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Abstract reads : “In his 1967 essay Der Dreifaltige Gott, Karl Rahner lamented the isolation of the doctrine of the Trinity from the economy of salvation and the greater body of religious thought in Western Christianity. According to Rahner, this isolation ultimately found its genesis in the theology of St Augustine. To overcome the alleged shortcomings of the tradition, Rahner proposed his Rule or Grundaxiom, that “the economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity and vice versa”. In recent decades many have questioned the explanatory power of the Rule, noting various incongruities between the economic Trinitarian relations and Rahner’s Latin conception of the Trinitarian relations. Through close and sustained analysis of Augustine’s exegesis of Scripture, this dissertation argues that Augustine’s Trinitarian exegesis offers significant—though not inexhaustible—support for Rahner’s Trinitarian project and, particularly, his Grundaxiom. Firstly, it will be argued that Augustine provides weighty, biblically rich, support for Rahner’s Trinitarian agenda at exactly those points where Rahner is explicitly critical of Augustine and the “Augustinian-Western tradition”, overcoming various weaknesses detected in the later tradition, and pre-empting many of Rahner’s later solutions. Secondly and consequently, it will be argued that Augustine offers a scriptural reading strategy that addresses the major exegetical difficulties perceived to emerge from Rahner’s Rule. Thus, in Augustine’s exegesis of Scripture, the Augustinian-Western tradition has always had the resources at its disposal to avoid or address several of the most poignant criticisms levelled both by and at Rahner.” Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Augustine and the economy: scripture, de deo uno and trino, christology, creation, and piety Chapter 3. Augustine and the economy: the Old Testament, soteriology, and the missions and processions Chapter 4. The Father–Son relationship: Rahner’s rule, contemporary objections, and Augustine’s exegesis Chapter 5. The Son–Spirit relationship: Rahner’s rule, contemporary objections, and Augustine’s exegesis Chapter 6. Conclusion Submitted in Fulfillment for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Moore Theological College.

Abstract reads : "Christian theology portrays God as sovereign over all human history, and yet his human creatures as able to choose between morally significant courses of action. At the heart of created reality is both a theological determinism where God has determined the course of human history, and a human capacity to make real and meaningful choices between two or more possibilities. This thesis sets out to explore the compatibility of God’s sovereignty and human freedom, in the eyes of a key contributor to the theological tradition, Augustine, Bishop of Hippo Regis. Specifically, it examines the coherence of Augustine’s view of free-will (that we can choose between alternate possibilities), and his doctrine of grace (that we need God's grace because without it we will not choose God). It is argued that Augustine’s distinction between our ability (posse) and our will (velle) is key for understanding his construal of the compatibility between God’s sovereignty and human freedom. Although we have the ability to choose other than what God has determined, we do not have the will to choose other than what God has determined, whether God moves us by his Spirit or gives us over to our sin. Thus, while we can choose between alternate possibilities, God has determined all that will come to pass. While it is often assumed that Augustine held that, apart from the grace of God, fallen humanity is non posse non peccare (not able to not sin), it is demonstrated that the only instance of this phrase in the entire works of Augustine, is in a single sentence in which Augustine is quoting Pelagius. By contrast, it is argued that Augustine would have rejected the view that fallen humanity is non posse non peccare (not able to not sin), and instead, advocated that fallen humanity is non velle non peccare (not willing to not sin)." Introduction – The Problem of Compatibilism Chapter 1 – Augustine On Free Will Chapter 2 – The First Pelagian Controversy Chapter 3 – The Second Pelagian Controversy Chapter 4 – Augustine‟s Final Thoughton Free-will Conclusion – Implications for Understanding Compatibilism Submitted in full fulfilment for the degree of Master of Theology, Moore Theological College.

Engraved portraits with captions of St Augustine and John Knox.

1. Gibson explores the humanity of scripture in light of the widespread acceptance in the early church of the Greek translation, the Septuagint. He looks through the lense of correspondence between Jerome and Augustine. He includes some examples on paper 1. Bible translation and the humanity of scripture 2. Embracing the Greek over the Hebrew 3. Context of the letters between Jerome and Augustine 4. The history and list of events, including an assessment of Jerome and Augustine Talk is followed by questions