Christian History Home > Issue 67 > Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
To show how greatly God has changed him, Augustine tells all. What a fifth-century critic might have said.
David F. Wright | posted 7/01/2000 12:00AM
Confessiones
Aurelius Augustinus
A.D. 400
This book is something of a first, and its title might mislead later readers. What Augustine has written, a few years after becoming pastor-in-chief of the church at Hippo (in Roman North Africa), is an extended doxology: thankful praise addressed to God.
He begins with quotations from two psalms: "You are great, Lord, and highly to be praised: great is your power, and your wisdom beyond measure." The phraseology and devotional ethos of the Psalter pervade the whole work.
Narrative, however, is central; as Augustine commented later, "The first ten books are written about myself." The last three are searching meditations on themes suggested by early Genesis.
Spiritual and intellectual autobiography on this scale is unprecedented. Augustine openly describes "the good things and the bad things in my life." He confesses much sin and error—but only to magnify the ever-resourceful grace of God.
Augustine is a profound analyst of the restless twistings of ... To view this item, you must be a member of ChristianHistory.net.
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