St. Augustine's Confessions
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St. Augustine's Confessions provides one with the insights of the thought
processes of a conscious man. St. Augustine confesses of his various sins in an
attempt to gain redemption and salvation of soul. His confessions are sort of a
blend of autobiography, philosophy and theology. His confessions also provide
one with a critical aspect of the Christian Bible. Augustine’s confessions form
a work that corresponds closely to its aim and its content and achieves what it
set out to achieve, redemption for Augustine and a revelation for the readers.
His work his basically an idea of the return of creation to God, it aims to
inspire others to actively seek this return, and takes the highly original form
of a direct address to God from one being in his creation.
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His Confessions are spread over many chapters. The first nine chapters include
confessions pertaining to the early life of Augustine starting from his birth in
354 A.D. up to the events that took place just after his conversion to
Catholicism in 386 A.D. Augustine is seriously involved in the work of
confession truly knowing the redemption powers and the power that comes by
telling the truth. His confessions are a sort of opportunity for recounting his
life but at the same time he is conscious of providing religious or
philosophical background as to why was what he confessed a sin. It will also be
a truthful observation to say that Augustine consciously chose to recount those
confessions, which were wide spread among the people in his time and still are.
Augustine was born and raised in Thagaste, in eastern Algeria that was a part of
the Roman Empire. He entered a social world that according to his confession was
also a sinful place. Starting from his school days which he considers were spent
in complete vain and were useless. School teaches were pursuing their own
selfish ends and aims. The main reason for the training to be of vain at school,
according to Augustine was that the children were to devote themselves to
transient, material pursuits rather than to the pursuit of God. And moreover
there were no open discussions and religion and beliefs were rather enforced
upon the people right from their childhood. Augustine confesses of his sexual
involvements at this age and beliefs in false philosophies.
During this period of 371-374 Augustine at Carthage was offered all the
temptations for sinful activities. He confesses of his sexual relations with
nameless women and gets caught up in attending plays of dubious moral quality.
He also develops "unfriendly friendships" with an unsavory bunch of young men
whom he called "Subverters”. He also confesses that he never let these relations
come in between his studies. He sees this period of his life primarily as a
lesson in how immersion in the material world is its own punishment of disorder,
confusion, and grief.
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After the sexual links and the subsequent confessions, Augustine now endeavors
into false beliefs and catch a passion for the pursuit of Philosophical truth.
He confesses of his false beliefs in the doctrines of Manicheism, skepticism,
and Neoplatonism. He confesses of particularly being influenced by the
philosophy of Neoplatonism. He confesses that he was highly infected by this
philosophy and acknowledges its reflection in his works. After studies he came
back to Thagaste, and later on went back to Carthage and then to Rome and Milan.
Augustine confesses he continued to fight his doubts of false beliefs as to
whether what he believed in was right or wrong.
He got interested in Catholicism, the faith of his mother, Monica. At the same
time he also pursued a career in teaching in rhetoric. He confesses he kept on
pursuing his indulgence in sex and other pleasures of the sensual world not
fully recovering from the activities in which he indulged in his adolescence.
When he went to Milan, he changed. He confesses he changed more towards
Catholicism, which now according to Augustine held the only real truth. He
confesses of his newly found conviction in Catholicism. The only things needed
were a restraint from sexual activities. Augustine then got converted in his
Milan garden and becomes a devoted and chaste Catholic.
He confesses that he was set "on fire" by the work on Catholicism and dedicates
himself to the pursuit of the truth through the use of his own reason. According
to Augustine, the problem was that it needs humility to discover the truth in
the Scripture of Bible and confesses that he was not humble enough to
acknowledge the truth in Bible. St. Augustine was a very willful person and
confesses that the idea that he could overcome his sexual obsession all by
himself, and without having to submit himself to anyone or anything, was also
appealing with over-inflated sense of pride. In this context Augustine also
noticed that "confession" itself carried the dual meanings of an admission of
guilt and an act of praise. And being a good Manichean, at least in the
beginning, Augustine, searched for salvation, however later on realized his
mistakes. Augustine experienced without necessarily making him responsible for
it. He defends that it was his flesh that was dragging his otherwise good soul
into sin.
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Augustine’s last four confessions were presented in the last four chapters of
the Confessions. The confessions are more focused on religious and philosophical
issues of memory, time and eternity, and the interpretation of the Book of
Genesis. The Confessions are remarkably coherent as a whole and leads the reader
with logical and religious background at every turning point. Augustine had
already confessed on many ideas and themes that receive a direct treatment in
the last four Books. Augustine was conscious of his self indulgences but
acknowledges the changes in his beliefs and the formation of his truthfulness.
Augustine’s Confessions emerge as a uniform work at the end of the confessions
and one can find close linkages of earlier confessions with those of the later
ones. There is a gradual increase in the redemption and confession starting from
more materialistic confessions pertaining to the physical sins such as sex to
those of sins of beliefs. Augustine sees his own painful process of returning to
God as an instance of the return of the entire creation to God.
Augustine confesses his false and sinful embrace of the philosophy of
Manicheanism. He expresses that it is a dualistic religion mixed with borrowed
beliefs from Christianity, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism. The Manicheans believed
that there were two primordial forces in the Universe, Light and Dark. The force
of Light is responsible for the creation of the soul, while the force of
Darkness is responsible for the creation of the body. Augustine was also
impressed by the very abnormal idea that since human beings contain both
elements of light and darkness in them and provides the bases of fight between
these two forces.
In all these confessions and the lead towards the final christening, Augustine
was truly guided by his pious mother, Monica, who was initially not happy with
his initial beliefs and conversion to Manicheanism. It is believed that Monica
had a dream whereby she saw a return of Augstine towards Catholicism. Monica
also confesses that she was so annoyed that she urged and forced a local
Catholic bishop to set Augustine straight. Augustine confesses that the bishop
finally achieved his aims but was more from his own efforts. Augustine confesses
that the bishop assured his mother that Augustine would eventually return to the
Church once he realized just how dopey Manicheanism actually is.
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