On the Spirit and the Letter

E845709

On the Spirit and the Letter is a theological treatise by Augustine of Hippo that examines the relationship between divine grace, the human will, and the proper understanding of the Mosaic Law in the context of early Christian debates on salvation.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
On the Spirit and the Letter canonical 2
De spiritu et littera 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Latin prose work
theological treatise
addresses Pelagian controversy
early Christian debates on grace and free will
author Augustine of Hippo
circulation medieval Latin theological schools
countryOfOrigin Roman Empire
doctrinalEmphasis inner renewal by the Holy Spirit
love as fulfillment of the law
priority of grace over human merit
genre Christian doctrine
theology
hasAuthorRole Augustine as Church Father
historicalPeriod late 4th–early 5th century
impact cited in later Catholic and Protestant debates on justification
influenced Western doctrines of grace
includedIn collections of Augustine’s anti-Pelagian works
influencedBy Epistle to the Galatians
Epistle to the Romans
Pauline theology
language Latin
mainTopic Mosaic Law
divine grace
human will
justification
relationship between law and gospel
role of the Holy Spirit in Christian life
salvation
opposes Pelagian view of human moral self-sufficiency
originalTitle De spiritu et littera
partOf Augustine’s anti-Pelagian writings
positionOnFreeWill affirms existence of human free will
teaches that free will is healed and aided by grace
positionOnGrace affirms necessity of divine grace for salvation
denies that human beings can fulfill the law without grace
positionOnLaw argues that the law without the Spirit leads to condemnation
distinguishes letter of the law from spirit of the law
teaches that the Spirit enables fulfillment of the law in love
religiousContext Christianity
scripturalFocus 2 Corinthians 3
Romans 7
various Pauline epistles
studiedIn Augustinian studies
historical theology
theologicalTradition Latin patristic theology
Western Christianity
writtenBy Bishop of Hippo Regius

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Augustine’s anti-Pelagian writings includesWork On the Spirit and the Letter
On the Spirit and the Letter originalTitle De spiritu et littera
linked to: On the Spirit and the Letter
On the Predestination of the Saints relatedWork On the Spirit and the Letter