Fallen Angels in the Theology of Saint Augustine by Gregory D. Wiebe (review)

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• Fallen Angels in the Theology of Saint Augustine by Gregory D. Wiebe
• Travis Proctor

Gregory D. Wiebe Fallen Angels in the Theology of Saint Augustine Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021 Pp. xviii + 258. $100.

This book offers a thorough exploration of Augustine's understanding of fallen angels and demons, with special attention to their ancient demonological, angelological, and anthropological underpinnings. Wiebe focuses on three of Augustine's most important demonological works: The City of God, The Literal Meaning of Genesis, and The Trinity. Wiebe also gives due attention to the potential sources for Augustine's angelology and demonology, noting both Christian and non-Christian inspirations. Importantly, Wiebe pushes back against suggestions that Augustine's reflections on the moral import of demons resulted in their "psychologizing" (read: dis-embodiment); rather, Wiebe argues that "Augustine's basic insight … [is] that the moral struggle with demons is only properly contained within the ecclesial body" (3).

Chapter One, "The Angels of God," explores the creation and distinctive nature of angels, with Wiebe judiciously tracing how these beings are situated within Augustine's broader understanding of God and creation. Chapter Two, "The Fall of the Angels," analyzes the causes and consequences of the angels' rebellion against God, with vigilant attention to the logical consequences of the fall for angelic and demonic modes of embodiment and influence upon humans.

Chapter Three, "Demonic Bodies," details demonic embodiment further. Notably, Wiebe analyzes how the embodiment of fallen angels and demons emerges as part of Augustine's discussion of their interaction with and temptation of humans. Chapter Four, "Demonic Phenomena," explores Augustine's description of demonic appearances to humans, noting how Augustine limits demonic power to the corporeal sphere (i.e., the spaces in which their bodies can operate). Significantly, this functions to insulate the human will from demonic attack, thus providing human opportunity for resistance to demonic temptations.

Chapter Five, "The Devil and His Body," shows how, according to Augustine, fallen angels and demons have created a rival "symbolic order" to that of God, as physically embodied in the religious institutions and practices of "pagan" Rome. Chapter Six, "Pagan Demonolatry," deepens this investigation, demonstrating how Augustine contrasts the false, imitative "religion" of the demons with the salvific, authentic piety of the church.

The broader significance, and major strength, of this book is its insistence that fallen angels and demons were integral components of Augustine's broader theology, contra earlier interpreters who, as Wiebe notes, often approach Augustine through "disenchanted" lenses that position him as a premodern hero of enlightenment rationality (2). Wiebe's insistence on the cohesion of Augustine's theology and demonology, however, pays insufficient attention to (or attempts to resolve, as on page 93) points of tension or shifts within Augustine's approach to these issues. In such a way, an opportunity is missed to ground Augustine's demonology within his broader career arc and historical circumstances. Nevertheless, this book's detailed, thoughtful analysis establishes its utility for those interested in late ancient demonologies and their importance for broader streams of late antique thought. [End Page 583]

Travis Proctor Wittenberg University Copyright © 2023 Johns Hopkins University Press ...