St. Augustine Confessions

Saint Augustine Confessions chronicles the journey to Catholicism in ancient Rome. In the beginning of his life Augustine struggles with what god should be and if God is real. This is one of his early questions that goes unanswered. There is no logical way to know whether god is there or not. Augustine seems to constantly bring his experiences in life back to religion, and whether it was sinful or not. In Rome at the time Catholicism was not the most popular religion of choice. The most popular at the time was that of pagan Gods, there were also many competitors like Manicheism and Neoplatonism. There was an array of religions a man could belong to during this time leaving Catholicism to still be in its growing stages (Sparknotes Editors).
Augustine Persuades himself and the reader in favor of Catholicism, while also evaluating the way to live and obey Gods wishes. Augustine’s background comes from Carthage and Thagaste where he received schooling as a young boy. He as a child would be influenced by those that are around him while his brain develops. Although he questions many things about his childhood and whether he was sinful as an infant Augustine seems to think that his youth was useless. In Book I the invocation at the beginning is quite lengthy. There are many questions that question God and his realness according to man (I.2). This represents childhood in some way because of the multitude of questions. As a child, the world is quite new and the idea of a greater being that is ones creator is a subject that can come with hesitation. The questions also prepare the reader for what is to come in the novel. Many of the questions posed are left answerless, because one is to find it within the writings. Starting with the infancy of Augustine allows the reader to understand where his thought originated from. Augustine’s thoughts on infants and there selfishness speaks to his commitment to God in whatever way he believes is correct. He
His mother is dying and although he is sad he is able to accept God’s will. His mother holds all of her faith in God and knows that he will have no trouble finding her body even though it is in a different country (IX.11). Augustine s still clearly learning[ from his mother’s faithfulness, he is still learning new facets to his faith. Augustin comes to a conclusion to his many questions he posed at the beginning of the novel. The answers are boiled to one’s own faith in God. If one truly believes in God they do not need to see to believe, but have faith in his power. Augustine is able to come to terms with that to much more success than his teenage self. The journey he experienced joined together parts of Augustine’s life that were in disarray. The religion that Augustine accepts into his life teaches him how to accept that which he does not know for sure. His mother still provides him an anchor for his Catholicism even on her death bed. Augustine’s mother shared her final insightful word of god to her son. She assured him that God will find her wherever she is to surrender her physical being. The final moments that Augustine shares with his mother shows the growth that he was able to achieve in his journey to Catholicism. He showsfaithin the future without his mother and that his mother will be safe away from her body with God. Although he is sad