted to this book as soon as I knew it existed. I have been formatively shaped by Augustine's life and his writings--his Confessions is one of my favorite all-time works. I am deeply invested in the role of cultures and contexts in the shaping of theology. I am also a kind of mestizo myself with a bicultural, bi-ethnic upbringing.
A "mestizo," according to the author, refers to Latino people whose heritage is a mixture of Hispanic and European ancestry, a label which was sometimes used pejoritatively, but which the author uses as a broader term referring to any bicultural person. His key project in this book, as stated clearly by the title, is to provide a reading of Augustine which is attentive to his bicultural heritage as the son of a North African Punic (Berber) mother and a Latin/Roman father who lived in what is modern day Algeria.
I expected from the title, as well as the introduction, that more of the book was going to be focused on developing and demonstrating the aforementioned theme. However, the vast majority of the book (90%) reads as a fairly straightforward and ordinary overview of Augustine's life and thought, smattered with an occasional comment regarding how a particular element of Augustine's life or theology drew upon one stream of his heritage or another. Such an overview is helpful for someone looking for an introduction about Augustine--I found it helpful especially to understand more about the historical context of his controversies with the Donatists and the Pelagians. I would have preferred, however, a greater focus on the theme of Augustine's mestizo-ness and its impact on his theology and ongoing significance.
Many of the comments the author makes on the varying cultural roots of Augustine's theologizing are suggestive and not conclusive; the author often pontificates that "perhaps" Augustine was saying "x" because of his African/Punic background, or "maybe" one could "wonder" if Augustine's Roman-ness influenced him to argue "y."
The author does make some interesting and suggestive connections, however, between Augustine's theology and his bicultural heritage. Some are more convincing than others, and though he quotes Augustine throughout, the author does not provide much in the way of citations (an intentional decision which he alerts readers to in the introduction).
The author argues that, as a "mestizo," Augustine sometimes drew on his Latin/Roman heritage and other times on his North African/Punic heritage, and that this bicultural heritage enabled him to be a bridge between the ancient world of the early church and the European/medieval church which gave birth to Western civilization (itself a "mestizo" of Latin and Germanic cultures).
A couple examples suffice to illustrate. His North African mother, Monica, was a staunch Christian (unlike his pagan Roman/Latin father, who converted on his deathbed), prayed and evangelized him for years to become a Christian, while simultaneously seeking to see him formed into a model "Latin" scholar and teacher. Augustine resisted the faith of his mother for years because he could not reconcile it with his Roman-educated reason, though he eventually converted through a long intellectual and spiritual pilgrimmage, which led to a synthesis between orthodox Christian faith and intellectual Roman/Latin rational categories (particularly neo-Platonism).
The majority of his theology seemed driven by this Roman/Latin worldview synthesis (but not without critique from Christian orthodoxy). But occasionally, one sees some hints of Augustine's Punic heritage, such as when he defends the beauty of Punic poetry, or when his opponents derogatorily point to his African heritage as an insult. The author argues that in the Donatist controversy, Augustine leans toward his Latin heritage against his Punic/African heritage (many of his Punic relatives likely ascribed to Donatism, which was strong amidst the Punic/Berber population), evidenced in the view of authority as being vested in the position of the leader (the Latin view of authority) and not in the person and the character of the leader (the Punic view of authority). On the other hand, the author sees Augustine's Punic heritage as influencing him in the Pelagian controversy, since his position aligns more with the Punic view of individuals as having an ascribed identity/value based upon the decision of their leader/chief, as opposed to the Latin view of individuals' identity/value being based upon their own individual virtue and performance relative to Roman law.
I found most of these connections suggestive more than persuasive, although I was and am sympathetic to the author's overall thesis that his bicultural heritage contributed some kind of role in Augustine's life and theology. I am left quite convinced of the role that his Latin/Roman heritage played, as that certainly was dominant, both from his father and from his mother's commitment to seeing him grow into a model Latin/Roman citizen and scholar. It is clear that this played a major role in his spiritual pilgrimmage, as well as in his ability to achieve a paradigmatic synthesis between Christianity and Greco-Roman thought. Regarding his African heritage, I am less sure of the exact nature of its role on his theology and spiritual formation. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the sources just give us hints and suggestions regarding this question.
Regardless, it remains an intriguing and significant fact that this great doctor of the church who has been so influential in the theology of the Western church was a bicultural Latin-North African man, whose Berber mother prayed him into the kingdom of God (and ensured he had a good Latin education). While mastering the Roman/Latin heritage was critical for him to achieve a brilliant synthesis of Christian and Roman/Latin thought, he was also deeply orthodox and critiqued/revised that Roman/Latin heritage, eventually through the epic critique of fallen Rome in The City of God which would transcend Rome and create space for other cultures and nations such as the invading Germanic tribes. Augustine's thought would become the fertile soil from which European medieval and Renaissance Christianity would blossom, a note with which the author concludes. What he does not mention, however, is how North African Christianity in Augustine's stomping grounds would eventually die out for a millennium (cf. The Lost History of Christianity, by Philip Jenkins), until its recent rebirth in modern day Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. How different would the history of Christianity have been if Augustine had synthesized the Christian faith in terms of North African/Berber language and categories?
