Augustine
Why is it so hard for Augustine to change his life? What finally causes his return or conversion to Christianity? Is this reason satisfying to you?
Use this book:
The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, Vol. 1
Augustine, Confessions – Considered the first Western autobiography, Confessions explores Saint Augustine’s sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity.
Plus one more source of your choice.
Sample solution
Confessions is an autobiographical account of Augustine life. Throughout his story, Augustine recalls the sinful times he had growing up, several revelations, and the moment he finally gave in the Christianity.
It was so hard for Augustine to change is life because he did not completely understand the religion. He struggled with the notion of who God is and how he existed. In the Book 1, Augustine thinks about who God is and how he felt an emptiness in prayer when he was young. He describes the feelings of prayer as “Lord, I observed men praying to You: and learnt to do likewise, thinking of you as some being who, though unseen, could hear and help me…that I might not be beaten at school,l” (Puncher et al.,1181). He only prayed to avoid punishment and did not fully understand what he was doing.
Augustine also found it hard to change because he enjoyed his life. He said “I burned for all the satisfactions of hell,” (1184). This statement clearly shows that he knew what he was doing and wanted to continue to indulge in temptation. Augustine also made several excuses for his evil actions. His excuse for fornication was “the single desire that dominated my search for delight was simply to love and be loved,” (1184). Even when his mother warned him of evils of the world and the negative impact of having sex before marriage, he attributed her worry to being.
Augustine’s reflections even seem a bit perverse to me. Even though at the time of writing this autobiography he was a Christian, he has twisted many his actions as well as the sins of others try to equate them to God’s characteristics. He says pride comes from the notion that God is the highest power (1186). Human curiosity and desire for knowledge are based on the premise that “God knows all,” (1186).
Augustine Confessions
Augustine finally converts to Christianity after an upsetting conversation with a friend in Milan. To clear his mind, Augustus went out to the garden. Voices in his head were trying to convince him that he was not capable of change. When his self-doubts finally begin to subside, Augustus hears a voice that tells him to read the Bible. He reads a verse that tells him to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (1194) and to no longer give into temptation. At that moment he finally converts to Christianity.
The reasons he converted are both satisfying and insufficient to me. The context in which he was “saved” makes sense to me. It seems as though Augustus had reached rock bottom. He is lost as a person and is not happy with life. He spent his life trying to fill a void with education, sex, and philosophy. The missing link was a relationship and belief in God. He needed something to make him whole. I can accept this aspect of his journey.
What feels inadequate to me is how fast the moment came to him. It leaves me wondering why he did not do it sooner. He had the same information before, why would he not want to feel complete.
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