Seducing Augustine : Bodies, Desires, Confessions

"Augustine's Confessions is a text that seduces. But how often do its readers respond in kind? Here three scholars who share a longstanding fascination with sexuality and Christian discourse attempt to do just that. Where prior interpreters have been inclined either to defend or to criticize Augustine's views, Virginia Burrus, Mark Jordan, and Karmen MacKendrick set out both to seduce and to be seduced by his text. Often ambivalent but always passionately engaged, their readings of the Confessions center on four sets of intertwined themes--secrecy and confession, asceticism and eroticism, constraint and freedom, and time and eternity. Rather than expose Augustine's sexual history, they explore how the Confessions conjoins the erotic with the hidden, the imaginary, and the fictional. Rather than bemoan the repressiveness of his text, they uncover the complex relationship between seductive flesh and persuasive words that pervades all of its books. Rather than struggle to escape the control of the author, they embrace the painful pleasure of willed submission that lies at the erotic heart not only of the Confessions but also of Augustine's broader understanding of sin and salvation. Rather than mourn the fateful otherworldliness of his theological vision, they plumb the bottomless depths of beauty that Augustine discovers within creation, thereby extending desire precisely by refusing satisfaction. In unfolding their readings, the authors draw upon other works in Augustine's corpus while building on prior Augustinian scholarship in their own overlapping fields of history, theology, and philosophy. They also press well beyond the conventional boundaries of scholarly disciplines, conversing with such wide-ranging theorists of eroticism as Barthes, Baudrillard, Klossowski, Foucault, and Harpham. In the end, they offer not only a fresh interpretation of Augustine's famous work but also a multivocal literary-philosophical meditation on the seductive elusiveness of desire, bodies, language, and God."--Publisher description Annotation Augustine's Confessions is a text that seduces. But how often do its readers respond in kind? Here three scholars who share a longstanding fascination with sexuality and Christian discourse attempt to do just that. Where prior interpreters have been inclined either to defend or to criticize Augustine's views, Virginia Burrus, Mark Jordan, and Karmen MacKendrick set out both to seduce and to be seduced by his text. Often ambivalent but always passionately engaged, their readings of the Confessions center on four sets of intertwined themes - secrecy and confession, asceticism and eroticism, constraint and freedom, and time and eternity. Rather than expose Augustine's sexual history, they explore how the Confessions conjoins the erotic with the hidden, the imaginary, and the fictional. Rather than bemoan the repressiveness of his text, they uncover the complex relationship between seductive flesh and persuasive words that pervades all of its books. Rather than struggle to escape the control of the author, they embrace the painful pleasure of willed submission that lies at the erotic heart not only of the Confessions but also of Augustine's broader understanding of sin and salvation. Rather than mourn the fateful otherworldliness of his theological vision, they plumb the bottomless depths of beauty that Augustine discovers within creation, thereby extending desire precisely by refusing satisfaction. In unfolding their readings, the authors draw upon other works in Augustine's corpus while building on prior Augustinian scholarship in their own overlapping fields of history, theology, and philosophy. They also press well beyond the conventional boundaries of scholarly disciplines, conversing with such wide-ranging theorists of eroticism as Barthes, Baudrillard, Klossowski, Foucault, and Harpham. In the end, they offer not only a fresh interpretation of Augustine's famous work but also a multivocal literary-philosophical meditation on the seductive elusivenessof desire, bodies, language, and God "Augustine's Confessions" is a text that seduces. But how often do its readers respond in kind? In this book, three scholars who share a long-standing fascination with sexuality and Christian discourse attempt just that. It also offers a multivocal literary-philosophical meditation on the seductive elusiveness of desire, bodies, language, and God. Contents 8 Preface 10 Introduction 16 Secrets and Lies 26 The Word, His Body 48 Freedom in Submission 77 No Time for Sex 100 Conclusion 130 Notes 144 Works Cited 172 Index 182 ISBN,9780823231935,(cloth,:,alk.,paper)鈥擨SBN,9780823231942,(pbk.,:,alk.,paper)鈥擨SBN,9780823231959,(ebook,:,alk.,paper) Fordham University Press Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 Introduction......Page 16 Secrets and Lies......Page 26 The Word, His Body......Page 48 Freedom in Submission......Page 77 No Time for Sex......Page 100 Conclusion......Page 130 Notes......Page 144 Works Cited......Page 172 Index......Page 182 Pleasurable Temptations -- Secrets And Lies -- The Word, His Body -- Freedom In Submission -- No Time For Sex -- Seductive Praises. Virginia Burrus, Mark D. Jordan, Karmen Mackendrick. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Augustine's Confessions is a text that seduces. But how often do its readers respond in kind? In this title, three scholars who share a longstanding fascination with sexuality and Christian discourse attempt to do just that.