A "mestizo," according to the author, refers to Latino people whose heritage is a mixture of Hispanic and European ancestry, a label which was sometimes used pejoritatively, but which the author uses as a broader term referring to any bicultural person. His key project in this book, as stated clearly by the title, is to provide a reading of Augustine which is attentive to his bicultural heritage as the son of a North African Punic (Berber) mother and a Latin/Roman father who lived in what is modern day Algeria.
I expected from the title, as well as the introduction, that more of the book was going to be focused on developing and demonstrating the aforementioned theme. However, the vast majority of the book (90%) reads as a fairly straightforward and ordinary overview of Augustine's life and thought, smattered with an occasional comment regarding how a particular element of Augustine's life or theology drew upon one stream of his heritage or another. Such an overview is helpful for someone looking for an introduction about Augustine--I found it helpful especially to understand more about the historical context of his controversies with the Donatists and the Pelagians. I would have preferred, however, a greater focus on the theme of Augustine's mestizo-ness and its impact on his theology and ongoing significance.
Many of the comments the author makes on the varying cultural roots of Augustine's theologizing are suggestive and not conclusive; the author often pontificates that "perhaps" Augustine was saying "x" because of his African/Punic background, or "maybe" one could "wonder" if Augustine's Roman-ness influenced him to argue "y."
The author does make some interesting and suggestive connections, however, between Augustine's theology and his bicultural heritage. Some are more convincing than others, and though he quotes Augustine throughout, the author does not provide much in the way of citations (an intentional decision which he alerts readers to in the introduction).
The author argues that, as a "mestizo," Augustine sometimes drew on his Latin/Roman heritage and other times on his North African/Punic heritage, and that this bicultural heritage enabled him to be a bridge between the ancient world of the early church and the European/medieval church which gave birth to Western civilization (itself a "mestizo" of Latin and Germanic cultures).
A couple examples suffice to illustrate. His North African mother, Monica, was a staunch Christian (unlike his pagan Roman/Latin father, who converted on his deathbed), prayed and evangelized him for years to become a Christian, while simultaneously seeking to see him formed into a model "Latin" scholar and teacher. Augustine resisted the faith of his mother for years because he could not reconcile it with his Roman-educated reason, though he eventually converted through a long intellectual and spiritual pilgrimmage, which led to a synthesis between orthodox Christian faith and intellectual Roman/Latin rational categories (particularly neo-Platonism).
The majority of his theology seemed driven by this Roman/Latin worldview synthesis (but not without critique from Christian orthodoxy). But occasionally, one sees some hints of Augustine's Punic heritage, such as when he defends the beauty of Punic poetry, or when his opponents derogatorily point to his African heritage as an insult. The author argues that in the Donatist controversy, Augustine leans toward his Latin heritage against his Punic/African heritage (many of his Punic relatives likely ascribed to Donatism, which was strong amidst the Punic/Berber population), evidenced in the view of authority as being vested in the position of the leader (the Latin view of authority) and not in the person and the character of the leader (the Punic view of authority). On the other hand, the author sees Augustine's Punic heritage as influencing him in the Pelagian controversy, since his position aligns more with the Punic view of individuals as having an ascribed identity/value based upon the decision of their leader/chief, as opposed to the Latin view of individuals' identity/value being based upon their own individual virtue and performance relative to Roman law.
I found most of these connections suggestive more than persuasive, although I was and am sympathetic to the author's overall thesis that his bicultural heritage contributed some kind of role in Augustine's life and theology. I am left quite convinced of the role that his Latin/Roman heritage played, as that certainly was dominant, both from his father and from his mother's commitment to seeing him grow into a model Latin/Roman citizen and scholar. It is clear that this played a major role in his spiritual pilgrimmage, as well as in his ability to achieve a paradigmatic synthesis between Christianity and Greco-Roman thought. Regarding his African heritage, I am less sure of the exact nature of its role on his theology and spiritual formation. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the sources just give us hints and suggestions regarding this question.
Regardless, it remains an intriguing and significant fact that this great doctor of the church who has been so influential in the theology of the Western church was a bicultural Latin-North African man, whose Berber mother prayed him into the kingdom of God (and ensured he had a good Latin education). While mastering the Roman/Latin heritage was critical for him to achieve a brilliant synthesis of Christian and Roman/Latin thought, he was also deeply orthodox and critiqued/revised that Roman/Latin heritage, eventually through the epic critique of fallen Rome in The City of God which would transcend Rome and create space for other cultures and nations such as the invading Germanic tribes. Augustine's thought would become the fertile soil from which European medieval and Renaissance Christianity would blossom, a note with which the author concludes. What he does not mention, however, is how North African Christianity in Augustine's stomping grounds would eventually die out for a millennium (cf. The Lost History of Christianity, by Philip Jenkins), until its recent rebirth in modern day Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. How different would the history of Christianity have been if Augustine had synthesized the Christian faith in terms of North African/Berber language and categories?
