Augustine Of Hippo And Lady Julian Of Norwich - 2222 Words

The story of Creation found in Genesis 1-3 has captured the attention of countless Christian theologians throughout the ages. Despite the fact that the text of these chapters are quite short, it has proved itself to be a fertile ground from which many of the central tenets of Christian doctrine have sprouted. This fruitful text has also spurred a variety of differing interpretations of the Creation and Fall. Augustine of Hippo and Lady Julian of Norwich are two theologians who interpreted Genesis 1-3 in vastly different ways. The aim of this paper is to make a thematically organized comparison of Julian of Norwich’s interpretation (which is mostly apparent within her short parable on the Lord and the Servant, Revelations of Divine Love) with Augustine’s influential interpretation of Genesis 1-3. While Augustine’s interpretation is a classic understanding of the Fall that has had a lasting impact on Western society, in contrast Julian’s nuanced understandi ng of the Fall has had little influence in most subsequent theological thought until relatively recently. Indeed, it wasn’t until the 20th century that her work began to be broadly in circulation. Even in modern reflections on her theology, many scholars underappreciate or misunderstand her theology. Some theologians even suggest that she is moving towards unorthodoxy. Additionally, although Julian of Norwich is held in high esteem by many scholars and non-scholars, she is not always recognized as a highly complex