Augustine Rhetorical Analysis

Augustine, although recognized as a saint today, was not always a man of great faith. For most of his life, he was tempted with sin, and he struggled to figure out who God was. In the earlier part of his life, he was fascinated by rhetoric. He admired famous rhetoricians, and he even wrote some works of his own, including The Confessions, in which he reveals the struggles he faced. Augustine’s attraction to rhetoricians is not something unfamiliar to a modern audience, as today it is something called “celebrity worship”. Augustine fell into the trap of worshipping people because of their works, instead of worshipping God, whom all the works truly come from. In book 4 of The Confessions, Augustine explains that he had written his own book on beauty, which he dedicated to a Roman orator, Hierius. Augustine further states that Hierius, “was the sort of man [Augustine] loved in the sense of wanting to be like him” (Augustine, 70). Augustine worshipped Hierius, and many other famous rhetoricians like him. Unfamiliar with God, Augustine was in constant search of approval from other humans whom he admired. He details that if he did not find approval, “a heart vain and empty of [God’s] solid strength would be wounded” (Augustine, 71). Augustine failed to prioritize God over these other worldly “celebrities”, for
he desired the same worldly love and praise they were receiving more than God’s approval. Augustine’s desire to be like these other famous rhetoricians left him often feeling lost and unfulfilled. His exploration of philosophy was motivated by a desire to find the truth, yet most of the time, he was left “unable to discern the truth” (Augustine, 71). He elaborates on this matter saying, “… if the rational mind itself is vicious, errors and wrong-headed opinions corrupt our life. Such was the condition of my mind at this time” (Augustine, 72). By searching for the truth in these celebrities, rather than God, Augustine was continuously unable to find the truth he was determinedly searching for. Many people today, like Augustine, fall victim to this concept of celebrity worship. America has developed into a secular society, where worship of public figures is more common than the worship of God, or any higher figure. Even people who are religious, “ignore the teaching that ‘Thou shalt worship no other Gods,’ or fail to connect it to their ‘worship’ of celebrities” (Maltby, Houran, Lange, Ashe, & McCutcheon). The people who consider themselves religious are being consumed by the trends in society, in the same way Augustine was, which creates a barrier between themselves and God.
Further, people have even begun to believe that, “fame can be viewed as a way of preserving a unique part of the self for eternity” (Maltby, Houran, Lange, Ashe & McCutcheon). Similar to Augustine’s struggles, people today are filled with pride and on the search to become famous. They forget that the only thing that is truly unchangeable and eternal is God.
Celebrity worship causes people to develop negative concepts from themselves, forgetting the value instilled in them by God. There is evidence that “celebrity worship is reated to poorer body image… among female adolescents” (Maltby, Giles, Barber, McCutcheon). Like Augustine female adolescents strive to become like the celebrities they worship. In the desire to become someone else, they forget that they have been uniquely made in the image and likeness of God. They lose their sense of value and worth.
Celebrity worship comes with more adverse effects than just body image.
There is also evidence that “materialism and compulsive buying were significantly correlated with celebrity worship”, and that “celebrity worship, materialism, and compulsive buying were significantly related to lower self-concept clarity and to lower levels of well-being, supporting both absorption-addiction and empty self theories” (Reeves, Baker, Truluck). People today show feelings of emptiness in the same way Augustine did. They search for fulfillment in the wrong things, and they are left feeling unfulfilled, for, as Augustine later discovers, the only thing that can truly satisfy is
God.