Augustine's Idea Of Sin Depicted In 'The Confessions'

“The Confessions” is one of the many books that Augustine had written over the course of his lifetime. It may seem like a difficult read, but it is definitely worth getting into. Some of the topics he speaks about range from his misunderstanding of scripture, his concupiscence, and his conception of sins which is the topic of this paper analysis. In Augustine’s point of view, there are more than just the seven deadly sins that we all are familiar with. Most of “The Confessions” is filled with the topic of sin, he goes on to talk about sinning, but also about why we, as humans, continue to sin and do it in the first place. If we were to look at the definition of sin, it encompasses all of the bad things that a human-being can indulge in. In …show more content…
For example, “Who can recall to me the sins I committed as a baby? For in your sight no man is free from sin, not even a child who has lived only one day on earth.” In this quote, Augustine is basically saying that babies are not as pure as everyone believes. Ignorance does not equal impurity—babies need an adult to take care of them constantly. Everyone knows that babies cry when they are hungry, tired or downright cranky—sometimes a baby only cries for an adult’s attention and this is why Augustine believes babies aren’t pure. Augustine points out that, “Certainly if I behaved like that now…I should provoke decision and be very properly rebuked,” in this quote he is stating that babies throw tantrums when they are greedy and if he were to do the same thing for food—it would not be allowed. A child who tearfully begs for things is a child that knows exactly what he or she is doing. Does that mean a tantrum is a sin for a child? In Augustine’s point of view, yes, but the bigger picture is that there is no human on earth that can escape sin and we all need to seek out God’s mercy, no matter how good we think we