Ambrose

“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…

Throughout The Confessions, Saint Augustine of Hippo plays a big role in influencing Christianity. Augustine took ideas from pre-Christian thinkers, and was very influential in getting those ideas about Christianity out to the world. Augustine was very effective in getting his ideas about Christianity out; he was effective at getting his points across, especially when he compared his ideas to Ovid, the idea of internal verses external, and the concept of fate. In The Confessions, Augustine and…

view till today. St. Augustine bishop of Hippo had an immense influenced the development of western ideological and political thoughts. This was because St. Augustine gave important insights that were taken up by successors, scholars and experts of politics and government. These thoughts by later scholars that were based on Augustinian foundations generally developed along lines that Augustine presumably would not have wished. St. Augustine Bishop of Hippo never postulated a political theory of…

In Confessions, St. Augustine writes an autobiography in which he takes his first steps in transitioning to Christianity by confessing his sins to God. This transition expounded his life story and further emphasized his journey to overcome his sinful endeavors. By acknowledging God as his audience, St. Augustine violates contemporary expectations of autobiographical writing. Using this method, he alters the conventional purpose -- to inform -- and meaning behind autobiographies. Instead, he…

Augustine heads to Carthage, ready to find both emotional and physical love. He also realizes that he is a jealous and suspicious lover. Augustine says, "Yet, had these things no soul, they would certainly not inspire our love" (31). If he didn't have these feelings he would not love and not care. At the end of chapter one Augustine says that he should be scourged with burning rods of jealousy, suspicion, fear, anger and strife. Augustin was fascinated by plays. He preferred tragedy because he…

Augustine wrote confessions as a bishop. He wrote about many situations from his earlier life. When reading Confessions you must keep in mind that these are the words of an older man talking about his past self. If young Augustine had written Confessions it would have been a much different book. Love is an interesting topic. We all love or are loved in one capacity or another. Romantic love is a different beast altogether. Often times we are obsessed with the idea of love and we will do…

1 Nestorius placed a special emphasis on the humanity of Jesus. He began preaching against the title Theotokos or Mother of God, beginning to be used of the Virgin Mary. He distinguished between the logos (“divine nature”) and Christ (the Son, the Lord) as a union of divine nature and human nature. He refused to attribute the human acts and the sufferings of Jesus to the divine nature, arguing that God could not suffer on the cross, as God is omnipotent. Therefore the Virgin Mary, could not be…

Augustine’s conversion played a very significant role in his life. It shaped him and his thoughts, especially towards doing God’s work. When he was not conversed yet, his sins and guilt made him feel uncomfortable. As he said in the beginning of Book (VIII) thus before he was conversed, (Thus I was sick at heart and in torment, accusing myself with a new intensity of bitterness, twisting and turning in my chain in the hope that it might be utterly broken! For what held me was small thing, but it…

In the Confession’s introduction, Augustine used repetition of grammatical forms in the same sentence, Isocolon. “The more Augustine learnt about astronomy, the greater the tension in his adherence to the Manichee faith.”(Introduction, XV) The sentence tells us how Augustine continued in association with astronomy and slowly ceased his belief in the Manichee community. Augustine reflects on his own speech, “But in these words what have I said, my God, my life, my holy sweetness?” (Bk. I, p.5)…

Aptly titled, Confessions of St. Augustine, is a purging of Augustine’s mind and soul to God. He is alternately pouring out his sins of flesh and mind while praising God for allowing him to do so as well as atone for the sins of his youth. Frequently he relates tales of when he found himself compelled to sin and how, having found the err in his ways, he has turned his life to the study and worship of God through the Catholic church. Explanation, though not justification, comes in how he…