July 17, 2019
**true rating 3.5
There is no other theologian more influential in the Western Church than Saint Augustine, doctor gratia (save the Apostle Paul). Augustine is, as Justo Gonzales right claims, a bridge and a lens into the early church father. But to the neglect of most church history, this towering and indispensable figure is a metizo, or biracial/biethnic! Augustine stands between Rome and North Africa, his elite educated father Patrick and his religious Christian mother Monica, between two views of authority (Rome: by one’s position; North Africa: by one’s character), and between two cultures. This dynamic has been sorrowfully overlooked in Augustinian studies. For instance, how does being a metizo affect Augustine’s Anti-Donatist debate, which was essentially Rome vs. outskirts of North Africa? Or his Anti-Pelagian debate, which was Roman law vs. North African religiosity? Of course, nothing is that simplistic: much more was involved, but not less than these large cultural dynamics which Augustine’s body and history bore.
This is an accessible read. I was delighted that a seasoned church historian wrote such a simple but insightful read! I was, however, disappointed how little Gonzales expanded on the metizo theme. Most often, he saved a page or two at the end of each chapter to read Augustine’s major life-stages through a metizo-lens. There was want for more.
For serious Augustine students, this is best, I think, a supplementary introduction. This cannot replace a thorough biography (I’m thinking of Peter Brown’s), but an essential counterpart. It’s just not extensive enough to be a thorough introduction.
But for lay readers, read this book. Learn that your hero was a metizo—something caught between not just heaven and earth but also earth and earth.
There is no other theologian more influential in the Western Church than Saint Augustine, doctor gratia (save the Apostle Paul). Augustine is, as Justo Gonzales right claims, a bridge and a lens into the early church father. But to the neglect of most church history, this towering and indispensable figure is a metizo, or biracial/biethnic! Augustine stands between Rome and North Africa, his elite educated father Patrick and his religious Christian mother Monica, between two views of authority (Rome: by one’s position; North Africa: by one’s character), and between two cultures. This dynamic has been sorrowfully overlooked in Augustinian studies. For instance, how does being a metizo affect Augustine’s Anti-Donatist debate, which was essentially Rome vs. outskirts of North Africa? Or his Anti-Pelagian debate, which was Roman law vs. North African religiosity? Of course, nothing is that simplistic: much more was involved, but not less than these large cultural dynamics which Augustine’s body and history bore.
This is an accessible read. I was delighted that a seasoned church historian wrote such a simple but insightful read! I was, however, disappointed how little Gonzales expanded on the metizo theme. Most often, he saved a page or two at the end of each chapter to read Augustine’s major life-stages through a metizo-lens. There was want for more.
For serious Augustine students, this is best, I think, a supplementary introduction. This cannot replace a thorough biography (I’m thinking of Peter Brown’s), but an essential counterpart. It’s just not extensive enough to be a thorough introduction.
But for lay readers, read this book. Learn that your hero was a metizo—something caught between not just heaven and earth but also earth and earth.
January 1, 2021
This book is an interesting look at Augustine. It was pretty strong in certain aspects. I had never heard of the sociocultural aspects of the Donatist and Pelagian controversies. I also think that Gonzalez’ idea of mestizaje is really onto something. Using this lens to look at Augustine revealed aspects of Augustine that most authors don’t explore. In addition it challenged me to explore my own cultural influences as I am of two cultures. However, I think the book ultimately falls short of being great because the author leaves one with more questions than answers at the end. Namely- how much of theology is he saying is based on culture? We all bring our presuppositions into theology, but how much of it is solely that? I’m not sure if the study of theology is sustainable if he doesn’t answer this question because if theology is solely to be seen from a cultural lens, I don’t know how theology wouldn’t fall into relativistic speculation on who God is.
Also, though I felt like he remained objective throughout, his objectivity fell short a bit when speaking on Augustines views on predestination and didn’t necessarily provide enough evidence to support the claim that his views on predestination were beyond the pale and weren’t supported by the Church at the following ecumenical councils. I’m not saying he’s wrong, he just didn’t provide any evidence to that claim.
Though I’m sure we would disagree on a lot, Gonzalez is one of my favorite Christian thinkers and it ultimately is a worthwhile book to check out
Also, though I felt like he remained objective throughout, his objectivity fell short a bit when speaking on Augustines views on predestination and didn’t necessarily provide enough evidence to support the claim that his views on predestination were beyond the pale and weren’t supported by the Church at the following ecumenical councils. I’m not saying he’s wrong, he just didn’t provide any evidence to that claim.
Though I’m sure we would disagree on a lot, Gonzalez is one of my favorite Christian thinkers and it ultimately is a worthwhile book to check out
December 31, 2024
Ook Augustinus was iemand met een dubbele culturele achtergrond
Onrustig is ons hart, totdat het rust vindt in God. Het is een beroemde uitspraak van de kerkvader Augustinus (354-430). Volgens de Cubaans-Amerikaanse kerkhistoricus Justo L. Gonzalez is die onrust niet alleen een geestelijke onrust, maar laat die onrust ook een innerlijke worsteling tussen twee culturen zien.
