City of God and the Duty of Just Memory
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In a recent essay, Richard Miller claims that Augustine presumes a duty to remember justly in his City of God . However, Miller's brief reference to a presumed duty of “just memory” does not fully explain how Augustine conceptualizes this duty or how it relates to his theological concerns. In this article, I take up Miller's thesis and systematically demonstrate in what sense Augustine presumes a duty to remember truly for the sake of justice in City of God . I first describe how Augustine's revisionist narrative of Roman history in City of God testifies to what I refer to as the “false remembrance” of Roman historians, philosophers, and poets. I then examine how false remembrance is unjust by virtue of its integral role in the construction of Rome as a political idol and, relatedly, its participation in the self‐love in which idolatry is rooted. Having established the idolatrous dimensions of false remembrance, I argue on behalf of an Augustinian notion of just memory as a constitutive obligation of latreia , or the true worship of God alone, and thus an expression of properly ordered love toward God and neighbor. I conclude by indicating Augustine's distinctive contribution to ongoing conversations in theology and theological ethics regarding memory and justice.
Source: Modern Theology
DOI: 10.1111/moth.70097
Author: Zachary J. Taylor
Institution: University of Chicago
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,900
OpenAlex ID: W7149043172
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