Augustine’s Journey to the Truth in The Confessions of St....

In the Confessions by Saint Augustine, this great philosopher experiences many problems and emotions related to sin and evil. As a boy, he often felt darkness, blindness, and confusion while attempting to find rest in God. Augustine started out in childhood with a restless heart because he had to live in two different worlds. These worlds consisted of his mother’s Christian faith, and the world of everything else. These two worlds confused and disturbed Augustine as a child. Augustine’s father was pagan and his mother was Christian, and they both wanted him to be very successful in the world. As he became confused, he began asking questions that could not be answered such as, â€Å"Humans often feel restless, but what is it they need to feel at†¦show more content†¦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 th at 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. Considering that Manichaeism failed him, he moved into a period of diligent studying. During this period he became involved with Neo-Platonism, which was a type of religious philosophy. He became acquainted with Ambrose and as he listened to his preaching’s, he saw the symbolic narrative in his scriptures. As he began to follow a direction, he was involved in Neo-Platonism. These studies were Plato’s ideas trying to be interpreted. This raised a new approach to his philosophy; philosophers such asShow MoreRelatedThe Writings Of Augustine s Writings Essay1721 Words   |  7 PagesIn his famous Confessions, Augustine presents ideas of creativity through his resistance to other religions as well as his persuasive ideas, notions of community in terms of a group bound by religious beliefs, and conflict in the form of internal struggle with belief and sin, all of which find resonance in other religious texts such as the Qur’an, the Chronicle of St. Denis, and passage s from the Tanakh. Augustine began writing Confessions in around 400 CE as a spiritual autobiography that walksRead MoreAugustine : A Journey Of Conversion1043 Words   |  5 PagesDecember 2014 Augustine: A Journey of Conversion 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 spiritualRead MoreSt. Augustines Conversion to Christianity Essay1129 Words   |  5 PagesSt. Augustines Conversion to Christianity Aurelius Augustinius, St. Augustine, was born in 354 A.D. in Tagaste, a town in North Africa. Born just over a century before the fall of Rome, Augustine would live his entire life within the Roman empire. 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