Saint Augustine’s Confessions Outline This paper will outline specific points in Saint Augustine’s Confessions that highlight religious views following the fall of Rome. Though Augustines views on religion may not reflect that of most people in his time period, it still gives valuable insight into how many, namely Neoplatonists,, viewed God and his teachings. I. Book I a. Attributes of God Augustines first book is devoted to his early childhood and his reflections on human origin, memory, and desire. His ideas of God were very much influenced by the religious teachings of his day. 1-6- Augustine starts with a rather long invocation to God. In his invocation he inquires with questions about how one can seek the Lord without understanding his nature. It seems to be a stumbling for Augustine that God can both transcend everything and be within everything. Augustine rephrases his confusion when he asks, “who are you then, my God?” Then this causes Augustine to introduce mysteries of God in a rhetorical sense that reflect his own observations from scriptural accounts. 7-12- Again Augustines thoughts on God reflect that of the religious teachings of his day, namely those of the Neoplatonists. For example he refuses to speculate on how the soul joins the body to become an infant and even follows Plato when he suggests that this life could possibly be some kind of “living death”. He then goes into an examination of his infancy, which he depicts as a quite pitiful state. He described himself as a sinful and thoughtless creature who made demands on everyone, wept unceasingly, and gave everyone a hard time that took care of him. Though very brutal in his self examination, he later states that he does not hold himself accountable for any of these sinful acts because he simply can’t remember them. 13-18- Here is when Augustine begins to recall from the earliest parts of his memory how he studied language and learned about the world. And more particularly how it was done sinfully and for vain purposes that distracted him from the pure way of life. a. “I was obliged to memorize the wanderings of a hero named Aeneas, while in the meantime I failed to remember my own erratic ways. I learned to lament the death of Dido, who killed herself for love, while all the time, in the midst of these things, I was dying, separated from you, my God and my Life.
”1 He was already a steady believer in God and was ready to be baptized however he was kept from it and was influenced by the other people as they said “Let him be, let him do as he likes, he is not baptized yet.” Without the proper reinforcement and teaching he progressively strayed away from his beliefs and eventually lost himself in sin. This led to one of the most important incidents in Augustine’s childhood. Augustine spends more time lamenting on the time he had stolen the pears than he does with many of the other sins.... ...
Unlike other texts of the time, Augustine’s confessions are less of an epic tale or instructive texts, both of which soug...
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...
After reading St. Augustine’s book it seemed to me that he had very little interest in politics as a whole, but he did seem to have a a great interest on the moral problems that plagued them. The books that make up this work come from one of his previous works entitled, The City of God, in which Augustine discusses many different aspects of the city. Augustine’s view of Christianity in regard to politics was due to the moral decline of the Roman Empire and the effect of this decline on the still faithful Christians. Augustine blamed the pagan gods and their lack of concern for the moral character which defined those who worshiped them. He also makes a reference to Plato’s Republic, in regards to the way Plato wanted to banish the poets from his city in speech. Augustine also felt that there should be strong censorship of the poets when writing about the gods because they made fools out of them. Augustine is also very concerned with the amount of people who in past invasions of their homelands escaped by lying about being Christians and then turned their backs on Christ when the danger had subsided. Augustine’s work also raises the question of why mercy is extended to the pious and ungrateful. Augustine responds by reminding everyone that, “The sun rises upon the good and evil, and the rains fall upon the just and the unjust.” The book also discusses Gods patience with humans and how the choice to repent ones sins lies within the man. He tells how some will recognize...
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.
If Augustine’s views on free will are taken to be true, then the binding prophecies and supernatural interventions of the Aeneid emerge as fictional devices which serve to channel the characters into archetypal roles. In other words, characters ruled by destiny remain useful as universal examples to readers who believe themselves to have free will. As I do not consider myself to be living under the binding prophecies of the Fates or any “orders of the gods” (I have yet to receive any visits from my goddess-mother), I must regard the story of Aeneas and Dido as an allegory representing some of the choices open to my free will. Either their romance must be wrong, morality therefore demanding an end to it, or there is nothing really wrong with their sexual relations...
