Why is Augustines "Confessions" so important?

The opening paragraph contains one of Augustine’s most famous statements about our relationship to God: “You stir us to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (translation, Chadwyck). In the first 5 chapters of book one Augustine shows man's utter dependence on God for all things even if man does not recognize that dependence, and underlines his own sinfulness and weakness - yet throughly praises God (which is a type of confession) for His beauty and kindness to him.

Augustine then talks about his infancy and God's knowledge. Even in infancy Augustine was in sin. God's knowledge is always perfect.He continues on into adolescence noting his introduction to Christianity and his almost baptism. When Augustine is a little older he goes to school and enjoys learning - but hates the Greek. He believes that his education tempted him to sin and run from God.

At the begging of book 2 Augustine is now sexually mature - but certainly not spiritually. He engages in more grievous sins, and eventually comes to the place where he tells us about his pear stealing from the neighbors tree. This is a second type of confession and here Augustine analyzes his motivations for committing the sin. As he grows older and moves around in search for answers to his questions, he ends up abandoning the Manachiees and is impressed by the wisdom of Ambrose. After constant prayer from his mother and being convicted by the life of St Antony he hears a voice say "take up and read" that directs him to Paul's epistles from this point on he leaves his worldly life and dedicates his life to Christ, but this dedication is not like that of Antony for he still has temptations with in himself on every level, and he still gives into them. More and more he shows the need for Christs intercession. Lastly, he considers the work of God in creation and makes a correlation between man in a three fold unity (Being, Knowledge and will) and the Trinity. After all he ends with an eschatological hope in the eternal sabbath.

Why this is so important, could be answered in many ways. The work is very comprehensive of Augustine's life and his belief. The work is also very "relate-able" to all men - of practically all walks of life. To my knowledge there is really no other work like it. Like the New Testament writers Augustine is freely self deprecatory, and in a fashion vindicates a kind of mediocre Christianity. Anyone can relate to the struggles that he has as well as the questions that he struggles through. However, the main points to be made about the confessions is what quality do they have to shape human culture for generations and secondly, do they posses the ability to transcend the culture and author himself.

Shape - the "Confessions" stand in stark contrast to the idea of Christianity current in other writings at the time, like the "Life of Antony" by Athanasius. Augustine writes about an inward struggle with sin and unashamedly owns up to original corruption and God's absolute sovereignty in our rebellion. For Augustine, only God can bring us to praise (confess) Christ properly. Whereas, the other types of holy man writings, and those that tried to define what the Christian life looked like - focused on the external trials that assail us, and they gave hope in man being able to transcend temptations and live very holy if not perfect lives. For them discipline is the name of the game of self improvement in order to please God and really promote self. For Augustine - God alone is to be praised and adored. His life is marked by very real struggle with the inner man, with memory - both good and bad. He does not focus on discipline per-se but on grace filled reflection. This kind of reflection enables the reader to be mobilized in there walk with Christ. It is not unrealistic - but rather super-realistic and easily inculcated. The confessions are not with out their hero - for that clearly is Christ, and thus the reader is encouraged with the state of their live no matter what has been the case.

Transcendance - it goes with out saying that such a book could be appropriate for all times and all cultures. In fact, next to the Bible, the Confessions are probably the most transcendent of culture of any book ever written. When reading the book it very easily transports itself to your own life and situation. It calls back memories of past sins and God's grace. It hold up the mirror of God's grace and exposes the readers life as well. We can assume this is why Augustine is selective in the sins that he muses on. Sins like stealing the pears from a neighbors tree, which though not every one will relate to that specific sin, all can easily sympathize with it. It is neither too gross nor too trite, but rather common, and especially helpful in discussing motive with out truly getting stuck on the sin itself.

Effect - these basic elements of the book allow for a wide and powerful effect to be taken from the book, which can be personally helpful, but also culturally beneficial. Where man is not placed against a standard of unrealistic ideal but placed in the presence of a powerful and gracious God - law's can be made; relationship may be built, and I dare say that peace may be maintained (at least somewhat)

Who's who in the Ancient Church

This is another short answer reference guide for church history major movers and shakers.

Tertullian - Latin father- was the first to use the phrase "Trinity"

Ingnaseus -

Origen -

Justin Martyr - The most famous of the apologists.He was martyred.His significance comes primarily from the larger amount of material we have left from his pen. He was born of Flavia Neapolis.(Shechem)He was familiar with the philosophers, dialoguing with a Stoic, an Aristotelian, a Pythagorean, and a Platonist. He met an old man on the seashore that refuted Platonism, and showed him that Christianity was the true philosophy. He moved to Rome ca 151.

Anselm -

Athanasius -1st Nicean powerhouse - Is in and out of exile. Probably the most important figure in the developement of the Nicean understanding of the Trinity. Uses his power almost tyrannically at times to get things done.

