Chapter 8: Part 3 - Chapters 20, 21 & 22 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 20: Instantia; The truth is that bishop Augustine subjected himself to listening to numerous arguments about inheritances as an arbitrator. Religious conflicts for dominance in the area had led to legislation that drove wedges through many families. The culture changed from one that allowed for many mixed-marriages, to one that did not. Discord over inheritances were worsened, in at least some cases by this further division. People seemed aware and to openly acknowledge that "...these differences are the result of other peoples' conflicts"(p. 227). The reality of the history of violence between the various rival religious denominations is marked and laid out in some detail during the rest of the chapter. Chapter 21: Disciplina. The competition between the Donatists and the Catholics grew so vicious that in the most extreme case, a congregational minister who converted...