...ugustine about the human condition. Throughout life we are faced with many decisions both right and wrong, however the wrong option always seems more fun or better in someone even though we know its wrong. Something so basic like breaking the speed limit is a choice we know is wrong and could end it punishment but we do it anyway, because we just enjoy doing the wrong thing, its part of our human nature to do wrong. However in Augustine’s time there was no question that God existed, if you broke a law or sinned you where doing so against God, now if you sin or break a law, the human population focuses more on how the law will punish you, rather than how God will feel about it. Happiness and sin are two sides of the same coin, you cant achieve one without the other, and because of our human nature sinning and choosing false happiness will always “look’ better to us.
Later, after much study and introspection, Augustine discovers that he has been mistaken in attributing a physical form to God. Yet, he still presses on to reconcile his mind to the true precepts of Christian ideology. But what does he...
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.
“Please tell me: isn’t God the cause of evil?” (Augustine, 1). With this question to Augustine of Hippo, Evodius begins a philosophical inquiry into nature of evil. Augustine, recently baptized by Saint Ambrose in Milan, began writing his treatise On Free Choice of the Will in 387 C.E. This work laid down the foundation for the Christian doctrine regarding the will’s role in sinning and salvation. In it, Augustine and his interlocutor investigate God’s existence and his role in creating evil. They attempt not only to understand what evil is, and the possibility of doing evil, but also to ascertain why God would let humans cause evil. Central to the premise of this entire dialogue is the concept of God, as relates to Christianity; what is God, and what traits separate Him from humans? According to Christianity, God is the creator of all things, and God is good; he is omnipotent, transcendent, all-knowing, and atemporal- not subject to change over time- a concept important to the understanding of the differences between this world and the higher, spiritual realm He presides over. God’s being is eidos, the essence which forms the basis of humans. With God defined, the core problem being investigated by Augustine and Evodius becomes clear. Augustine states the key issue that must be reconciled in his inquiry; “we believe that everything that exists comes from the one God, and yet we believe that God is not the cause of sins. What is troubling is that if you admit that sins come from… God, pretty soon you’ll be tracing those sins back to God” (Augustine, 3).
Education was an integral part of Augustine's life. Without it, Augustine would never have become so erudite. Augustine's great success as a rhetorician was a result of his education. Without education, Augustine would not have achieved such great success or become so incredibly erudite. However, despite Augustine's great success, he is conflicted by his educational experience and the values he learned. Essentially, despite Augustine’s great intellect, he remains conflicted about his educational experience because it was training him to achieve success rather than guiding his soul towards God.
Augustine believed that God wished for humans to know math and astronomy, but that he also wants us to know Him. It was a good, and admirable to know these things, but which was more important, Augustine says that o know God is the most important, and to know math and astronomy second, but the best possible would be for one to know both so that we can know God but also understand some of the
...ed a great value on classical thinking and rationalism. Many others also found the same incongruities and inconsistencies that Augustine found. Augustine's credentials as a scholar and intellectual gave authority to his Christian beliefs, and encouraged many others to follow. Augustine's message of self-resurrection also had a particular appeal to independent thinkers. Augustine paints a picture of a youth, sinful, decadent and lustful, who, through struggle and inner strife, is reborn in Christ. Further, Augustine's story relates a direct relationship to God. God sent messages to Augustine's mother and brought him to the Church. Unlike other religions, Christianity was offering everyone a direct one-to-one relationship with the creator. By relating his narrative, Augustine was offering a path to the Church and to what he believed to be salvation to everyone.
..., 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.
In this essay, the discussion explores the views of Saint Augustine, who lived in the Roman Empire. He serves as a prominent figure in the world of philosophical discussion (St. Thomas, 1911, p.n.d.). The discussion elaborates the views of Saint Augustine about the existence of God. Further, it examines how St. Augustine employs “reason” as a tool to second his thoughts and ideologies about the existence of God. The essay contrasts the opinions of Augustine with St. Thomas, about the existence of God. Lastly, the essay presents a conclusion, which summarizes the whole discussion.