St Augustine Confessions Essay

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Written by Saint Augustine of Hippo, Confessions is a spiritual autobiography reviewing the first thirty-five years of Augustine’s life. It emphasizes his spiritual development and how he accepted the Christian faith. Saint Augustine divided Confessions into thirteen books, where Book I through IX recounts his life, but Books X through XIII strays from the autobiography. The last four Books of Confessions focus on religious and philosophical issues of memory, time and eternity, and the interpretation of the Book of Genesis. Although Saint Augustine mainly reflected upon his sinful life and the painful process he went through to return to God, he sees his experience as a means to restore all of creation to God by inspiring others to seek this …show more content…

He continues to wrestle with his doubts about what he has learned and with his budding interest in Christianity, the faith of his mother, Monica. All the while, he continues to teach rhetoric and indulge in guilty pleasures. His mother arranges his marriage to a Christian girl, thus forcing him to send away his concubine. After reading the books of Platonist philosophy, Saint Augustine deepens his understanding of Christianity and the nature of evil. He realizes that evil is a perversion of the will, not a substance as the Manichees pretend. Finally accepting the truth of Christianity, Saint Augustine renounces Manichaeism. However, Augustine wavers in making a complete commitment to Christianity and reaches a moment of spiritual crisis. Saint Augustine listened to the divine command that ordered him to "Take it and read, take it and read" (177) and rushed back to where he placed Paul's Epistles and read a passage that convinces him to give up his worldly career and devote himself to God. Saint Augustine relayed this to his mother who was overjoyed. Saint Augustine described her as "jubilant with triumph and glorified you, (God) who are powerful enough, and more than powerful enough, to carry out your purpose beyond all our hopes and dreams"

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