Augustinus behoorde tot zowel de Romeinse als tot de Afrikaanse cultuur. De Romeinse cultuur kreeg hij van zijn vader Patricius mee en de Afrikaanse cultuur via zijn moeder Monica, die mogelijk van Berberse komaf was en christen was. Net als bij vele anderen, die ook een dubbele achtergrond hadden, zorgde de dubbele culturele achtergrond geregeld tot innerlijke botsingen. Die dubbele culturele achtergrond heeft de ontwikkeling van Augustinus bepaald en is ook terug te vinden in zijn theologische en kerkelijke stellingnames. Het heeft een tijd geduurd voordat Augustinus het christelijke geloof van zijn moeder kon verenigen met de cultuur van zijn vader. Hij moest een hele weg afleggen, via het Manicheïsme en het Neo-Platonisme, totdat hij bij bisschop Ambrosius in Milaan een vorm van christelijk geloof ontdekte die gecombineerd was met de Romeinse cultuur. Toch bleef Augustinus ook Afrikaan. Hij keerde na zijn bekering terug naar zijn geboortegrond en werd daar uiteindelijk bisschop van Hippo.
Elite en gewoon volk
In de strijd tegen de Donatisten opereerde hij als Romein. Augustinus had door zijn verworteling in de Romeinse cultuur niet door, dat de strijd met de Donatisten ook een vorm van verzet was tegen de Romeinse kolonisatie van Noord-Afrika. Het christendom was in Noord-Afrika kreeg namelijk allereerst vooral aanhang onder het gewone volk. Nadat de Romeinen Carthago en de rest van Noord-Afrika hadden veroverd, gingen ze zich steeds meer als kolonisator gedragen en gebruikten Noord-Afrika als wingewest om de grootsheid van Rome te onderhouden. Er kwam een tweedeling: een Romeinse elite, vaak uit Rome afkomstig, en het gewone volk van de Berbers. Omdat het christelijk geloof door de Romeinse overheid vervolgd werd, zag het gewone volk in het christelijk geloof een vorm van verzet tegen de Romeinse kolonisator.
De vervolgingen gingen echter door en het gewone volk in Noord-Afrika kreeg daar ook mee te maken. Er waren gelovigen die trouw bleven aan het geloof. Er waren er ook die het geloof vaarwel zeiden of op de vlucht gingen. Nadat de vervolgingen voorbij waren, gaf dat een geweldig probleem voor de kerk. Radicale christenen, die later Donatisten werden genoemd, vonden dat degenen die hun geloof afzworen of op de vlucht gingen, opnieuw gedoopt moesten worden. Deze radicale stroming was erg populair onder de Berbers en was op vele plaatsen invloedrijker dan de katholieke kerk.
Reputatie
Nadat de bisschop van Carthago was overleden, werd snel een gematigde bisschop Caecilianus aangesteld. Caecilianus werd echter niet erkend door de radicale christenen. Er was hier sprake van een botsing van culturen in de kerk. Caecilianus stond dichterbij de Romeinse overheid dan zijn tegenstanders. Caecilianus had ook een Romeinse opvatting over gezag en zijn tegenstanders een Afrikaanse opvatting. In een Romeinse visie op gezag bepaalt het ambt de waardigheid. Wanneer iemand niet het juiste charisma heeft of een twijfelachtige reputatie wordt dat gecorrigeerd door het ambt dat waardigheid verleent. In de Afrikaanse opvatting gaat het om de waardigheid van de persoon. Iemand komt pas in aanmerking voor een ambt als hij een goede reputatie heeft, bekend staat als een wijs persoon, charismatisch is en gezag uitstraalt. Iemand die op de vlucht is geslagen of het geloof vaarwel heeft gezegd, heeft zijn gezag verloren. Dat gezag kan niet door de officiële kerk worden teruggegeven, maar door toonaangevende personen uit de gemeenschap, die in de tijd van de vervolging op een indrukwekkende manier standhielden. Augustinus koos later als bisschop in zijn strijd tegen de Donatisten voor de Romeinse opvatting voor gezag en werkte zelfs samen met de Romeinse overheid in de strijd tegen de Donatisten. Tot aan de verovering door de Arabieren bleven de Donatisten volop aanwezig. Wel viel deze stroming steeds meer uiteen in radicalere en ook gewelddadige fracties.
Goed en kwaad
In zijn strijd tegen Pelagius toonde hij zich meer als Afrikaan. Zo werd hij ook door zijn tegenstanders bespot: als de Punische Exegeet of de Afrikaanse Aristoteles. Augstinus werd door Pelagius aangevallen, omdat volgens Augustinus de mens vanaf geboorte een zondaar was. Daarmee kreeg volgens Pelagius God de schuld van de zonde. Volgens hem was de mens in staat om heilig te leven door zich aan Gods wet te houden. Alleen dan kan God volgens Pelagius de mens straffen voor zijn zonden en belonen voor zijn goede daden. Er was niet alleen verschil in levensstijl: Pelagius leidde een voorbeeldig ascetisch leven, terwijl Augustinus een turbulente jeugd had. Ook hier speelde het verschil tussen Romeins en Afrikaans gezag. Alleen dan in de visie op God. Volgens de Pelagianen was ook God onderworpen aan de wetten voor wat goed en kwaad is. Volgens Augustinus is het God zelf die bepaalt wat goed en kwaad is.
