Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Essay on confessions
Essay on confessions
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Essay on confessions
When one reads the word "confessions," one would not necessarily associate it with the word "narrative." Confessions seem to be more of something stated directly without any story-like element. They are also a more personal thing- one does not simply put them in a story form unless purposely intending to do so, because usually it is something that expresses guilt for something personal or is between the author and their conscience (or perhaps to themselves). However, there can always be an exception, like Augustine's Confessions. It is written as a form of a narrative, even though the original the main audience for whom it was written is God, yet it is also intended to be read by anyone, almost as a didactic piece that sets an example through the portrayal of his life and his decisions. Augustine takes what he has experienced during his life and with details such as parallels to the bible turns it into a narrative that he writes with an intention of educating or perhaps setting an example for any reader.
Augustine writes his confessions not as a list, but as one event that flows to another- like a narrative. At first glance, it appears to be as the title says- a book of confessions. However, it cannot solely be approached "as a penitential work, concerned with the confession of sins, which indeed it is, in some degree; but this is not Augustine's primary concern. (Bonner 164)." He means that it is not just a confession to God, that indeed God is the main audience, but not the only audience. Augustine even states this in the actual text: "I too, O Lord, also so confess unto Thee that men may hear, to whom I cannot prove whether I confess the truth, yet do they believe me whose ears charity openeth unto me (10.3.3)" and again wi...
... middle of paper ...
...no means starting on the morally correct path but still was able to turn that all around, and almost like an inspiration to all that it is never too late to make a difference or change in one's self.
Works Cited
Merriman, C.D. "Http://www.online-literature.com/saint-augustine/." Saint Augustine. Jalic, 2005. Web. 30 Mar. 2012.
O'Donnell, James J. "Augustine." : Confessions. Web. 30 Mar. 2012. .
Bonner, G. Starting With Oneself; Spiritual Confessions: Augustine's Confessions. ExpTim 101, 1990. 163-64. Print.
Troxel, A. Craig. ""What Did Augustine 'Confess' in His Confessions?" by A. Craig Troxel."Trinity Journal 15.2 (1994): 163-79. EarlyChurch.org.uk: 10 Years of Resourcing the Study of Early Church History. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. .
middle of paper ... ... This was the last sign that he needed and Augustine converted immediately. Throughout Augustine’s Confession, he describes his journey of coming to Christ. He is constantly thanking his mother and giving much credit to her.
St. Augustine’s Confessions is written through the Christian perspective of religion. Christianity is founded on the idea that there is one God who oversees all actions. Though all actions are observed by a higher power, God instills in us a free will. As Christians we are free to make our own decisions whether right or wrong. In his Biography St Augustine expresses that he feels like a sinner. He struggles with the fact that he is a thrill seeker. He loves to watch blood sports. He watches gladiators fight to the death and commit murder. Not only does he watch, but he enjoys observing these acts. He is also expressing his sins in his biography when he writes about stealing, which is another sin. He steals pears for fun. St Augustine doesn’t even eat the pears he steals, but throws them to the pigs to eat. Through the story St Augustine struggles interna...
Augustine remarks that he sees man as seeking what gives him glory rather than what brings glory to God. When talking about self Augustine shares that he enjoyed studying Latin in school simply because it came easy to him, not because it brought glory to God. As he grew, he was, in the eyes of his society, an upstanding citizen, he did nothing inherently wrong. However, Augustine believes he did considerable wrong; rather than living for and seeking after the Lord, he was living for and seeking after his own desires. These claims exemplify mankind’s tendency to turn its back on its beliefs and the One in whom they
St. Augustine said in the beginning of this chapter, “My desire was not to be more certain of you but to be more stable in you (pg. 133).” One remaining thing that was preventing him from converting is becoming a member of the Church. St. Augustine now possessed a good understanding of God and the perception of evil and considered himself on the path of Christianity, but was still unable to get past becoming a full member of the church. When talking to Simplicianus one thing resonated within St. Augustine that he had said, “I shall not believe that or count you among the Christians unless I see you in the Church of Christ (pg. 136).” St. Augustine was ready to believe in Christ, but was looking for a reason, something that would push him over the edge to devoutly follow Christ and leave his last doubts in the past. He still struggled with the desires of his flesh and the desires of the spirit and has continued to try and find rest in this struggle. Not long after his conversation with Simplicianus he meets with another friend Ponticianus. He tells St. Augustine a story about two men, friends of his, who went on a trip to a monastery and during their trip their eyes were opened and both came to Christ and began to serve him from that moment on.
In Saint Augustine, Confessions, he writes about his journey of finding God and Christianity. Opening each book with a prayer to God, he start off with the sin of being an infant. He then moves on to his school years and what he refers to as his sinful youth. Afterwards he writes of his adult years and the moments leading up to his conversion. He ends the autobiographical part of the book with the years after his conversion.
