Confessions

Augustine of Hippo, R.S. Pine-Coffin (Translator)

Published: January 1, 378

Genres: Philosophy, Theology, Biography, Religion, History, Nonfiction

Pages: 346

Confessions is an intriguing autobiography that brings light to the weight of God's holiness. In a sense, this autobiography is not only relating to the confessions of Augustine’s sins, but rather the confessions of his love towards God. It discusses the complex depth of His significance, such as society’s need for His light, which sparked interest within me. Some topics reflects on modern society, such as the glorification of sin, desire for sorrow, and education without God.

“God is almighty.” That is the typical statement for someone to address the greatness of God. But as they say those three words, do they see the weight of their statement? Upon reading Augustine’s devoted words, I came to admire his profound love for God. He pours his love of God into the pages through his constant appreciation. With every topic that Augustine mentions, he would never fail to acknowledge the greatness that is God. I realised the beauty of God’s greatness - we will never comprehend the full extent of His power, yet we can only wonder.

I believe it is essential for any Christian to read Confessions if they wish to know the mind of a historical Christian, especially a saint. There’s nothing more honourable than a saint to declare his sins publicly. There is an expectation for Christians to have sinless lives, but many Christians come to Christ in need of salvation. We are all born of flesh, meaning it is our fate to sin. But despite this fact, it is difficult for Christians to declare their sins, as if it’s shameful to have an ungodly past. Yet it is their past that brings admiration for their commitment to Christ. I believe modern Christians can relate to Augustine’s sinful struggles, which is why I find it important to read.

Confessions brings forth the reality of persistent sin as a Christian. Even after discovering the truth of Christ, many Christians fall back into their previous sin. Christians are merely human like the rest, meaning they struggle with sin no differently from a non-Christian. The reality is that many Christians knowingly cling onto sin, despite knowing it is unholy. Augustine discusses the fear of “missing out” on worldly pleasure. During his difficult years as a Christian, he craved intimacy for the sake of gaining the same pleasures as everyone else. Yet the same desire prevents the mind from acknowledging the holy rewards of rejecting those pleasures.

I was impressed by the incredible usage of the bible verses. It was never required of Augustine to reference the verses, especially not as constant as he did. But Augustine willingly did so with his love of God. It’s admirable as a Christian to see the verses thrown into the book so briefly.

While I enjoyed the topics of Confessions, I was unsatisfied with the amount of unanswered questions. Sometimes Augustine would question various topics, yet even he knows he has no answers to them. Which I appreciate that he’s able to admit to, but it seems like a waste of pages. I wouldn’t say these pages are completely unnecessary because it gives a good insight to his thoughts, but they’re not useful either. I’m only relieved that he didn’t ramble any longer, otherwise I would feel the need to rate Confessions less.