Pablo Irizar

The biblically-inspired motif of the divine image (imago dei, cf. Gen. 1.26) is a central anthropological concept in early Christian discourse. While this motif has been studied extensively, it has not yet been studied against the backdrop of the closely related epistemological terms imago, imaginatio and phantasia as these develop in Augustine’s early works (387-391). Given that Puffer (2014) characterizes the presence of imago dei in the early works as an ‘exterior’ characteristic of human beings, the question arises, how does the treatment of imago and imaginario/phantasia inform Augustine’s imago dei motil in the early works, and if so, how? In other words, is the background to Augustine’s anthropology of the divine image framed against the background of the epistemological status of image and imagination in the early works or vice-versa? The answer to this question, it is hoped, will illuminate aspects of the status of the image in Augustine’s early works. The working assumption is that since imago, imago Dei, and imaginario/phantasia are all linguistically related, they may also be conceptually related, specially pertaining to the (mis)trust of ‘exteriority’ of imago Dei.

SummaryDogmatic debates in early Christianity shaped philosophical discourse just as Greek philosophy offered the conceptual tools to engage and, accordingly to crystalize early Christian practice, into a formal system of belief. Thus, in the recently-published The Rise of Christian Theology and the End of Ancient Metaphysics, Johannes Zachhuber notes that “Patristic thought as a whole can be identified as a Christian philosophy.” Following suit – though not without nuance – this paper suggests treating Patristic scriptural exegesis as an exercise of speculative philosophy, as evidenced in Augustine’s interpretation of the figure of the cross at Eph 3.18, where the cross progressively becomes a simple yet compelling paradigm of divine manifestation. This paradigm can be framed according to Augustine’s mature articulation of the ‘ontological principle’ of manifestation in s. 165: “From the depth which you cannot see rises everything that you can see.” By engaging in scriptural exegesis, within a gestalt where Wisdom, sacred and profane alike, merge in the incarnate God manifest in Christ, Augustine articulates unprecedented philosophical principles.

El uso de Agustín de Filipenses 2:6-7 como la “regla de la fe” que le sirve para quitarle importancia a las preocupaciones de la cristología pronicea ha sido, correctamente, enfatizado repetidamente por parte de los expertos agustinólogos anglófonos. Empero, el énfasis en la polémica función del dueto forma servi/forma dei ha hecho que se pierda de vista su presencia y desarrollo en contextos no polémico. Esto es sorprendente dado que Agustín trata bastante más frecuentemente la perícopa en cuestión por fuera de contextos polémicos. El presente artículo tiene por objetivo completar este vacío catalogando los usos no polémicos de Filipenses 2:6-7 en el trabajo de Agustín y su desarrollo vis-à-vis del término forma entre los predecesores latinos inmediatos del siglo IV de Agustín. Así, este artículo espera ilustrar el sentido no polémico, frecuentemente ignorado, de Filipenses 2:6-7 dentro del discurso del cristianismo temprano.