For the joy set before us

"Age-old debates over self-love and self-denial continue in the Christian community. Many regard self-love as incompatible with the self-sacrifice of Christ. Others, especially feminists and liberation theologians, contest the notion that self-sacrifice is the test of authentic Christian love. The resolution to this dilemma, argues Gerald Schlabach, lies with St. Augustine.". "In this book, Schlabach examines how Augustine reconciled self-love and self-denial in a unified Christian love. He demonstrates the crucial role that continence played in Augustine's teaching. It is much more than an attitude toward sexuality. Rather, it is the operative mode of Augustinian caritas."--BOOK JACKET.