Geuzennaam
Om de dubbele culturele achtergrond te kenschetsen en vooral om te laten zien welke complexiteit een dubbele culturele achtergrond meegeeft, typeert Gonzalez Augustinus als mestizo. Aanvankelijk was dit een scheldwoord voor Mexicanen, die als halfbloed (en daarmee minderwaardig) werden gezien. In 1925 ging de Mexicaanse wetenschapper en presidentskandidaat dit woord als een geuzennaam gebruiken. Een halve eeuw later introduceerde Vergilio Elizondo, een vriend van Gonzalez, deze term in de theologie en de kerk. Gonzalez zelf is als Cubaans Amerikaan een van de toonaangevende theologen met een latino achtergrond en een wereldwijd gerespecteerd kerkhistoricus. Dat een dubbele culturele achtergrond niet eenvoudig is, deelt hij met veel christenen in de VS met een Latijns-Amerikaanse achtergrond. Vanuit de vele gesprekken die hij met hen heeft gehad, heeft hij dit boek over de dubbele achtergrond van Augustinus geschreven om te laten zien dat zij niet de enige zijn die met een dubbele achtergrond worstelen. Daarom droeg hij het op ‘aan de vele Latina’s en Latino’s, wiens mestizaje mij hebben verrijkt’. Hij schreef het oorspronkelijk in het Spaans, waarna hij het in het Engels publiceerde.
Onrustig is ons hart, totdat het rust vindt in God. Het is een beroemde uitspraak van de kerkvader Augustinus (354-430). Volgens de Cubaans-Amerikaanse kerkhistoricus Justo L. Gonzalez is die onrust niet alleen een geestelijke onrust, maar laat die onrust ook een innerlijke worsteling tussen twee culturen zien.
Augustinus behoorde tot zowel de Romeinse als tot de Afrikaanse cultuur. De Romeinse cultuur kreeg hij van zijn vader Patricius mee en de Afrikaanse cultuur via zijn moeder Monica, die mogelijk van Berberse komaf was en christen was. Net als bij vele anderen, die ook een dubbele achtergrond hadden, zorgde de dubbele culturele achtergrond geregeld tot innerlijke botsingen. Die dubbele culturele achtergrond heeft de ontwikkeling van Augustinus bepaald en is ook terug te vinden in zijn theologische en kerkelijke stellingnames. Het heeft een tijd geduurd voordat Augustinus het christelijke geloof van zijn moeder kon verenigen met de cultuur van zijn vader. Hij moest een hele weg afleggen, via het Manicheïsme en het Neo-Platonisme, totdat hij bij bisschop Ambrosius in Milaan een vorm van christelijk geloof ontdekte die gecombineerd was met de Romeinse cultuur. Toch bleef Augustinus ook Afrikaan. Hij keerde na zijn bekering terug naar zijn geboortegrond en werd daar uiteindelijk bisschop van Hippo.
Elite en gewoon volk
In de strijd tegen de Donatisten opereerde hij als Romein. Augustinus had door zijn verworteling in de Romeinse cultuur niet door, dat de strijd met de Donatisten ook een vorm van verzet was tegen de Romeinse kolonisatie van Noord-Afrika. Het christendom was in Noord-Afrika kreeg namelijk allereerst vooral aanhang onder het gewone volk. Nadat de Romeinen Carthago en de rest van Noord-Afrika hadden veroverd, gingen ze zich steeds meer als kolonisator gedragen en gebruikten Noord-Afrika als wingewest om de grootsheid van Rome te onderhouden. Er kwam een tweedeling: een Romeinse elite, vaak uit Rome afkomstig, en het gewone volk van de Berbers. Omdat het christelijk geloof door de Romeinse overheid vervolgd werd, zag het gewone volk in het christelijk geloof een vorm van verzet tegen de Romeinse kolonisator.
De vervolgingen gingen echter door en het gewone volk in Noord-Afrika kreeg daar ook mee te maken. Er waren gelovigen die trouw bleven aan het geloof. Er waren er ook die het geloof vaarwel zeiden of op de vlucht gingen. Nadat de vervolgingen voorbij waren, gaf dat een geweldig probleem voor de kerk. Radicale christenen, die later Donatisten werden genoemd, vonden dat degenen die hun geloof afzworen of op de vlucht gingen, opnieuw gedoopt moesten worden. Deze radicale stroming was erg populair onder de Berbers en was op vele plaatsen invloedrijker dan de katholieke kerk.