Eustathius - 2nd Nicean powerhouse

Marcellus - 3rd Nicean powerhouse who emphasizes the unity of God. He gets excommunicated for being a modalist. He refused to attend the public re-installing of Arius, after which he was exiled.

Augustine -

Boethius -

St Antony -

Who's who in Philosophy

Ever needed a short list of philosophers and their significance to the apologetic enterprise? Here is my first stab, I'll probably have to edit this post a lot.

Pythagoras - (500 B.C.) Held the view that all things are numbers. A correct view of reality then must be expressed in terms of mathematical formulas. He was a numerologist who discovered the ratios of concord between musical sound and number - thus creating a doctrine of the "music of the spheres" with a significance in the operation of the world in harmony with the universe. His views can support a predestination of types, and were very popular throughout history.

Parmenides - (440 B.C.) Believed that Being is rational, that only what can be thought can exist. Since "nothing can be thought (without thinking of it as something), there is no nothing, there is only Being." He believed that Being is uncreated, indestructible, eternal and indivisible. He also believed that Being is spherical because only a sphere is equally real in all directions. His arguments lead him to deny motion - there could be no place where Being was not, if Being was at all.

Zeno - (490 B.C.) proved the impossibility of motion by the use of reductio ad absurdum defending Parmenides.


The Sophists - (5th and 4th cent. B.C.) Used argumentation to promote themselves - heavy on skepticism and cynicism. They were more rhetoricians than philosophers. They asserted that there is not objective reality, and if there were, the human mind could not fathom it. What matter to them was not truth but manipulation and expediency.

Protagoras - (422 B.C.) Taught the way to success is through a careful and prudent acceptance of traditional customs - not because they are true, but because an understanding and manipulation of them is expedient. His famous claim is homo mensura - man is the measure.

Socrates - (399 B.C.) Socrates' discourse moved in two directions - outward to objective definitions, and inward, to discover the inner person, the soul, which to Socrates, was the source of all truth. For Socrates to say "man is the measure" meant very little if you don't have objective understanding of what "man" is. May have invented the Socratic method - where questions are asked back and forth until problems are found with any given truth statement.

Plato - (347 B.C.)

Aristotle - (322 B.C.)

Epicureanism - (270 B.C.)

Neoplatonism -

Augustine - (354 - 430 A.D.)

Anselm - (1033 - 1109 A.D.)

Maimonides - (1135 - 1204 A.D.)

Thomas Aquinas - (1225 - 1274 A.D.)

William of Ockham - (1280 - 1349 A.D.)

Descartes - (1596 - 1650 A.D.)

Spinoza - (1634 - 1677 A.D.)

Leibniz - (1646 - 1716 A.D.)

Locke - (1632 - 1704 A.D.) First British empiricist (empiricist believe that all knowledge derives from experience)

Hume - (1711 - 1776 A.D.) British empiricist who believed that only synthetic claims can describe reality and these claims are necessarily a posteriori. Therefore all true knowledge about the world must be based on observation. He claimed that there is only 3 categories for analysis; analytic, synthetic, or nonsense. For Hume the question: "does God exist?" was not analytic, nor was it synthetic (based on sense data) therefore was nonsense.

Kant - (1724 - 1804 A.D.)

Hegel - (1770 - 1831 A.D.) German Idealist

What is Machen's view on the doctrine of God in light of liberalism

In the book "Christianity and Liberalism" Machen sets forth a basic contrast between Liberal theology and orthodox theology. In chapter 3 he turns his attention to this contrast in the doctrine of God and the doctrine of man - which he says are the "two great presuppositions of the gospel." Machen shows that the liberal approach is diametrically opposed to the Christian. Where the liberal thinks, "we should not seek to know God, but should merely feel His presence" the Christian says, "Certainly it does make the greatest of difference what we think about God; the knowledge of God is the very basis of religion." - This expression "the very basis of religion" or something similar is repeated very frequently to express the character of Machen's objection to the liberal, that is at the very heart of the matter - it is the difference between belief and unbelief - between heaven and hell.

Concerning the liberal idea, the basic thought is that famous phrase, "the universal Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man" a universalism to be sure. To the liberal God is not so much a person but merely a part of the great cosmic scheme, both micro and macro - He is eroded away into the working of nature and nothing more.

Machen in contrast, has a view of God that has content. God is personal. God is a Father in a peculiar sense. God is separate and transcendent from his creation.

Westminster Confession of Faith 7:1

The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obediance unto him as their Creator, yet they could never have any fruition of him as their blessedness and reward, but by some voluntary condescension on God's part, which he hath been pleased to express by way of covenant

Purposed for Prep

I probably could find better ways to get my exam work done, but I thought that I should have a place for digests and for preparing for exams both for school and for liscensure and ordination. So this will be the home for all such niceties.

It is quite possible that very very few will ever venture on to this blog - but I can't help but think that it can be useful.

May God bless those that seek him!