The Confessions of St. Augustine

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By St. Augustine

Publisher Description

More than an autobiography, The Confessions of St. Augustine is one of the most influential religious books in the Christian tradition. A great work of Western literature, it recalls crucial events and episodes in the author's life, in particular, life with his devoutly Christian mother and his origins in rural Algeria in the mid-fourth century A.D.; the rise to a lavish life at the imperial court in Milan; his struggle with sexual desires; eventual renunciation of secular ambitions and marriage; and recovery of his Catholic faith.
This intensely personal narrative — among the first in which self-analysis was used to describe spiritual and emotional experiences — provides a detailed, classic recounting of one man's internal struggles and religious conversion. The book will be useful to anyone interested in the impact made by one of the foremost leaders in the development of Christian thought.

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The Confessions of St. Augustine Reviews

3.5

My Little Happy Nook

Created 2 months ago

“4.5 ⭐️ What an interesting read! I really respect and have benefitted from Augustine’s works, and I was very excited to dive into this one. I will be honest that I had to take some breaks during reading this as it was very heavy and some of his confessions were quite difficult to listen to and reflect on. Overall- I really appreciated getting to listen to Augustine’s thoughts as he pondered truth, Biblical interpretations, and God’s will. I thoroughly enjoyed these aspects of the book which to me were more in the first 1/3 and final 1/3. The middle 1/3 was more unpleasant to muddle through as he details his sins and the consequences of some made me quite sad and frustrated. For example- listening to him talk about his long term live in girlfriend and their child (especially in talking about the end of both) made me quite sad and a bit upset as it felt jarring to realize that this figure had fallen prey to such sins and I found myself really pondering the consequences for this discarded woman. Also- in the opposite vein- I do believe it was beneficial for him to be honest and frank about the sins he had in his past and at the time of his writing struggled with as that allows the reader to not idolize the man and to realize that God can work through people who are engaged in long lasting sins even with very serious consequences. In some ways his sins and their consequences reminded me of David from the Bible as I also have had a hard time reading his story as the sins and their consequences are so heavy and heartbreaking. Of course- I do remember that David is called a man after God’s own heart and I believe God was so gracious and kind to David as well as Augustine which is a good reminder for the modern reader (I am glad we are given stories like this to learn from/learn through even if they make us uncomfortable when reading them). This is another good reminder that we are all sinners (myself especially!), and we should be confessing and repenting from our sins not only to God but also to our brothers and sisters in Christ to help hold us accountable. One other part of the book that felt a bit abrasive to my soul was the portion in which Augustine praises his mother for being long suffering in what I think most would describe as an abusive/unfaithful marriage with quite a bit of aggressive anger coming from the husband. He made a statement that felt to me as if he was saying that if all abused women acted as his mother did in the face of an abusive husband then they would not be wounded in the way they were. I hope I am not misinterpreting that (and I don’t want to imply at all that I am wiser on this issue than he is- I am young and not an expert on the subject, so I can only speak to what my conscience feels on this issue based on my limited life experiences and knowledge), but that is how that portion of the book read to me, and while I can appreciate his mother’s bravery, I would not advise a friend or daughter to remain physically in a dangerous situation that could endanger their or their children’s lives and I felt that his advice was a bit dangerous to abused women (It is a horrific tragedy that so many women and children are affected by domestic violence and I can’t claim to have all the answers- I just feel the weight of that tragedy and would not want to just tell women to be more loving and avoid the abuser in the fit of rage because in my perception many women stay and are killed with mindsets like that). (Of course I am living in a very different time and context than the author, and I may not be fully interpreting his words appropriately, but this is just how I feel at this time on this issue). This is very complex, and I believe God can work through/provide grace even in horrific things like abuse (specifically related to how he said his mother’s ministry with his father in spite of his anger and unfaithfulness led to him being led to the Lord- that is wonderful that he was led to God through long suffering kindness and faithfulness, so if that is something someone feels called to I guess that is for them to pray about with God I just don’t think it’s an easy: everyone in this situation should do x to get x result type of situation). Overall- I found that the sins were hard to listen to and felt heavy to wade through (Although I can see modern ramifications for things he discussed in himself and others that I don’t often hear modern Christians discuss for example watching/celebrating violence- which I think in our modern day is actually a huge issue that’s been exacerbated by media/movies/TV/phones etc.). In this way I do feel that Augustine had such bravery and strength in sharing his deepest sufferings/struggles with sin and his deep reflections on God and His will. I guess my point is that the things I found hard to listen to and the things I didn’t like in this book were the sins and the consequences which is probably good that the sins upset me, but is also a reminder that I must feel the same dislike and discomfort for all of my own sins and never slip into the trap/sin of feeling like my sins are lesser than other sins that may have more public or serious consequences. All that to be said- I believe this is a very good book with lots of deep thoughts to ponder that can spur the Christian on to a more honest reflection on the self and inner life. I don’t think this would be a great first intro into Augustine or church history. Additionally, I feel that this is an extreme example of being brutally honest about one’s struggles and sins with the world. While I don’t think it is necessarily wise or helpful for everyone to share their deepest struggles with the entire world- I do believe it’s very beneficial to share your deepest worries, concerns, and struggles with a close group of likeminded believers. Content: •Overall I do feel this is a book tailored for an adult audience. He definitely dives into his history of sexual sins in addition to just overall sins which I don’t think would be equally appropriate for all ages.”

Challenging Engaging Specialized knowledge required Thought-provoking Credible sources Thorough Effective visuals Abuse Child loss Death Domestic violence Violence

Aldi Airori

Created 3 months ago