Reputatie
Nadat de bisschop van Carthago was overleden, werd snel een gematigde bisschop Caecilianus aangesteld. Caecilianus werd echter niet erkend door de radicale christenen. Er was hier sprake van een botsing van culturen in de kerk. Caecilianus stond dichterbij de Romeinse overheid dan zijn tegenstanders. Caecilianus had ook een Romeinse opvatting over gezag en zijn tegenstanders een Afrikaanse opvatting. In een Romeinse visie op gezag bepaalt het ambt de waardigheid. Wanneer iemand niet het juiste charisma heeft of een twijfelachtige reputatie wordt dat gecorrigeerd door het ambt dat waardigheid verleent. In de Afrikaanse opvatting gaat het om de waardigheid van de persoon. Iemand komt pas in aanmerking voor een ambt als hij een goede reputatie heeft, bekend staat als een wijs persoon, charismatisch is en gezag uitstraalt. Iemand die op de vlucht is geslagen of het geloof vaarwel heeft gezegd, heeft zijn gezag verloren. Dat gezag kan niet door de officiële kerk worden teruggegeven, maar door toonaangevende personen uit de gemeenschap, die in de tijd van de vervolging op een indrukwekkende manier standhielden. Augustinus koos later als bisschop in zijn strijd tegen de Donatisten voor de Romeinse opvatting voor gezag en werkte zelfs samen met de Romeinse overheid in de strijd tegen de Donatisten. Tot aan de verovering door de Arabieren bleven de Donatisten volop aanwezig. Wel viel deze stroming steeds meer uiteen in radicalere en ook gewelddadige fracties.
Goed en kwaad
In zijn strijd tegen Pelagius toonde hij zich meer als Afrikaan. Zo werd hij ook door zijn tegenstanders bespot: als de Punische Exegeet of de Afrikaanse Aristoteles. Augstinus werd door Pelagius aangevallen, omdat volgens Augustinus de mens vanaf geboorte een zondaar was. Daarmee kreeg volgens Pelagius God de schuld van de zonde. Volgens hem was de mens in staat om heilig te leven door zich aan Gods wet te houden. Alleen dan kan God volgens Pelagius de mens straffen voor zijn zonden en belonen voor zijn goede daden. Er was niet alleen verschil in levensstijl: Pelagius leidde een voorbeeldig ascetisch leven, terwijl Augustinus een turbulente jeugd had. Ook hier speelde het verschil tussen Romeins en Afrikaans gezag. Alleen dan in de visie op God. Volgens de Pelagianen was ook God onderworpen aan de wetten voor wat goed en kwaad is. Volgens Augustinus is het God zelf die bepaalt wat goed en kwaad is.
Geuzennaam
Om de dubbele culturele achtergrond te kenschetsen en vooral om te laten zien welke complexiteit een dubbele culturele achtergrond meegeeft, typeert Gonzalez Augustinus als mestizo. Aanvankelijk was dit een scheldwoord voor Mexicanen, die als halfbloed (en daarmee minderwaardig) werden gezien. In 1925 ging de Mexicaanse wetenschapper en presidentskandidaat dit woord als een geuzennaam gebruiken. Een halve eeuw later introduceerde Vergilio Elizondo, een vriend van Gonzalez, deze term in de theologie en de kerk. Gonzalez zelf is als Cubaans Amerikaan een van de toonaangevende theologen met een latino achtergrond en een wereldwijd gerespecteerd kerkhistoricus. Dat een dubbele culturele achtergrond niet eenvoudig is, deelt hij met veel christenen in de VS met een Latijns-Amerikaanse achtergrond. Vanuit de vele gesprekken die hij met hen heeft gehad, heeft hij dit boek over de dubbele achtergrond van Augustinus geschreven om te laten zien dat zij niet de enige zijn die met een dubbele achtergrond worstelen. Daarom droeg hij het op ‘aan de vele Latina’s en Latino’s, wiens mestizaje mij hebben verrijkt’. Hij schreef het oorspronkelijk in het Spaans, waarna hij het in het Engels publiceerde.
December 15, 2019
In this work, Gonzalez has provided a compelling portrait of Augustine's life and thought by developing an ethnolinguistic matrix which locates Augustine within his cultural context in North Africa as a man of both Berber and Roman descent. Through such a lens, one is able to better grapple with Augustine's positions on various issues, specifically in relation to major controversies plaguing the church in his time. However, the ways in which Gonzalez applies this methodology when reading Augustine appears as specious in certain instances, mostly by trying to connect virtually every contention he held back to his multilayered consciousness in terms of his ethnic identity. The understanding of mestizaje as it is applied by Gonzalez becomes an imprecise rubric due to its origination in Spanish-speaking countries, in which it had a unique application not entirely correlative to the struggles that Augustine would have faced. Thus, while it is certainly helpful in terms of moving towards a proper historiography concerning Augustine, it does not need to always be taken to the same extent which Gonzalez argues for.
February 16, 2020
“To be a mestizo is to belong to two realities and at the same time not to belong to either of them.”
