Throughout Christianity's history, the idea of mission and conversion has been heavily debated, in terms of its ethicality. Since Christ died and rose again from the dead, Christians have gone out to spread the word of God and convert those who have never experienced God's presence. From Paul the Apostle's letters in the New Testament to the Spanish Empire's conquests of Central and South America, the ways in which people have gone about to spread Christianity have radically shifted over time, especially after powerful institutions and empires decided to utilize Christianity as a medium through which they could effectively gain power.
The role of a missionary is to not only spread the word of God, but to also instill a culture of Christianity
…show more content…
He then explains the state of spiritual paralysis that he was stuck in and ends up completely changed from a secular intellectual to a servant of God, similar to the conversion that Victorinus of Pettau, who became a Christian ecclesiastical writer after being a well-known secular intellectual, underwent. After hearing a child's voice telling Augustine to pick up his Bible and read, Augustine reads an injunction against lust and bodily pleasures, and chooses to immediately convert to Christianity. To an enormous extent, the implications of this text on the history of Christian mission and conversion are major. This is the quintessential example of how one goes about living a secular life, and then converts to Christianity after having a spiritual experience from God. After this, Augustine was prepared to record his thoughts and experiences, which are still analyzed to this …show more content…
As detailed in Father John Veniaminov's report on "The Condition of the Orthodox Church in Russian America," the Aleuts willingly and quickly accepted Christianity and prayed to God as they had been taught (Gaustad and Noll 55). Even though they struggled with translation issues and were perhaps forced to pray to an unknown God, as a result of the priests being unable to fully communicate God's message, the Aleuts gave up their shamanism and other religions and fully committed themselves to their evangelical faith. In this case, because the population was instantaneously willing to take on Christianity as their religion, the mission and conversion aspect of the Aleuts was played out as easily as one could possibly imagine. When contrasting the Northern Potosi Bolivians to the Aleuts, it can be inferred that mission and conversion is either an easier or harder feat to pull off, depending on how willing different cultures are to adopt new religions as their
St. Augustine considers his mother as a crucial factor in his conversion to Catholicism. However, through the analysis of his confessions, it leads me to believe that St. Augustine’s mother was not a decisive figure. Monica was in the background keeping him in thought and prayer, however Augustine’s watershed moments came as a result of his own examination of readings as well as his conversations with his friends and mentors. Therefore, I argue that Monica had delayed Augustine’s baptism and it was his own experiences that allowed him to come to God. Baptizing a baby at birth was a common practice during the time when Augustine was born.
Augustine’s conversion is his partaking in the act of getting baptized. St. Augustine had taken a bigger role in the Church after his retirement from teaching and had decided it was time to get baptized. He returned to Milan with Alypius and Adeodatus, his son born out of sin, and all of them were baptized by his good friend Ambrose. St. Augustine’s conversion to Catholicism was complete and he began to live out a life dedicated to
He goes to his two friends Ponticianus and Simplicianus, asking them about their conversions looking to see what they experienced and what they had to give up from their lives. First came the conversation with Simplicianus, where the two then talked over the works of Plato as Augustine recalls how “fortunate I was to not have stumbled on the writings of other philosophers” because their writings were lacking in honesty and general credibility. This helps to convince Saint Augustine of the benefits of living in the catholic faith because Plato’s writing consistently trended toward being about “the truth of God and his Word.” Later on into Book VIII we come to the conversation with Saint Augustine’s other friend, Ponticianus. The conversation with Ponticianus was mainly associated with the wonders of being a Catholic and the many incredible tales of those who follow in the Catholic faith. He then recalls the Story of conversion of two court officials at Trier, maintaining Saint Augustine 's complete and utter attention, he spoke of an experience he had where two men had a religious epiphany when reading from a book. The book, “The Life of Antony”, made the men want to renounce their
Which resulted Augustine in exploring the philosophical road that led to his conversion from Macheanism to Neo-Platonism to Christianity. But later felt sorrowful for his mother that had died and confesses to God that everyone is a sinner right when they were born and through God that this sin can only be absorbed. He later moves back to Thagaste and then became Bishop of Hippo. As a “doctor” of the Chruch, he defended Christianity against false (heretic) interpretation. After his conversion, he refused to teach rhetoric. Yet, in the end, no matter what sin he had done Augustine found his savior. Which led him to write about how to convey God’s truth to diverse audiences and demonstrates that both the Bible and one’s own life are texts to be read and assessed against the true Cristian Doctrine. The last four books were like an appendix and offers an interpretation of the opening of the Book of Genesis. When Augustine’s converted to Christianity his appropriation of Platonic ideas uses his past sins and later confesses to God that will eventually enhance his soul and body. The consequences of this appropriation are that sins are considered to be
There is a skit that is used in many Evangelical Christian circles such as churches, youth groups, and camps where there is a person sitting on a stool with Jesus beside them. The stool represents the power to make decisions in the life of the person. The person on the stool asks Jesus to take it from them, but he refuses and tells the person that they have to give it to him. The idea of the skit is to show God will always be there, pursuing the person, but the person has to be the one to decide to follow Christ. Augustine definitely experienced this in his life. God relentlessly pursued Augustine through both the pleasant and painful events of his life, and this led to Augustine making the decision to finally accept Christianity and follow God.
