St. Augustine Confessions free essay sample

In Augustine’s Confessions, he confesses many things of which we are all guilty; the greatest of which is his sadness of not having a relationship with God earlier in his life. He expressed to us that to neglect a relationship with God is far worse than the pity he felt for Dido. In reviewing his life, he had come to examine life and how there are temptations in this world that can keep us distracted.He tells to us how he became aware of this fact; everything is negligible except love for God, and his own guilt at not having found this truth sooner. He cried over Dido’s death because he was moved in his heart for her loss; a death brought about by her love and loss of Aeneas. Augustine had not, at that time, considered that he should have been grieving for his own salvation. There was a sadness for which he has not cried; tears for himself. We will write a custom essay sample on St. Augustine Confessions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As he was studying, he was growing spiritually and increasing his understanding of God. He was learning that his life meant nothing without God.He tells us that he was engaged in the pleasures of the world during his years as a young man and how conversion to Christianity and the study of the scriptures lead him to a deeper understanding of God’s love and expectations. It also leads him to confess a lot of guilt for his ungodly life which led to a closer spiritual bond for Augustine with God. The closer to God he became the less he cared for things of this world. I think that he found imaginative literature to be somewhat of an offence because it created a genuine emotional response from a fictional reality.Augustine thought a better use of his time was to read God’s word; because it is beneficial to one’s spirit rather than one’s imagination. His lament to God was that he wished he had taken the time to delve deeper into the scriptures when he first became acquainted with them. His confessions were made with humility as he expresses to God how he has sinned against him. He wished that his conversion to Christianity had not taken so long. He was ashamed of everything that was worldly or of the flesh.He sought to stay close to God by avoiding committing â€Å"the sins of the flesh,† again. He wanted to live a more righteous life than he had when he was living against the will of God. He felt that each person, should, above all things, have a relationship with God. I agree with Augustine on his spiritual principles. It is essential in the Christian faith to study the scriptures to gain wisdom and knowledge on how one is to live life. I refer to scriptures from the Holy Bible; scriptures that encourage us to seek knowledge from God.In the book of James 5:1, we are told to seek wisdom from God, not from the books written by men. â€Å"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him,† (Holy Bible) and here we are advised in the book of I Corinthians 3:19-20, â€Å"For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, â€Å"He catches the wise in their craftiness,† and again, â€Å"The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile. † (Holy Bible) But I also disagree with him because we should gain knowledge; we should examine everything.I do not think there is anything wrong with reading imaginative literature because it enriches our lives. Reading fiction helps to stimulate imaginations. Advances in science and technology may not have culminated to our current knowledge base if people did not exercise their creativity, creativity that is gained by reading what other people have to say; what and how they think. Fiction also allows us to escape mentally to another time or place, to see life through someone else’s eyes. Reading is healthy stimulation for our minds.