Book Review: Confessions of Saint Augustine Analyzed

Introduction

Carefully reviewing Saint Augustine's Confessions is a fascinating historical excursion into what it was like to be a believer — four centuries after the death of Christ — who had lived a sinful life but was greatly moved by the example of Jesus Christ and ultimately converted to Christianity. In this book review, Augustine's writing is critically analyzed by examining the intent of the author, the themes he presents, and the impact of the narrative on a contemporary reader.

Augustine's Opening Praise and Doubt

In Book I, Augustine begins with strong praise for the Lord, but he also asks questions common to people who have been raised under pagan beliefs but have recently come to believe in God — perhaps because he is not entirely sure of his standing with Him. He wonders whether there is any particular place in which it would be easier to relate to and contact God. He asks fifteen questions in the first two paragraphs alone, which does not sound like a man who is fully certain he is on the right path. He asks ten more questions in the third paragraph. The sense a careful reader gets from the first chapter is that Augustine is throwing himself down on the altar of forgiveness: full of praise, yes, but also begging for mercy, admitting to lies, vanity, "barbarism," and other "vileness."

Sin, Guilt, and Adolescent Confession

Book II reads like a long soliloquy into Augustine's bad behavior, as though he wants to be certain God knows he was a miserable, selfish, sinning soul. It is also a book in which he admits that his father seemed not to care what a scoundrel he had become — his father was pagan, while his mother was a devout Christian. If a twenty-first-century man truly wanted to repent for wrongdoing during his adolescent years, he would be unlikely to present a long, involved personal narrative laying out all the reasons he had come to understand the need to accept God's love and forgiveness. But Augustine was living in an era with few of the distractions that exist today, and so he is able, it seems, to sit down and write a letter to God — a long, involved letter he surely believed others would read far into the future.

Perhaps that is the whole point. It is so beautifully written and so deeply personal that Augustine may have intended to convert others through the quality of his narrative. In this sense, the Confessions might be seen as a promotional or evangelistic tool — a marketing device for God in the early Christian era. Christian believers would certainly welcome the thought that God was working through Augustine's pen.

Conclusion

St. Augustine was wholly sincere and honest in his long narrative, but he wasn't just writing to God — he was writing to the world. He was writing to all those who had perhaps gone astray as he had, or to those buried in sin who had not the slightest notion of Christianity or goodness. His narrative is beautifully constructed, and while it is not to be compared with or confused with Biblical passages, it is timeless. Moreover, whether or not God was working directly through his hand, God made so profound an impression on Augustine that he had no choice but to share his experiences — good and bad — with those who would need to be inspired in the future.