St. Augustine of Hippo was the son of Roman father and a Berber or Punic mother. He had feet in two different camps. This allows church historian Justo Gonzalez to view St. Augustine through the lens of the mestizo.
The concept is fascinating one. The project starts out well enough but seems to lose steam midway through the book. This book ends up being a pretty bland biography of Augustine (Monica, the pears, Manichaeism, Donatism, Pelagianism, the fall of Rome, etc.). Fortunately, the book did gain strength again at the end as Gonzalez argues that Augustine theology left such an impact on Western Christianity because Western Christianity had become “mestizo” following the fall of Rome.
St. Augustine of Hippo was the son of Roman father and a Berber or Punic mother. He had feet in two different camps. This allows church historian Justo Gonzalez to view St. Augustine through the lens of the mestizo.
The concept is fascinating one. The project starts out well enough but seems to lose steam midway through the book. This book ends up being a pretty bland biography of Augustine (Monica, the pears, Manichaeism, Donatism, Pelagianism, the fall of Rome, etc.). Fortunately, the book did gain strength again at the end as Gonzalez argues that Augustine theology left such an impact on Western Christianity because Western Christianity had become “mestizo” following the fall of Rome.
October 13, 2025
This is an excellent introductory bio of Augustine, and especially adept at introducing readers to the important theological controversies of his life.
But it falls woefully short of the promise of the title, spending very little time on the "mestizo" shape of Augustine's life and theology. There's just not much of an argument that the bi-cultural reality illuminates things we otherwise wouldn't understand about him. There are a few facts (like how "punic" was used as a putdown). There are a few assertions. A few claims that Augustine should have seen things he didn't. But The Mestizo Augustine disappointed me.
But it falls woefully short of the promise of the title, spending very little time on the "mestizo" shape of Augustine's life and theology. There's just not much of an argument that the bi-cultural reality illuminates things we otherwise wouldn't understand about him. There are a few facts (like how "punic" was used as a putdown). There are a few assertions. A few claims that Augustine should have seen things he didn't. But The Mestizo Augustine disappointed me.
December 8, 2021
Great short history of Augustine, but the idea of him being a mestizo is never rely developed as a theological or social construct that actually effects him greatly. Although the book is fantastic, it does not really expound on the issue that it claims to address in the title or subtitle. It is much more of a side not and/or after thought to the main point of the book which is really just a brief overview of Augustine's life and theology.
June 8, 2025
I appreciated how González highlighted that Augustine lived and wrote as a mestizaje theologian between two cultures, the Roman and the African. González considers both Augustine's journey of faith and his theology in light of Augustine's bicultural roots. The book can also work as accessible introduction to the reader with only a passing familiarity of Augustine and his influence on Western theology.
September 3, 2020
Aside from its fascinating if somewhat speculative premise, this is a highly accessible treatment of complicated theological controversies in their historical context. The lack of scholarly footnotes will have its appeal, but felt frustrating to me. Granted, Gonzalez can be sourced elsewhere and has done the church public a real service here.
December 4, 2021
Great intro biography to Augustine! Does a great job of clearly explaining the history, theology, and cultural context. However he doesn’t give nearly enough support for his thesis of the mestizo Augustine. When the concept is mentioned it’s a quick paragraph at the end of a chapter.
However, I would absolutely recommend it if you want a short, well written intro to Augustine!
However, I would absolutely recommend it if you want a short, well written intro to Augustine!
January 10, 2019
A decent overview of Augustine's life and major theological spheres of debate. Some readers may find the middle chapters on Manicheaism and the Donatists tedious.
May 19, 2021
A fascinating and unique look at Augustine’s life and work.
August 4, 2022
Justo González work is always a 10/10
November 9, 2022
Good read, but somewhat forced overarching narrative. Still helpful to consider though.
January 16, 2026
Gets good when the author provides a lens over Augustine’s theology that emerges from
The in-between. Gets slower when goes way to biographical
The in-between. Gets slower when goes way to biographical
February 9, 2017
Augustine, the great church father, has been such a giant on the theological landscape for so many centuries, he has become a huge, lifeless statue for many. Justo González pumps life back into our view with a fresh and fascinating look at the humanity and the competing cultures at work within Augustine.
Augustine was a mix of the African heritage and faith of his mother (Monica) and the Roman culture of his father (Patrick) that he learned in school. Thus, the mestizo Augustine. Mestizaje is a Spanish word meaning mixed breed that was (and can still be) pejorative. About a century ago in Mexico, however, the word began to be used to describe an advantage—the ability to take the best from two worlds and mold it into something stronger.
We see this at work in the disagreements Augustine had with other Christian factions. On the one hand, he affirmed the Roman view that authority was conferred by the office one held whereas the Donatists took the African perspective that it resided in one’s virtue and character. But when dealing with the Pelagians, he reversed course and took the African viewpoint. God’s authority was found in his own person of love and grace not in his role as Judge which, according to the Pelagians, he was bound by the Law to administer with justice or be labeled capricous. Augustine was flexible and creative as required.
