Pelagius: Life and Letters [Paperback]

Pelagius (Author), B.R. Rees (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2004

Collected together for the first time in one volume are the most important critical study of Pelagius to date, together with a selection of his letters. Arriving in Rome in the late 4th century, Pelagius soon acquired a considerable reputation as a reformer and spiritual adviser. In Palestine he became embroiled with Jerome and later with Augustine who had been alerted to the Pelagian threat to orthodox doctrine. Professor Rees here re-examines the evidence for the Pelagian controversy: `A judicious survey of the literature surrounding Pelagius and the movement associated with his name' CHURCH HISTORY (US). The second part of the book consists of Pelagius' letters, which provide the clearest and most succinct statements of Pelagian theology, but few of which have ever been translated into English before.Reissue; first published in two volumes as Pelagius: A Reluctant Heretic and The Letters of Pelagius and his Followers(The Boydell Press, 1991).

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, English
Original Language: Latin

Product Details

• Paperback: 552 pages
• Publisher: Boydell Press (April 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0851157149
• ISBN-13: 978-0851157146
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,454,741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pelagius is my hero, July 28, 2008

By 

Jesse Morrell "Jesse Morrell" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pelagius: Life and Letters (Paperback)

I am just about finished with "Pelagius: Life & Letters".

I personally did not care too much for the biography section of the book - the "life" section. But I really enjoy the actual writings of Pelagius. Pelagius is my hero. He represented Apostolic Christianity in a time when Gnosticism was taking over.

I did wish that his letters were more theological. Pelagius was really a practical holiness teacher. But his theology of free will and human nature was touched upon in his letters. I really wish that his books on "Free Will" and "Nature" were not lost in history.

This book was great. I also recommend "Presentation of Augustinianism and Pelagianism from Original Sources" by Dr. Wiggers, translated by Ralph Emerson. That covers the theology of Pelagianism very thoroughly.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars the other side, March 5, 2007

By 

D. T. Kleven (Eau Claire, WI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pelagius: Life and Letters (Paperback)

I must confess that on matters of Divine sovereignty and human agency, I choose the embrace the paradox rather than to pick a side. calvinism/arminianism and more historically, augustinianism/pelagianism seem in many ways to be false dichotomies. The first half of this book The Reluctant Heretic was a very interesting portrayal of the life and controversy of Pelagius. Having heard many times of the heresy of pelagianism, it was fascinating to hear an account from the "other side," especially considering that the victors tend to write the history books. I was disappointed when Rees slipped into an attempt to fit these issues into an evolutionary framework of thinking. In all, it was a good picture of a figure I really knew nothing about. The second half of the book (Letters) contains some of the primary documents. I only read the first half of them, as the rest of them are uncertain in their origins, and I began to note many repetitions of ideas as I read through the letters. Letter to Demetrius is an incredible piece of Christian literature. It is one of my favorite works, ranking up there with Augustine's Confessions. It certainly makes you think, and there are several problematic elements. He says that "no one except yourself will be able to endow you with spiritual riches... and they are things which cannot be within you unless they come from you," and "let us learn about each of the good qualities of the mind from no other source but the mind itself." Some of it seems to be humanism, but it is countered, even in the same work, by opposing ideas. Here is a small sampling of ideas I liked: "First then you ought to measure the good of human nature by reference to its Creator"; "the divine Scriptures which alone enable you to understand the complete will of God"; "See that you do all the good that you do for God's sake, knowing that you will receive a reward for it from God only insofar as you have done it out of regard for your fear and love of Him"; "You must be especially careful to avoid false humility and to follow that true humility which Christ taught us, in which pride is not included, for many pursue the shadow of this virtue, few its reality." All in all, this is a fascinating portrayal of the role of the will. I don't think that Pelagius should be taken for his theology (there are problems) but rather as an exhortation to good works, an encouragement to live our lives, not just think our theology, in a way that is pleasing to God. Combined with Augustine, I think he provides a healthy tension in Christian thought.