St. Agustine and His Path to Christianity

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As an adolescent, many experience different life style changes where they learn about their true nature. Parents usually call these instance phases. As a teen, Saint Augustine lived an immoral lifestyle. Although he was the son of a pagan father and Christian mother, St. Augustine experienced life on his own terms. Conflicting faiths and cultural values helped him grow from his past wicked ways and become one of the most influential advocates of Christianity. His most renowned work refers to Confessions, a spiritual journey into St. Augustine life and insight on how he came to realize the truth in Christianity. The autobiography crosses between philosophy, theology and a fundamental interpretation of the Christian Bible. Each topic within his autobiography refers to a particular part of his life that point to a broader issue. An autobiography is defined as the history of a person’s life as told by that person. However, in Augustine’s account his autobiography taps into deeper than his personal encounters. Each story he chooses to recount has a philosophical or theological aspect being told. Still enjoying his youthful years, Augustine gains a passion for the philosophical truth. Throughout his multiple readings of doctrines, one had a particular affect on him – Neo Platonism. Augustine incorporates his learning’s from Neo Platonism into his Christian theology. Confessions is not only an autobiography, but also a fusion of his ideas and newfound faith in religion. Augustine uses Confessions as a model to show that even while living a sinful life, any individual can overcome their past and pursue a passion for the real truth. His work addresses adolescents who do not believe or are “faithless”. Augustin... ... middle of paper ... ...own each encounter he writes about to illustrate his process in transforming as a person. In Augustine’s time, confessions meant to admit one’s faults to God as well as to praise God. The work proves to depict the greatness of God. During his journey from sinfulness to faith, Augustine realizes the love all things have for God. Augustine describes his life in the first nine books of the Confessions as his path of redemption through a philosophical and religious sense. The story of how he “returned to God” is set in an intellectual formatted autobiography through the philosophical and theological context Augustine is thinking. The main idea that makes Confessions unorthodox from conventional autobiographies is Augustine’s ability to be completely open with his audience and God. He praises God for his salvation and allows his reader to see himself doing so.

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