Confessions of St. Augustine

Augustine

Description

Confessions is one of the most moving diaries ever recorded of a man's journey to the fountain of God's grace. Writing as a sinner, not a saint, Augustine shares his innermost thoughts and conversion experiences, and wrestles with the spiritual questions that have stirred the hearts of the thoughtful since time began. Starting with his childhood in Numidia, through his youth and early adulthood in Carthage, Rome, and Milan, readers will see Augustine as a human being, a fellow traveler on the road to salvation. Though staggering around potholes and roadblocks, all will find strength in Augustine's message: when the road gets rough, look to God! Previously released in 1977, this book invites readers to join Augustine in his quest that led him to be one of the most influential Christian thinkers in the history of the church.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian theology

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781585581382
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Confessions of St. Augustine
The Confessions of St. Augustine
MODERN ENGLISH VERSION
2005 by Baker Book House
Published by Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.revellbooks.com
New Spire edition published 2008 ISBN 978-0-8007-8762-2
Previously published in 1977 by Baker Book House
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-for example, electronic, photocopy, recording-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
The Writings of Augustine
The Content of Confessions
Confession of the Greatness of God
Infancy
Monnica: His Mother s Care
At Carthage
The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
Time Loses No Time
Healing and Refreshment
Monnica at Milan
Friends
The Way of Perfection
Simplicianus
The Death of Monnica
The Book of Memory
The Heaven and the Earth
The Living Soul
The Writings of Augustine
Augustine of Hippo (354-430) was a prolific writer of theological works, covering a great variety of subjects. As in Confessions , his fertile mind could drift into very creative ideas on a wide variety of subjects that interested him and in which he always found connections to God.
He also wrote rhetorical arguments on the significant controversies of his day. In particular, he produced a number of attacks on the theology of the Manichaeans, the mystical Eastern transplant into the Roman Empire that had enraptured him as a young man.
A great number of sermons are retained, recorded as was the custom of the period by disciples of the preacher.
The writings of Augustine can be difficult and his reasoning complex, yet particularly in Confessions high-toned philosophy gives way to poetic movements of praise and application. He produced The Trinity , one of the most in-depth books on the subject ever written, but also wrote sermons that are models of simple communication in the language of the people. A total of 363 sermons have been saved that can be definitely attributed to Augustine. He was trained in rhetoric and taught it, yet as a Christian communicator he believed that emotion-lifting oratory was beneath the dignity of the Christian, who didn t need technique when handling the eternal truths of God.
The following list is far from exhaustive, but it places some of Augustine s writing into his career. Some of these works are among 270 letters and epistles that have been preserved. 368 Baptism of Augustine; On the Practices of the Catholic Church and the Practices of the Manichaeans 389-91 On the True Religion 392 Debate with Fortunatus the Manichaean 394 Against Adimantus, the Manichaean Teacher 397 To Simplicianus, discussions of miscellaneous questions; On Christian Doctrine is begun. 397-98 Against Felix the Manichaean 398 Sermon on Christian Discipline 398-400 Confessions 399 Questions on the Gospels 400 On the Trinity is begun; Harmony of the Gospels; Comments on Job; On the Inquiries of Januarius; Against Faustus 405 On the Unity of the Church 406-12 Exposition on 6 Questions Raised by Pagans 412 Brief Meeting with the Donatists; On the Spirit and Letter; On the Grace of the New Testament; On Merit and Forgiveness 413 On Seeing God; City of God is begun. 415 To Bishop Jerome; On the Trinity is finished. 416 Homilies on John 417 On the Presence of God 418 Sermons against the Arians; On the Grace of Christ and Original Sin; Reply to the Caesarians 419 Questions on the Heptateuch 419-20 Against Adversaries of the Law and the Prophets 421 Enchiridion, a handbook on faith, hope, and love and synthesis of Augustinian theology 425 On the Creed, to the Catechumens 426 City of God is finished; On Christian Doctrine is finished. 426-28 Retractions 428 On Predestination of the Saints 429-30 On the Usefulness of Fasting Unknown Regula ad servos Dei (Monastic Rule of Augustine) 430 Death of Augustine
The Content of Confessions
Written at some point between 397 and 400, Confessions is technically not an autobiography or memoir but a confiteri , the praise of a soul. It is one book-length sustained prayer of praise. For this reason, it is frequently misunderstood by those who cannot understand why a book continually addresses God and meanders so freely between anecdotes and theological discussions. Superficially, the first ten chapters seem unrelated to the last three.
