Confessions
by Augustine of Hippo | Book Summary
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Author: Augustine of Hippo
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Spanning from his birth to the time of the book's writing, Confessions covers Augustine's behavior and various mental states in childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and manhood, all the way into his middle-aged years. For most of those stages, Augustine was steeped deeply in the sin of the world. Entirely unable to pull himself from the mire of wickedness, he continually strayed further and further from God — especially, his penchant for sexual pleasure and ambition for worldly success delayed his ultimate salvation. Through relentless spiritual and intellectual trials, Augustine eventually managed to escape his enslavement to the flesh and dedicated his life to contemplation, prayer, writing, and asceticism. |
Augustine was a theologian and Bishop of Hippo, a city in Northern Africa, in the 4th and 5th centuries. He is considered to be one of the 'Church Fathers', a handful of influential theologians who laid the foundations for Christian thought in the first centuries following the death of Christ. Some of his major works include City of God, On Christian Doctrine, and Confessions.
Augustine's impact on Western Christian thought cannot be overstated; in fact, it could be said that Christianity, as it is understood by the Western world, is almost entirely shaped by Augustine's systematic summary of the Christian vision. The Western understanding of Christianity, and especially the thought of the Apostle Paul, is inextricably bound to Augustine's exegesis of the New Testament and his understanding of salvation, grace, eschatology, and ethics — not to mention countless other theological subdisciplines — continues to have a dominant and lasting influence on the Christian world.
Confessions
by Augustine of Hippo
[ Book Summary ]
| Author | Augustine of Hippo |
| Publisher | Penguin Classics |
| Date | 397 AD (this version, 2008) |
| Pages | 353 |
Overview:
Augustine's Confessions is considered by many to be one of the greatest works in the history of Western thought. One of the only surviving autobiographies from the period, his thoughtful examination of his own life provides us not only with a detailed account of life in the 4th century AD, but a spiritual testimony of timeless power and a profound philosophical and theological treatise.
Spanning from his birth to the time of the book's writing, Confessions covers Augustine's behavior and various mental states in childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and manhood, all the way into his middle-aged years.
For most of those stages, Augustine was steeped deeply in the sin of the world. Entirely unable to pull himself from the mire of wickedness, he continually strayed further and further from God — especially, his penchant for sexual pleasure and ambition for worldly success delayed his ultimate salvation.
Through relentless spiritual and intellectual trials, Augustine eventually managed to escape his enslavement to the flesh and dedicated his life to contemplation, prayer, writing, and asceticism.
Augustine was a theologian and Bishop of Hippo, a city in Northern Africa, in the 4th and 5th centuries. He is considered to be one of the 'Church Fathers', a handful of influential theologians who laid the foundations for Christian thought in the first centuries following the death of Christ. Some of his major works include City of God, On Christian Doctrine, and Confessions.
Augustine's impact on Western Christian thought cannot be overstated; in fact, it could be said that Christianity, as it is understood by the Western world, is almost entirely shaped by Augustine's systematic summary of the Christian vision. The Western understanding of Christianity, and especially the thought of the Apostle Paul, is inextricably bound to Augustine's exegesis of the New Testament and his understanding of salvation, grace, eschatology, and ethics — not to mention countless other theological subdisciplines — continues to have a dominant and lasting influence on the Christian world.