Analysis Of Augustine's Confessions

Augustine’s Confessions contains a pithy account of his life including his struggles with God and religion. Throughout his book, Augustine attempts to expose and substantiate answers to questions concerning topics including evil, free will, and friendships. Because many strong arguments are made, the casual reader might be lured into the trap of embracing everything Augustine says as normative instruction. However, it is essential to critically assess new information. This is especially true when that information is so deeply related to the fundamental questions of life and our relationship with God. We must separate certainties from uncertainties and falsehoods. If we do not, we are not only deceiving ourselves, but we run the risk of

Could all the suffering and chaos of our world truly be the result of his one choice made at the Tree? Now we are all doomed to inherit Adam’s guilt? He certainly appears to think so, as he shows in XIII, 28. Unfortunately, Augustine does not spend much time at all explaining his belief that sin stems from Adam. He takes that as an assumption and proceeds onwards with more general statements about individuals’ condition now, rather than establish Adam’s role in the origin of

One instance where this theme is found is his story of the pear tree (II 4,9). He uses this story to illustrate some key aspects of the nature of sin. Firstly, it’s important to note that Augustine wanted to steal. His actions were a result of his own free will, his choosing to participate. Secondly, he sinned not out of need or desire for what was gained. Rather, he sinned for the sake of sinning. There is something about sinning that gives a thrill. Thirdly, he also points out that stealing the pears would not have been enjoyable had he not participated with his peers. It is important to understand that, though his points are often valid, they must not be assumed to be true at all times.

The first point made by this story, that sin is a choice, seems to directly contradict his former claims that humans are born sinful. Fortunately, he addresses this later on in the text. He explains the view of the Manicheans with which he formerly associated (VIII 24). There are two wills in the mind, one evil and one good, that war over decisions. Augustine expands on this, saying that oftentimes there are many more wills than two. His stance agrees Paul as found in Romans 7 where he says that he does not do the good he should, but he does do the evil he