Another online-review of Matt Jenson's book by Jason Ingalls can be found here: The Gravity of Sin
"In conclusion, Jenson offers contemporary theological thinkers something of great worth. First, he sets about to rescue Augustine for contemporary reflection. For some, Augustine never needed saving, but for others the saint has been coupled with degrading and oppressive ideas of sin and humanity. When Jenson argues that St. Augustine’s account of the human person and sin is itself relational in character and thus in harmony with many contemporary concerns, he gives the latter group the opportunity to reread Augustine with fresh eyes. Second, Jenson’s argument is strongly Christological. While the book is ordered historically, it draws its material circle around Christ. Granted, his account of Christ is strongly influenced by Barth and Luther, but its strong theological grounding allows for its profound pragmatic, personal, and pastoral value. Which brings me to the last part of Jenson’s contribution, he provides a grammar for sin. The grammar is Christologically grounded (and therefore objectivist, extrinsic, and materially mediated), and this concreteness saves it from the navel-gazing that might come from a similar, contemporary account. I personally have been helped by his description of homo incurvatus in se and his dipolar exposition of sin as pride and sloth, and I have seen this vocabulary ignite people’s eyes as they, in a number of situations, came to understand a part of themselves for which they had struggled for words. While ordered very differently, Jenson shares Augustine’s concern that our theological language be useful in some way, that it not only bear witness to God but also to who we are in relationship to the Holy Trinity. For as critical as Jenson is of Augustine’s legacy, Jenson has done us a great service by drawing him back into our conversation about sin and allowing him to again speak words of grace. I cannot help but think that somewhere the old saint from Tagaste smiles."
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