The bishop of Hippo, however, wasn’t very self-conscious about how these two cultures were at work in and around him. He didn’t seem to understand that more than theology motivated the Donatists. They resisted oppressive Roman rule (and so sometimes a Roman-dominated church) by affirming their own North African identity. The conflict was social, cultural and economic—expressed in theological differences.
Nonetheless, the overall strengths of Augustine’s mixed background offer a positive model for us now as it has throughout history. The Hebrew-Gentile mestizaje of the New Testament era, the Greco-Roman mestizaje of the early church, the Latin-German mestizaje of the Middle Ages and more all point to the value (even with its inherent tensions) of weaving together multiple cultures as a pathway to creativity, vitality and mission.
Augustine was a mix of the African heritage and faith of his mother (Monica) and the Roman culture of his father (Patrick) that he learned in school. Thus, the mestizo Augustine. Mestizaje is a Spanish word meaning mixed breed that was (and can still be) pejorative. About a century ago in Mexico, however, the word began to be used to describe an advantage—the ability to take the best from two worlds and mold it into something stronger.
We see this at work in the disagreements Augustine had with other Christian factions. On the one hand, he affirmed the Roman view that authority was conferred by the office one held whereas the Donatists took the African perspective that it resided in one’s virtue and character. But when dealing with the Pelagians, he reversed course and took the African viewpoint. God’s authority was found in his own person of love and grace not in his role as Judge which, according to the Pelagians, he was bound by the Law to administer with justice or be labeled capricous. Augustine was flexible and creative as required.
The bishop of Hippo, however, wasn’t very self-conscious about how these two cultures were at work in and around him. He didn’t seem to understand that more than theology motivated the Donatists. They resisted oppressive Roman rule (and so sometimes a Roman-dominated church) by affirming their own North African identity. The conflict was social, cultural and economic—expressed in theological differences.
Nonetheless, the overall strengths of Augustine’s mixed background offer a positive model for us now as it has throughout history. The Hebrew-Gentile mestizaje of the New Testament era, the Greco-Roman mestizaje of the early church, the Latin-German mestizaje of the Middle Ages and more all point to the value (even with its inherent tensions) of weaving together multiple cultures as a pathway to creativity, vitality and mission.
October 7, 2016
What one element of Augustine's background made him who he was? If Justo Gonzalez, who has just written a biography of the man, were to answer that question, he would reply "There isn't one." In his book, Gonzalez demonstrates that there were several variables that came into play in the development of one of Christianity's more influential thinkers. Augustine lived at the intersection of the empire's dominance and fall, North African and Roman Christianity, emotional religious experience and platonic thinking. He was the product of multiple elements, a man of two cultures. This is demonstrated to be true, but why exactly does this matter? As the author points out, no one is who they are for simplistic reasons. An abundance of variables lead to the resulting character that we become in the end. Therefore, with Augustine as an example, whoever we are studying in church history became who they were because of a variety of factors. This is true not only with persons, but with entire denominations. Good history will make us look long and hard for answers, not short circuit the process. If Augustine is more complicated than we thought, what does that say about the rest of our studies in church history? More to the point, what does it say about our own denominational histories, and our own personal story?
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for a pre-release review, and was not required to write positive feedback.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for a pre-release review, and was not required to write positive feedback.
May 11, 2021
This book is a simple summary of Augustine’s life and thought with an emphasis on his mixed racial and cultural heritage. Gonzalez tracks Augustine’s theological maturity through his controversies with the Manichaeans, Donatists, Pelagians, and pagans, giving the impression that Augustine did not have any original ideas, but built his theology on reactions to views he thought erroneous.
May 25, 2025
A decent survey of Augustine's life and theology, but it doesn't spend enough time talking about or demonstrating its titular premise.
April 15, 2017
Fantastic as an introduction to Augustine. The idea of "mestizo" is phenomenal, but unfortunately, that specific message of mestizaje is lost somewhere in the middle of the book.
April 15, 2017
Very readable and accessible introduction to the thought of Augustine, particularly with regard to the social and cultural elements of the various heresies and Christianities that Augustine faced as a bishop in North Africa.
The mestizaje lens doesn't really do all that much work in the book, and when it does, the points don't seem particularly illuminating. I don't think it's a news flash that we're shaped by multiple backgrounds and influences, and at times Gonzalez almost seems to imply that Augustine could pick and choose from his mestizaje background. In the last few chapters, Gonzalez pays more attention to his thesis and draws out the various lenses of Augustine, as well as our own Augustinian lenses on Christianity.
Nice, clear book; much more popular than I was expecting. College students and even some high schoolers could easily understand it.
The mestizaje lens doesn't really do all that much work in the book, and when it does, the points don't seem particularly illuminating. I don't think it's a news flash that we're shaped by multiple backgrounds and influences, and at times Gonzalez almost seems to imply that Augustine could pick and choose from his mestizaje background. In the last few chapters, Gonzalez pays more attention to his thesis and draws out the various lenses of Augustine, as well as our own Augustinian lenses on Christianity.
Nice, clear book; much more popular than I was expecting. College students and even some high schoolers could easily understand it.
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