The Birth Of The Monastic Movement Affect Augustine 's Thinking About Marriage

Augustine’s Confessions is a diverse blend of autobiographical accounts as well as philosophical, theological and critical analysis of the Christian Bible. Augustine treats his autobiography as an opportunity to recount his life and mentions how each event in his life has a religious and philosophical explanation. Augustine had many major events happen in his life but only 3 events would deem of extreme importance to his journey to faith. Theses major events were Book II how he describes that he considered his time of adolescence to be the most lurid and sinful period of his life, Book III how this becomes the lowest point in his relationship with God because his

As this man was inspired to learn the truth, he read a book called Hortensius and soon after joined the Manicheans. These people had elements of Christianity and elements of Buddhism but believed that all creations including flesh were evil. They believed all sex; even marriage including the birth of children was evil and sinful. Manicheans felt that the world was evil material full of darkness trying to find the spiritual world of light, as some would say, the power between good and evil. While being associated with the Manicheans, Augustine had the conception that evil was capable of being touched, like a material substance. But as he spoke with others and further looked into what evil means to exist, he abandoned the notion that evil is something tangible. He realized that evil does not exist in the physical world and therefore moved away from the Manichean religion.

Paul and St. Augustine had negative perspectives towards sex and believed sexual morality at its best was to be celibate. Although they both view marriage as acceptable only if you don't have self-control, but it is not better than abstinence. Being celibate was the ideal choice for them so they could devote their lives entirely to God. St. Paul was a strict critic of Christianity until his conversion. After he converted he was completely devoted to spread the gospel and wanted others to be like him too, so he preached his celibate lifestyle. Throughout Confessions Augustine feels shame about his sexual desire. He sees his lust as a great obstacle between him and complete devotion to God. For both authors sexual morality was the utter absence of sexual desire and pleasure. Since they both were the earliest writers and teachers of sexual conduct, they had a profound influence not only on shaping Christianity, but also the Western world’s ideas about

In the autobiographical work, Confessions, Augustine of Hippo attempted to seek redemption from sins by converting to Manichaeism. Manichaeism is a heresy of Christianity. It is considered a dualistic religion, meaning they acknowledged the existence two supreme beings of opposite powers, with aspects of Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Paganism, and most notably Christianity..

It was a short time after his exposure to Classical philosophy that Augustine joined the Manicheans. The Manicheans believed that spiritual salvation and the grace of God could only be achieved through study and interpretation of the Bible and other works to find specialized, secret knowledge. The Manicheans held a certain appeal for Augustine. The belief that only through higher reasoning and study could one achieve grace, fit with Augustine's own perception of the value of reasoning, and classical rationalism. Augustine was a skilled rhetorician and orator, and had a great deal of confidence in his intellectual superiority. The Manicheans also felt themselves intellectually superior, and Augustine was drawn to this sect in part, because of his intellectual snobbery.

Eventually Augustine is able to overcome his trial of his inability to accept Christianity. One of the main things he was still struggling with was maintaining good moral standards. Augustine struggled with celibacy and knew

It was not until after Augustine graduated college that his perception and understanding of religion became positively evident. Before that, it was very vague and shallow. Augustine indulged in sin the most during his teenage years, claiming that he “ran wild.” His morality rapidly

Augustine was a faithful believer in Christ. He was constantly surveying the Lords movement within the Catholic Church. Moreover, He felt that the invisible church body were true Christians and they did not follow any other idea outside of the ministry that he objected to such as the Donatist.

Throughout Confessions, Augustine undergoes several conversions that lead to his final conversion. Beginning when he was only a small child, Augustine experience his first conversion. Raised by a Catholic mother and Pagan father, Augustine becomes attracted to searching for answers about God. This conversion, which is a conversion of truth, continues to influence him throughout his second conversion which takes place throughout his young adulthood. During this conversion, Augustine first commits to the Christian beliefs intellectually and then shortly after, physically. Inevitably, the answers and struggles that he experiences during his conversion of truth leads to his acceptance of the Christian faith. After accepting this faith, Augustine undergoes a third conversion. This conversion is a conversion of becoming a model of Christ. Augustine’s book Confessions shows these conversions and how they lead to his final conversion.

Augustine’s Confessions were based on Catholic Christianity. The Catholic Church itself adopted several philosophies to build their own doctrines. According to Hardon (1987) Augustine had in mind that the idea of happy life, progressing family and the idea of a family with the head. According to him this needed to have a head that other subjects were to be submissive to. In a marriage, the family primarily is made up of two individuals, a wife and a man. The man will traditionally assume the head of the family. During the medieval period, a head had to be respected and followed. The idea of a leader was not transformational but transactional leadership. Hence in the process Augustine thought that the idea of his mother Monica, being subservient to

Manichaeism is an ancient religious movement and was named after the Prophet Mani who was believed that he received his revelation from a spirit called the Twin, which allegedly taught him divine truths. The Manichean Church from the beginning was dedicated to vigorous missionary activity in an attempt to convert the world. It was almost entirely disappeared from the Western Europe by the end of the 5th century when both the Christian Church and the Roman state vigorously attacked it. Because of its rapid widespread all over the world, it played a role during the Medieval Ages. The major Manichaeism’s characteristic was its dualism. This was one of the causes of debates during the Medieval Ages that from which questions were raised. The Manichean

The Confessions was an interesting Book. How to love one another whether if it is right or wrong. Love was a powerful tools and unconditional when a husband and wife united together. It is that dangerous aspect of sexual desire which breaks away from man's will and the rational ordering of the sex appetite; which so often makes him experience sexual desire when satisfaction of that desire is ei¬ther impossible or unlawful. One would expect few to an argument with Augustine if he exemplified the presence of desire or lust by merely pointing to such phenomena as fornication or adultery. But we cannot and should not want to pass over the fact that he speaks of desire within marriage itself, in the exercise

Before submitting himself to God, Augustine lived a life controlled by various sinful tendencies such as theft and lust. Surrounded by strong believers of Catholicism, such as his mother, St. Monica, Augustine grew up questioning Christ and the faith and rather explored other religions. Two religions that Augustine devoted himself to were Manichaeism and Neoplatonism. While both religions had strengths and flaws, neither truly satisfied Augustine’s spiritual emptiness. Before devoting himself fully to the Catholic faith, Augustine is seen as an honorable saint because of the significance of his works and teachings. Augustine’s conversion from Manichaeism to Neoplatonism to Catholicism as noted through Confessions, transformed his life from being powered by sin and immortality to a life dominated by rectitude and devotion.

At this point in his life, Augustine is recognized for doing many things for the Church as a priest, author, and defender of faith. As an author he wrote Confessions, his spiritual autobiography, and City of God, his great work describing the Christian philosophy throughout history. In this magnificent work,

Augustine's ordination, unexpectedly forced upon him by popular acclamation during a visit to Hippo in 391, brought about a fundamental change in his life and thought. It redirected his attention from the philosophic Christianity he had discovered in Milan to the turbulent, popular Christianity of North Africa's cities and towns.