Augustine and the Pelagian Controversy: The Doctrines and Theology of Pelagius in the Early Christian Church

by B.B. Warfield

St. Augustine's role in the Pelagian controversy, wherein a popular theologian issued beliefs contrary to those of the Catholic order, is explained within. Pelagius was a popular figure in Rome and wider Christendom; thought to have hailed from the British Isles, his multilingualism, learned stature and obvious ascetic leanings made him a well-recognized and appreciated Christian. Years of preaching in Rome in the 4th and 5th centuries affected Pelagius' views; in particular, he felt that those who pled their very humanity was the reason for their sins and wrongdoing were abominable. In his writings, little of which survive to the modern day, Pelagius offers an alternative theology based on readings of the New Testament. The Augustinian notion of original sin - that sin is inherited to all humanity since the fall of Adam and Eve - is rejected by Pelagius, who felt that individual humans have the capacity to shape their own spiritual destiny through both piety and moral living.

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Church History, History

104 pages, Paperback

Published June 17, 2019

About the author

Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (usually known as B. B. Warfield) was professor of theology at Princeton Seminary from 1887 to 1921. Some conservative Presbyterians consider him to be the last of the great Princeton theologians before the split in 1929 that formed Westminster Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

(Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Solomon Chrysostom Selah]

Those who want to understand the Augustine and Pelagian controversies cannot miss this little book. This book, over 100 pages, is compact. The best parts are in the opening and closing sections.

Warfield begins by illuminating Pelagius' theological error: that man is not a machine exercising his will; in other words, will for man, not man for will.

At the end, warfield summarizes Augustine's theology of grace. Augustine, in turn, seeks to show that in reality the human will is corrupted, and that despite the existence of a certain indifferent will, in reality the human will tends to sin.

Such an understanding may be related to Augustine's personal experience. Indeed, how could the corruption of the human will and the importance of God's grace be so emphasized, without having experienced the classic-cultural dissipation?

[Robert]

This book functions as a narrative history of Augustine bibliography. ChatGPT said that Calvin is more Augustinian than Augustine in a sense because Augustine's last book stated that a believer can lose his salvation. It says that Warfield's statement otherwise in Augustine and the Pelagian Controversy: The Doctrines and Theology of Pelagius in the Early Christian Church is incorrect and that Warfield is looking at Augustine through a Calvinist lens. I will have to do more research to find out the truth of this matter. There are a number of typos that the real critique of this work is that it is sometimes hard to tell the difference between Augustine's words and Warfield's, which may have introduced some error. Augustine seems to be less systematic than Calvin because Augustine wrote the equivalent of treatises in letters. While this may make Augustine in a sense more similar to the Apostle Paul, it encourages misinterpretation. Augustine died before he could complete a treatise on semi-Pelagianism, or at least a response to one work of semi-pelagianism so it is possible that Augustine might have written more systematically at a later date if he had lived longer, but that was not God's will.

[G]

Warfield's commentary and overview of the 5th Century Pelagian controversy which Augustine of Hippo lead in overturning is a thorough and extensive read. Warfield's commentary invites us to go to the source and read Augustine himself (which is a good thing). Augustine defended the doctrine of sovereign grace, original sin and predestination against the monk Pelagius who denied man's need for God's grace, denied man's corrupt nature and defend absolute free will.

[Logan]

Warfield does a really good job relating the timeline and the events that happened during the controversy, relating an honest view of Augustine's perspectives in Augustine's own words as it relates to Pelagius. Particularly valuable is the last section where Warfield offers a succinct critique of Augustine's views and where he got it correct according to Scripture and where he got it wrong (particularly in relation to baptism).

Very informative, honest, succinct, and thorough.

[Thomas Berber]

Great book on this part of church history. Started the book because of my theology exams but still finished it, even after i had passed with flying colors. A must read for Christians.