This course has opened my eyes to faults that I did not know that I was making when it involved evangelism. This has delivered a conviction that has incited my soul and desire to do and be a better witness for my God. When I was
Missionaries were a contradiction, one that is not easily sorted. The goals and objectives of the missionary themselves were often purest of heart. Missionaries’ goals were to spread of the gospel, the convert heathens to Christianity and enrich the communities they work in by providing education and medical assistance. On the contrary missionaries were also often “agents of cultural change.” (Stipe p.1) They carried with them American ideals, democracy, individual rights, free enterprise, universal education, and delayed gratification. (Clifford Putney p.7)
...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.
Although Augustine grew up knowing about Christianity, as his mother, Monica, was a devout Christian, he spent much of his early years indulging in worldly pleasures until finally converting to Christianity at the age of 32. This is unlike Perpetua in the fact that she became a member of the faith at a young age, against her father’s wishes while Augustine chose to rebel against Christianity. The fact that Augustine’s mother was a Christian who urged him to also convert is also contrasting from Perpetua’s story, as is apparent by Monica’s reaction upon her son telling her that he is no longer a Manichee, but still not a Christian. In Augustine’s words, “she did not leap for joy . . . for which she wept over me as a person dead but to be revived by you [God].” Therefore, Monica was saddened by the fact that her son was not a Christian, while Perpetua’s father was distraught over the opposite, her decision to be a Christian. Once Augustine had finally converted to Christianity, he interpreted his faith differently than Perpetua had. He believed that God is good and humans are also by nature good, but that “free will was the cause of our doing ill.” To him, being a Christian meant that he must not use his free will for evil, that he must resist the urge of temptation and follow God’s path of goodness. While Augustine believed in sacrificing desires of the flesh for God, there was no emphasis in his time on giving up his life for his religion as it was in Perpetua’s. These dissimilar qualities between the lives of Perpetua and Augustine are the effect of Christianity’s movement from a secretive, minority faith to a legitimate, national
Or alternatively, diverge to the path of accepting Jesus Christ as his savior; thus, living a modest life and abandoning the need for materials and pubic status (Russo 17). Later, Augustine finds himself asking and being able to answer the question, if will he be able to accept his new epiphany or remain practicing the same immoral lifestyle, due to lack of self-discipline? While sobbing in the garden, he felt the urge to relinquish his earthly desires, and follow the path of goodness, and righteousness. This all occurred when he heard a voice of a child saying “pick up and read, pick up and read” (Russo 18). Augustine took the voice of the child as divine intervention to read, and follow his bible; consequently, he began reading a scripture about the commandment against lewdness. Upon reading the scripture in the bible, he was able to convert to Christianity instantaneously because he felt that it was a message to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in its lust” (Russo
Ambrose receives Augustine warmly and influences him towards the Christian faith because of his knowledge and rhetorical skill. After listening to many of Ambrose 's arguments and sermons, Augustine decides to leave the Manichee sect and tentatively study Catholicism. He is not yet convinced of the truth of the Catholic faith, but he resolves to learn until he finds “some clear light...by which [he] could direct [his] course” (Augustine 89). Breaking away from the Manichees is the next part of Augustine’s journey towards God. He is inclined to believe in Christianity, at least until it is proven false, yet is greatly distressed by Ambrose 's practice of celibacy. Augustine is not yet willing to fully give up his sexual desire for the sake of Christ. He is engaged in several liaisons, and also engaged to be married. Augustine 's hesitation in regard to the evil of sexual desire, along with his general search for truth, leads him to question the nature of good and evil in the world. Augustine seeks answers among Neoplatonist
It is never wise to put off conversion, and Augustine nearly learnt that the hard
Augustine then heard a child say “Take it and read, take it and read,” and he interpreted that as a divine command to pick up the Bible. He read the first section he opened to, Paul, and made the decision to become a celibate and devoted servant of God. Augustine was a rationalist man throughout the work, and yet his most defining moment is one of pure faith.
Aurelius Augustinius, St. Augustine, was born in 354 A.D. in Tagaste, a town in North Africa. Born just over a century before the fall of Rome, Augustine would live his entire life within the Roman empire. Augustine was a great Christian thinker and wrote numerous works which survive today, and offer us a vivid glimpse into the period. His works and thoughts on Christ, the nature of God, the role of the Church, and myriad other topics, shaped much of medieval thought. He would remain a major influence for 1000 years after he died. Two of his works stand out as possibly the most important of his writings: City of God, and Confessions. Augustine's Confessions is the first ever autobiography. In his Confessions, Augustine outlines his life and path toward Christianity and the Grace of God. Augustine was born into a Christian household but did not convert to Christianity until he was 32. In Confessions, he traces his spiritual journey of enlightenment through four stages. His religious conversion began with his exposure to Classical philosophy and progressed through a period of involvement with the gnostic Christian sect of the Manichees. The road to conversion passes through Milan, where Augustine meets Bishop Ambrose of Milan, and culminates with a miraculous happening which allows Augustine to take the final step to complete conversion. With his account of internal resurrection, and a personal relationship with God, the journey which Augustine relates typifies the attraction to Christianity which so many people felt during the latter period of the Roman empire.
Evangelism is one of the key component for changing people’s lives. McRaney states, “The word evangelism comes from a combination of Greek words for “good” and “messenger.” Evangelism involves bringing the goods. Kent Hunter reminded us that “when Christians witness, they tell how Jesus Christ has changed their own lives. The change in their own lives gives them the desires to share the Good News with others.” Christians must share their testimony to people and spread the gospel so that they can bring lost souls to Christ. God has commissioned every Christian to evangelize so that people will learn about Jesus Christ and accept Him as their personal savior. Matthew 28:19 states, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. Christians are required to spread the Gospel throughout the world and can no longer just attend church. Christians must plant seeds and water the seeds so that lost souls will be saved.