In order to better realize St. Augustine’s views on the morality of lying, it is essential to first define what was actually understood about
...same time transferring the focus of his text to the glory and wonder of God, causing his readers to shift their focus as well. We don’t finish the Confessions and marvel at the depravity of the young St. Augustine, or even at the incredible mercy of God for taking in such a self-proclaimed sinner. The impression the text leaves us with is that of the immense benefits the Lord can bestow on man, and the great extent to which St. Augustine was able to profit from this. Therefore, what St. Augustine had sought in God, he has found. The inner void is filled, he has a loyal nonjudgmental companion and protector for this life and the next, and he has found a potential scapegoat for all of his possible future mistakes and flaws—as well as someone to pray to and unconditionally praise.
Augustine. “Confessions”. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 1113-41. Print.
... of sainthood requires an excess of self-restraint that makes it impossible to attain the moral mean. The saint may tell himself that the denial of worldly pleasures will bring him true happiness, but in fact he is pursuing a kind of perverse pleasure in self-restraint. Saint Augustine is looking for happiness from beyond life; but happiness, as Aristotle says, comes from achieving the moral mean in life. If we aspire to the moral mean, we must consider moral martyrdom to be like any other excess. In this view, the denial of worldly pleasures is not a virtue; rather, it is a vice that leads us away from the balance that we seek in our lives.
William S. Babcock. The Ethics of St. Augustine: JRE Studies in Religion, no. 3. Scholars Press, Atlanta : 1991.
The second circle of hell, a realm for those who fell victim of their carnal desires, is another level at which to place Augustine’s soul for he was consumed by lust in his pre-conversion days. He was encouraged by his family to learn the art of persuasion and making of fine speech when he was only sixteen. He used these skills, which he developed very well, along with his good looks to seduce as many women as possible. It was “in that sixteenth year of my life in this world, when the madness of lust. . . took complete control of me, and I surrendered to it” (Confessions, 987). He was in love with being in love. Yet, he was unable to discern between love and lust.
Saint Augustine, or Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430), was a philosopher, theologian, and teacher in 5th century Rome. He wrote a number of books, including his biography; The Confessions of St. Augustine. This book covers his life from birth to after his son’s death, with the latter part of his life being covered in his other work, The City of God. His autobiography focuses on Augustine’s spiritual life, his early years of sin and then latter his conversion and baptism. He follows the phases of his life, from a young child struggling with mischief, to his beliefs in Manichaeism and astrology, and through his immoral sexual urges. His autobiography is not a strict one, often large portions of his life or events that could be considered significant. For example the death of his father is mentioned only briefly. Only experiences that had religious meaning were detailed. St. Augustine’s Confessions has many themes. Throughout the book he often references and compares his stories to that of the bible. He uses these examples of his life to teach the reader about religious themes he finds important. His main lesson in this book is to deny the “sins” of the flesh and turn to god. The main point of the book is that Augustine spends his
..., the closer he was really moving toward God. He began to realize that God is all good, so nothing he creates will be of evil. “God does not create evil but it is of the world” (Augustine 230-31). Once he took responsibility for his personal life and spiritual walk, Augustine began to uncover the truths to his life. He reveals one must take responsibility for their actions and confess to develop a stronger connection with God. He then comprehends; God allows bad things to happen in your life to show you that you need him. Evil is not a lesser good, but it is a reflection of ones moral well-being. In order for one’s well being to be saved one must confess their sins to Christ.
Augustine’s Confessions directly presents a contrast between worldly temptations and staying devout. Further, in Augustine’s reflection, human weakness, or tendency to give into sin, is greatly emphasized. Confessions introduces different instances in Augustine’s life in which this weakness is apparent. Perhaps many of the most startling examples were apparent in his youth. Augustine recalls praying “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet,” conveying his opposing desires of both secular pleasure as well as a holy relationship with God, and his weakness to choose the pious route (104). He continues, addressing the reasons for his irreligious prayer, and states, “I was afraid lest thou shouldst hear me too soon, and too soon cure me of my disease of lust which I desired to have satisfied rather than extinguished” (104). His prayer was a plea for God’s grace and help through a time of sin, yet simultaneously a proclamation of his true commitment to sin. Here, St. Augustine’s plea can be interpreted to show sin’s hold over him and his powerlessness to resist. The human weakness Augustine demonstrates here is a greater example of choice leading to a sinful path. This idea is also developed in an earlier passage, which was also a reflection on Augustine’s youth. Lust is the primary sin here again, having metaphorically taken Augustine prisoner; lust and desire are rhetorically emphasized by their effects over Augustine. The
In Augustine Confessions, the autobiography goes through Augustine struggle with the Christian faith. And the sins that his commits throughout his life. From a young teenager to adult Augustine is truthful with his experiences. Augustine tells his belief in false teaching, sexual immorality, and the desire for God. Augustine’s life is full of different experiences that led him to conversion as an adult. He experienced different types of cultures and ideas that led to and away from God.