St Augustines Confessions - Essay Example

St. Augustine’s Confessions Saint Augustine’s value of human nature is that men are born imperfectly and sinfully. It canbe said that his view tends to contradict what was said in the scriptures that men are created in the image of its creator. His collection was written in a way to philosophically narrate how the creator has planned a certain person’s life even just at the moment that he was born. There has been literature works that consider St. Augustine’s Confessions as St. Augustine’s autobiography. However, other writers think otherwise. These writers say that the Confessions are Augustine’s cautious effort on how he sees his life being blessed by God’s grace. Whether it is an autobiography or not, what’s important is that the details and events were relayed to the people in such a way aids in the study of religion. If the said work will be considered as the Augustine’s autobiography, therefore it can be said that this is a courageous act on his part to open up his life, experiences, thoughts and emotions not just to God but also to his readers. It can be said that the reason why the book is entitled Confessions is because just like when a person goes through the sacrament of confession, there is a process of admitting shortcomings and mistakes to be able to glorify God as He forgives the sinner showing how great His love is for mankind, which is believed to be what St. Augustine had in mind. Saint Augustine’s father, Patrick, was a Pagan while his mother, Monica, was born a Catholic. He was born in Roman North Africa in a time where Catholicism was still on its early stage as a theological philosophy. As he made his travels to other cities and then to Rome and Milan, he started to grow certain interest on Catholicism and that was when his debate whether to be baptized or not started (Innerst). The books in Confessions are full of stories but it can be observed that some of the stories were full of regret. It began with the regret of his studies. Although he was able to have his achievements in education he still felt regret. Every person does have the right to think whether he or she would agree or disagree on what was taught in the school. If not for those lessons, students would not be pushed to think harder and contemplate on the lectures presented. Academic lessons also prompt students to create hypotheses and to critically analyze different problems. One example is by proving or disapproving what was stated. The life of Saint Augustine was summarized in the first nine books. In the form of prose and more like a story-telling, it had been described how his father was baptized before dying. In addition, the death of his mother was also described (Tlogical Website). The collection seemed to shift after the 9th book. A double-meaning for the title of the collection itself comes to mind towards the 10th to the 13th. The latter books tackled more the philosophical and theological issues of the saint’s life. This is where the pessimistic view on human nature of the saint emerges. There is a certain part on the collection where a disagreement would arise. Humans are not born sinners. It was stated in the bible that man was made in the image of God. “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (New International Version, Genesis 1:26). As days pass by, men are introduced to different things. This may tempt them to do something that can be considered as a sin and make them weak but in the end men learn from it and turn their ways back towards God. Mistakes that were done in life are written but do not mean that they are there to condemn human beings the rest of their existence. Just like Saint Augustine, he has done a handful of actions that were considered in Catholicism as sins but that did not hinder him from becoming a baptized believer of God. The late Pope John Paul II spoke that: The word of Gods revelation is profoundly marked by the fundamental truth that man, created in the image of God, shares by his work in the activity of the Creator and that, within the limits of his own human capabilities, man in a sense continues to develop that activity and perfects it as he advances further and further in the discovery of the resources and values contained in the whole of creation (Pope John Paul II, 3). There is a statement in the psychological field however that human nature is either good or neutral. No negative signs can be perceived in human nature. There are conditions in where man can be affected in a negative way which can negatively affect himself or others. These conditions can either be environmental or personal or can be both (Lake, 217). The title of the collection is appropriate though there are some contexts where one can say that he disagree. The scriptures are man’s guides in their daily lives. They are guides so that people can make up for the mistakes that have been done in the past. Those mistakes may not be done by the person himself but of those done by generations before him. What happened in a man’s life is not the fault of the creator yet it is a product of actions which were not supposedly done. Confessions are done to admit guilt of mistakes that man has made against God. It is created for man to acknowledge that though he has done something wrong; God is there for his salvation. A man should realize that God is not in one’s life to condemn them or the one responsible in making their lives miserable, a man should remember that God sent his only son to just save mankind of all its sins. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (New International Version, 1 John 1:9). Confession is the first step back for man to be righteous. It is the sacrament where man talks to his Creator and admits the mistakes that he have done. Man is at his humblest point in confession. Admission is a very hard task especially for a man who would consider himself as hierarchal. God did not make man a sinful creation. It is man who made themselves vulnerable in committing sins that takes them a step farther away from their creator. Saint Augustine said in one of his sermons that there are 3 ways in which man can confess their sins, the first is in baptism where the child is forgiven from the sins of his forefathers, another is in prayer where one is secluded and lastly is through penance (Catholic Answer Website). Works Cited: Catholic Answer Website. “Confession.” Catholic Answers. November 4, 2011. http://www.catholic.com/tracts/confession. Innerst, Sean. Who was St. Augustine? A Short Biography. The Augustine Institute: Denver, Colorado. 2010. Lake, Tracy Melanie. Investigating Radical Contradictions of Original Lovemaps: Therapeutic Implications. University of South Africa. August 2006. Pope John Paul II. Laborem Exercens. September 14, 1981 “Saint Augustine.” DoctorsoftheCatholicChurch.Au. November 4, 2011. http://www.doctorsofthecatholicchurch.com/AU.html. “St. Augustine Confessions.” OurLadysWarriors.Org. November 4, 2011. http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/saints/augconf.htm. Tlogical Website. “Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Greatest of the Latin Church Fathers.” November 4, 2011. http://www.tlogical.net/bioaugustine.htm. Read More