Impact Of Augustine On Christianity

From Concubines to Celibacy Upon converting to Christianity, Augustine made numerous changes to his life. One of these included giving up the worldly pleasure of sex. Augustine did not believe that celibacy was necessary for everyone, in fact he believed that a marriage for the purpose of procreation was a good thing; however, he believed that in order to maintain the closest relationship possible with God and resist all temptation, he must entirely give up sex and the possibility of marriage. Upon adolescence Augustine found himself in a “tumultuous sea of. . . fornications,’ even though, at the time, he would be unaware of what a problem his lust would become to him in the future (II.2.2). His budding sexuality was actually a source of

Augustine called himself a “slave to lust” and seemed to be unable to live a happy life without a woman. This would be contradictory to Augustine’s belief that one should love God above all else and if one experiences attachment to transient things, one should ultimately give praise to God for their existence: “if sensuous beauty delights you, praise God. . . and channel the love you feel for them onto their Maker” (IV.12.18). This seemed to be the most difficult concept for Augustine to

This causes one to believe that perhaps it would be most beneficial for Augustine to simply find a bride, so his lust is satiated and ordained by God. The reasons why marriage would, and did, not work for Augustine are plentiful. The Catholic Church does approve of marriage but under the condition that it is for the purpose of procreation. Besides that, the Church strongly advocates chastity as the exceptional way of life, as Augustine illustrates when he quotes 1 Cor 7:32-33. Augustine’s primary reason for choosing celibacy is so he can fully love God. Celibacy was not an easy task for him but he thought it to be considerably more fulfilling than empty affairs with women, transient beings, than a close relationship with the eternal God. In VI.11.19, Augustine talks to himself about the necessity of devoting his life to God. He contemplates to himself “shall we not rather suffer punishment for our negligence?” This is a pivotal concept for Augustine and his commitment to celibacy. It illustrates that he has finally decided to put his search for the truth above his transient, perverted