13. Among the first exclusive focuses on deification in Augustine is an article
xvi Introduction to a nominal reality; but even more unfortunate would be to often miss what Augustine is doing. By proceeding thematically we come to a more comprehensive understanding of the many diverse roles deification plays in Augustine's theology.
The second thesis thus asserts that a wider metaphor of divine union runs throughout Augustine's thought in ways indispensable to his overall theological concerns. I argue that the creature's union with God is the one constant theological principle found throughout Augustine's thought. Or, as Robert Wilken has recently written with reference to Augustine's use of the term "cleave" (adhaerere), "No other biblical word seemed to Augustine to embody the entire mystery of the faith so fully."11 As I shall argue, Augustine's cleaving to God ultimately means to be transformed into God in a nonliteral yet real way. In order to display this extensive imagery of deification, this volume proceeds by way of primary texts representative of Augustine's reliance on various images and concepts of communion between God and creature. As such, the following chapters do not simply chronicle terms but rather investigate the many ways Augustine describes how creation is united to God. Such a method allows this work to correct those studies on Augustine's sense of divine union which focus solely on his use of the term deificare, while also showing how the language of deification does not rise up uninfluenced from the rest of his wider concerns.
This is the first book-length study of Augustine's theology of deification. Until now, there has been one unpublished dissertation treating Augustine's use of the term deificare in his sermons.12 In addition there have been a handful of illuminating articles on Augustine's theology of deification.13 Finally,
11. Robert Wilken, The Spirit of Early Christian Thought (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003), 72.
12. Jan A. A. A. Stoop, Die Deificatio Hominis in die Sermones en Epistulae van Augustinus (Leiden: Drukkerij Luctor et Emergo, 1952), 87 pages.
13. Among the first exclusive focuses on deification in Augustine is an article