A careful study of the subjects and flow of the text, however, shows that the autobiographical sections are not a diary or even so much Augustine s testimony of his dealings with God. Rather, the stories are illustrations- Augustine s vehicle to unwrap eternal realities by noticing how he himself is an example of God at work. He is considering the fabric of God s design of life.
We seldom consider most of these questions because they are bound up in our story, which we are too busy living to analyze. Augustine is trying to cut the binding. This is why the text often seems to settle in some insignificant point or emotion or love and spend considerable time looking at it from multiple directions.
Augustine seems to obsess about flaws in his character or interpersonal relationships. Beyond his evident intense emotional sensitivity, he is teaching himself and us through these passages. Each is intended to force us to look at normal life experiences in a new and fresh way, whether the awareness of an infant or the bonds between close friends or the dynamics of grief at a loved one s death. Augustine wants us to see him as a case study in reality, and he thrusts his mind more and more into this reality in the final chapters of his book.
But beyond even the philosophical reasoning, each element becomes a reason to praise God. Such a combination of personal revelation, meditations, and praise is virtually unique in Christian literature.
This edition follows the abbreviated text as first published by Baker Book House in 1977. It omits large sections of the full text of Confessions but samples enough to see much of the exquisite joy being unveiled on each page.
For ease of understanding, paraphrase is employed where the literary Latin used by Augustine does not translate easily word for word into English. Paraphrase has also been employed to amplify difficult arguments, though carefully so as to preserve the thought.
The poetic nature of much of Augustine s text has been broken out typographically to highlight the literary beauty of the thought.
A synopsis of the entire breadth of the text may help readers understand the wonder of this student of God at his window on life:
Book One: Augustine introduces the mysterious pilgrimage of God s grace through his life. He observes infants and uses them to imagine what his own infancy must have been like, his learning to speak, and his childhood experiences in school.
Book Two: Augustine s sixteenth year shows depravity at work in his laziness, lust, and mischief. The theft of some pears leads to contemplation of what the sinner really intends in sinful acts.
Book Three: As a student in Carthage, Augustine kindles an interest in philosophy and a turn from Christianity to Manichaean religion.
Book Four: Augustine reaches adulthood and begins teaching, while sinking deeper into the ideas of the Manichaeans and astrology. He takes a mistress and for the first time confronts face to face the fragility and impermanence of life.
Book Five: Hoping for confirmation of his Manichaean beliefs at the feet of the religion s masters, he instead comes to disillusionment. He faces the vanity of human wisdom and begins to reconsider the religion of his mother. But he also flees her domination for Rome and then Milan. There the great preacher Ambrose forces him to look again to Scripture. Augustine becomes a catechumen.
Book Six: Monnica follows her son and finds him again at the threshold of orthodox faith, while dealing confusedly with the intricacies of adult life. Augustine becomes engaged, dismisses his first mistress, takes another, and continues his fruitless search for truth.
Book Seven: In his searching for truth, Augustine finally leaves the Manichaeans behind and rejects astrology but takes a side trip into Platonism as he tries to come to terms with God s relationship to the reality he sees about him. From Neoplatonism he begins to have a breakthrough in studying Scripture and approaching the truth about Jesus Christ.
Book Eight: He finally comes to the point of conversion to Christ. But he still cannot conquer his preoccupation with worldly affairs and his desires. He is at a point of violent turmoil in which his divided will wars against itself. Finally he overhears a child s song, which sends him to the Scripture text that is able to resolve his crisis.
Book Nine: Augustine resigns as a teacher of rhetoric and prepares for baptism with Adeodatus and Alypius. Shortly thereafter, they start back for Africa. Monnica does not accompany them, however, for she has died, and grief becomes the first trial of Augustine s young faith. He finds the experience far different than in grieving as an unbeliever at the deaths of his friends.
Book Ten: Augustine turns from his story to what it means. First, how do memories retain reality and do they chart a path for understanding God? After an intricate analysis of the self, he applies what he has learned to the meaning of prayer. He also looks again at the big picture of sin nature and the Savior who mediates between God and sinner.
Book Eleven: Past memories, present experience, and what he has learned about the meaning of eternity lead to an attempt to unlock the mysteries of creation. H