Review on “The Confessions of St. Augustine”

Introduction

Literature is one of the means for highlighting the opinions and feelings for an individual towards different aspects. Hence, many authors through their writings express how they feel about some of the most inevitable and impossible to neglect realities. This is one of the reason behind the fact that religion is the most common theme that motivates individuals to write regarding its different aspects. There have been many scholars and writers that have produced some of the most impressive and heart touching books regarding their perceptions of religion. However, there have been only a few of them whose names will never be forgotten because of the strong message their writings have to offer. One of such names is St Augustine who is the author of one of the most famous books of his times know as The Confessions of St. Augustine.

Discussion

Born on 13 November 354, St Augustine was also known as Augustine of Hippo. He was a Father at a Church and his writings are known to have a huge impact on the development of the Western philosophy and Christianity. According to many experts in the field, Augustine presented anew and modified version of the ancient Faith. After he converted to Christianity, St. Augustine developed his personal approach and methodologies to theology and philosophy. Therefore, his writings, including “The Confessions of St. Augustine”, accommodates a wide range of different perspectives and methods. His writing also depicts his belief that grace of Christ was vital to the freedom of human beings and therefore he presented his concepts of the original sin and the just war.

The book is widely considered as the first ever Western autobiography written. It is also consider to be an influential model for many Christian writers throughout the 10000 years of the following Middle Ages. The autobiography though is not complete because it was written in Augustine's early 40s. However, the book effectively presents an unbroken record of the changes in his thought and is considered to be the most complete and comprehensive work by any single individuals from the 4th and the 5th centuries. Therefore, this writing by Augustine's is one of the most significant theological writings, featuring divine insights and spiritual meditations with a very unique approach. Hence, this presentation of a several new concepts with a very different approach makes this book standout over many other writings of this genre.

The books by Augustine simply represents three simple stages of his life. These include his sinful youth, his discovery of religion and finally his conversion to the faith of Christianity. However, the biggest reason behind the success of the book is the fact that it explicitly represents these three phases of Augustine's life. The readers of this book will not feel lost or confused at no occasion as every event is the book is defined in complete relevance with the phase of Augustine's life it belongs to.

Another most interesting aspect of this book is the wide range of emotions and ...