Publisher's Synopsis
The book "Pelagius: A Reluctant Heretic" reviewed, in the light of modern research, the evidence for the causes, course and aftermath of the Pelagian controversy, as well as the main theological issues involved. This is a companion volume by the same author, containing translations of 18 letters and minor treatises in letter form attributed at various times to Pelagius or his followers, most of them translated into English here for the first time.;English-speaking students of Pelagianism, even if they have little or no knowledge of Latin, will thus be able to read for themselves the primary sources for one of the most persistent heresies of the Western Church. The book aims to help their study of the texts both by brief introductions commenting on their authorship, provenance, background and content, and by footnotes giving cross-references for themes employed by Pelasgian writers and for biblical quotations. There is also a general introduction on the writers themselves, their message, their way of presenting it and the possible influences to which their leaders may have been subjected.;Topics discussed include Pelagian teaching on free will and grace, on baptism and conversion, on marriage, virginity and widowhood, on riches and the last judgement, as well as their view on the relation of the Old to the New Testament, and of the old law to the teaching of Jesus.
