Augustine Research Paper

Augustine was born to Monica, she was a Christian and spent her life ensuring he would become one as well. His father was a Pagan but did not disapprove of his wife instilling Christianity in their son. His family was most likely poor. His father saved money so St. Augustine could go to school and become wealthy. St. Augustine was sent to school where he was forced to learn Latin and Greek.

St. Monica’s role was the quiet supporter. She humbly prayed and hoped incessantly for her son’s conversion, but she never forced her son to accept the faith. St. Ambrose was the voice that led Augustine to want to be baptized into the Catholic faith. Although both these powerful Catholic figures were influential in Augustine’s conversion, his conversion was ultimately his decision. Through careful analysis of the Catholic faith and its beliefs, Augustine came to be baptized through his own will.

Augustine born on November 13, 354, was very important person in the history of Christianity as well as for Catholics. He lived in North Africa during the fourth and fifth centuries in the city of Hippo Regious. He wrote on topics such as predestination and original sin. He was the main person who set forth major doctrines of Christian belief, and more specifically the catholic belief. Augustine spent the first half of his life searching for the truth behind his life, as well as the meaning, purpose, and significance.

The entire book is based off Augustine's spiritual development and how he accepted Christianity throughout his lifetime. It was a constant battle throughout his life, but he wanted the truth he wanted answers to fully understand God and the meaning of Christianity. He didn’t become a Christian until he understood the meaning. Many people claim to be Christian but I don’t think many really understand the true meaning.

He failed to seek God’s word, because his behavior blinded him from seeking what God has to offer. Augustine got used to getting everything he wanted. If he would beg for his mother’s breasts, he would get them. He committed selfish sins which disregarded God’s law. These acts were due to a misdirection of God’s gifts, which is what happens when people sin. St. Augustine committed crimes like stealing pares, and having sexual encounters because he enjoyed the pleasure of the act. It was not until later in his life that he realized that the highest good of desire one usually wants is God. Believing that the route to God went from lesser goods until you finally reached him. Augustine uses this view to understand God, and how one can be foolish enough to commit selfish and sinful

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires" (HCSB). It was at this time that he "[contemplated] Christianity seriously."8 Augustine was baptized in 387 and "found his way back to the faith of his childhood and turned his back on his oratorical career."9 In 391, Augustine was ordained "for the catholic church at Hippo," and by 396 he was "the sole bishop of the community."10

"I had put out of my mind any thought that I could deal with him to prevent the undoing of so good a mind through a blind and headstrond passion for such vain pastimes" ( Augustine 6.7). Augustine looked upon how his friends' life was going and couldn't not think about what was going to happen. Constant scripture and promises from God ran through his mind and he prevailed to never leave Alypius

Augustine lived in the city of Hippo, and was a christian theologian and philosopher. As a young child he was influenced heavily by manichaeism and Neo-platonism. But in 386 he was baptized and converted to christianity. He was recognized as a saint in the eastern orthodox church, catholic church, and anglican communion, plus he was noticed as a preeminent doctor of the church. Augustine tried to reconcile the belief of freewill , and especially his belief that humans are morally responsible for their actions. He was also the first ecclesiastical author whose development can be traced. He informed us that he was born at thagaste in proconsular numidia, nov. 13, 354. His death took place at hippo regius Aug. 28, 354. His fathers name was

He goes on to be regretful and confess his sins from when he was a young boy, how he would not listen to his parents and teachers not out of spite, “but love of sport.” (Book I, sec. 16) Augustine’s young years were not his best, as he would agree with this statement. He points out in Book I how he came down hot with a fever, and nearly died. Not knowing it at the time, he states how God was already his “guardian” (sec. 17) and how much he is thankful that he recovered in time before his planned

During Book I, Augustine recalls his childhood and how it was like growing up and turning into a young man. He begins his book in an opening prayer, praising his lord and raises the question how can we see God if we do not know who he is. He mentions how anything that exists and creation contains God because he created the Earth. This answers to the question answers how Augustine found God in a sense that, he saw others around him and believed that God was present in everything he has done. An example given in his book is how the comforts of human milk were waiting for him, but God gave him the milk in his mother’s breast to nourish him. This is in accordance to the plan of creation.

Augustine is a human being like the rest of the world’s population. As a young man grows he will hit a point of his life where personal desires bubble to the surface. These looming desires not only stem from your own needs and wants but also from outside influence.

In Confessions by Saint Augustine he says that to be a whole person, one must cultivate a life that is improved by friendship. The essentials for all humans are food, air, and relationships which are imperative to creating a whole person. The friends that we have help to provide a sense of belonging and community. They help provide Augustine with strength and encouragement. Friends provide a sense of belonging and community which are a source of strength and encouragement. Augustine viewed friendship as an important part of his life, and he evaluated his friendships over the course of the three life stages. These stages in his life are adolescence, early adulthood and adulthood. In Augustine’s life he became a close friend to many but at different stages of his life his friendships provided Augustine with different life lessons that made Augustine the wise man he is at the end of his life. Over the course of Augustine’s life, he shows maturity in his interactions with his friends and begins to alter his selfish behavior. As a child his friends were based off of vice. But as he got older he learned from the friends he associated himself with and they ended up leading Augustine to his conversion. The experience that he had with certain friends were a pivotal aspect of the stories and reflections written in Confessions. During Augustine’s spiritual journey he dealt with friends that diverged him from his spiritual calling and friends that brought him closer to his calling.

Saint Augustine’s books of confession are simply about his journey to becoming baptized and becoming part of the church. Towards the very beginning of the book Augustine has many questions regarding God, evil, and what it means to be part of the church community. He wants to learn how does one seek God without knowing exactly who or what God is. Augustine is a very curious person, and he seeks wisdom, he wants to be able to have a full understanding of God and also he wants his questions to be answered before he is converted. He learns that in order to seek God you need to have faith, and then God will eventually reveal himself to us. There were many events, readings, and people that you discover along the readings of his confessions that have a major impact on his decision to becoming part of the church community and finally accepting his religion.

Specifically in adolescence Augustine's relationship with God is non existent and he is not religious even though his mother Monica pushes for him to be religious. His lack of religious affiliation is because he is inexperienced and does not have the knowledge to think for himself. His rebellious attitude and intolerance for religion can be directly linked to whom Augustine associates himself with. The association of these friends served Augustine’s satisfaction for rebellion. Augustine was lead down a narrow minded and secular view of the world and his friends brought out the worst in him. When Augustine started hanging out with these friends he knew that they did not share different morals and beliefs but the more he hung out with them he stopped acknowledging this and accepted their lesser morals as if they were his own. Augustine enjoyed the company of these friends and remained close with them. During this time Augustine’s friends did not bring him happiness because peer pressure only ushered misery. This misery lead Augustine to start acknowledging that he was not satisfied with his life and he began his journey to happiness and salvation. Once Augustine and his friends stole pears from a neighbor's pear tree. The happiness and satisfaction Augustine felt was not derived from stealing the

Augustine wanted to know if God is all good then why is there evil in the world. “The Christian God was proclaimed to be both almighty and perfectly good. But if that is so, where does evil come from” (pg. 228). He wanted to understand how these two could work together and how God could be both or allow both to be in the world. Augustine began to read the Bible but he was frustrated because it was not written like the Roman poets with a clear precise message. “… So Augustine turned