The Confessions of Saint Augustine

The Confessions of Saint Augustine is considered the all time number one Christian classic. It is an extended poetic, passionate, intimate prayer. Saint Augustine traces a story of sin, regret, and redemption that is both deeply personal and, at the same time, universal. It is one of the most moving diaries ever recorded of a man's journey to the fountain of God's grace. Writing as a sinner, not a saint, Augustine shares his innermost thoughts and conversion experiences, and wrestles with the spiritual questions that have stirred the hearts of the thoughtful since time began. Starting with his early life, education, and youthful indiscretions, and following his ascent to influence as a teacher of rhetoric in Hippo, Rome, and Milan, Augustine is brutally honest about his proud and ambitious youth. In time, his early loves grow cold and the luster of wordly success fades, leaving him filled with a sense of inner absence, until a movement toward Christian faith takes hold, eventually leading to conversion and the flourishing of a new life.

About the Author: Augustine of Hippo (345-430) was born in North Africa to a devoutly Christian mother and pagan father. He was given Christian instruction but waited until later in life to be baptized. Augustine's sexual appetite drove him to seek pleasure where he could find it, but also plagued his conscience. His hunger for religious things led him through many of the belief systems of the day. Augustine finally turned to God in 386 when he heard a child say, "Take, read" a copy of Paul's letter to the Romans.