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Boston College The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Department of Theology A CHRISTOLOGICAL APPROACH TO VIRTUE: AUGUSTINE AND HUMILITY a dissertation by DEBORAH WALLACE RUDDY submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2001 UMI Number. 3034797 UMf UMI Microform 3034797 Copyright 2002 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI48106-1346 © copyright by DEBORAH WALLACE RUDDY 200t BOSTON COLLEGE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES The thesis of: entitled: Deborah Wallace Ruddy A Christological Approach to Virtue: Augustine and Humility submitted to the Department of: ___T.....h..... eo ....l....o"'-'!g"""y_ _ _ _ _ __ in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences has been read and approved by the Committee: Cha;r.~ Date: -1--NJIWII~l. . .3.p.O~~-t1...IC4-tM¥-.I~--. A CHRISTOLOGICAL APPROACH TO VIRTUE: AUGUSTINE AND HUMILITY Abstract by Deborah Wallace Ruddy Advisor: Rev. Michael Himes Humility has become an unpopular, even forgotten, virtue in contemporary Western culture. Central throughout most of Christian history, its value today has changed dramatically. Within Christian circles, the world-affirming and liberating dimensions of the gospel have led to questions about whether humility frustrates human flourishing and fosters a passive acceptance of injustice. Several feminist scholars have argued that humility can exacerbate women' s struggle for self-identity and empowerment. At this time, St. Augustine's work is worth exploring because he both places humility at the center of Christian life and provides a Christo logical hermeneutic for distinguishing between true and false humility. According to Augustine. all Christian virtues are rooted in this foundational Christian attribute revealed in Jesus Christ. The first and last chapters respectively introduce contemporary criticism of humility and then evaluate it in light of Augustine's thought. Chapters two and three explore Augustine's claim that humility is at the heart of who Christ is and what his disciples are to become (Matthew 11:29). The way that God saves us is inseparable from salvation itself: "our very salvation in Christ consists in the humility of Christ." (Serm. 285.4). In other words, humility is more than simply moral; it is soteriological. for it describes the very logic of our reconciliation with God in Jesus Christ. Through humility, Christ confronts our pride, mediates between humanity and divinity, and empties himself in love for our sake. Chapter four examines how Johann Baptist Metz offers resources for a contemporary renewal of humility through his historically and politically conscious account of "poverty of spirit," relating it to modem forms of alienation and exploitation. In a mutually corrective reading of Augustine and Metz. humility emerges as the source of both a Christian anthropology and a more radical, active love that calls us out of ourselves into solidarity and communion. The twofold shape of Christ-like humility, as true self-knowledge and self-emptying (Philippians 2), reveals the expansive and liberating nature of this virtue too often aligned with a privatized and somber Christianity. TABLE OF CONTENTS lNTRODUCTION 1. 2. 3. The Problematic Situation St. Augustine: Teacher of Christ's Humility Method and Structure 1 7 Ll CHAPTER 1 HUMILITY AND ITS CRITICS Intro