The Teaching of Saint Augustine on the Anger of God as Contained in the Enarrationes in Psalmos Cover Image

Nauka św. Augustyna o gniewie Boga w Enarrationes in Psalmos
The Teaching of Saint Augustine on the Anger of God as Contained in the Enarrationes in Psalmos

Author(s): Bogdan Czyżewski
Subject(s): Theology and Religion
Published by: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II - Wydział Teologii
Keywords: Augustine; Psalms; God’s anger; man’s anger; mercy; conversion;

Summary/Abstract: God’s anger appears often in the Bible, especially in the Book of Psalms, a topic which Saint Augustine treated repeatedly in his extensive commentary Enarrationes in Psalmos. The Bishop of Hippo created his comments on each of the psalms in the form of sermons or written tuition. His work on Psalms had spanned 30 years, and his analysis of God’s anger is based on this Book. He laid out three important aspects, the first connected with finding the cause of that anger. The Bishop explains that the first and chief reason is the sin of man. In the second matter, Augustine emphasizes the difference between God’s anger and human anger. God’s anger is never destructive, but has an educational role and includes a call to conversion. On the contrary, man’s anger, when uncontrolled, leads to self-destruction and harm to others, because anger nurtured in the human heart turns into the deadly sin of hatred. The third issue deals with the relation of God’s anger to his mercy and justice. The Bishop of Hippo concludes that God’s mercy is always stronger than his wrath and justice, especially when humans turn from sin and become new persons dedicated to God.

  • Issue Year: 2018
  • Issue No: 33
  • Page Range: 315-341
  • Page Count: 27
  • Language: Polish