About this title: One of the earliest autobiographies, as well the paradigm for all subsequent literary "confessions," St. Augustine's 13-volume work is a classic of Christian theology and Western philosophy. In the confessions, St. Augustine addresses God, revealing the details of his life up to his conversion to Christianity and reflecting on a former life of sin ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Image Books, Garden City, NY
Date Published: 1960
Description: Good. No Jacket. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Good copy with some general wear and soiling. good flat covers with some lihgt edge rubbing and some overall soiling. pages clean and unmarked. 429 pages including index and bibliography. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Moody Press
Date Published: 1981
ISBN-13:9780802416186ISBN:0802416187
Description: Very Good. 1981 Moody's Press edition. Small blue hardcover. Previous owner's name inside front on endpaper. Edgewear and edge spot. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Revell
Date Published: 1997-02-01
ISBN-13:9780800787240ISBN:0800787242
Description: Fair. Cover has shelf wear. A couple of water stains. Has some underlining. Careful packaging and fast shipping. We recommend PRIORITY MAIL for even faster delivery! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Revell
Date Published: 1997-02-01
ISBN-13:9780800787240ISBN:0800787242
Description: Very Good. 2005 SPIRE ED. COVER BRIGHT GLOSSY WITH MINOR SHELF WEAR, SPINE SQUARE TIGHT NO CREASE. PAGES CLEAN CRISP, . BLACK REMAINDER MARK, SHIPS WITH CLIFF NOTES DELIV CONFIRM UJAN08. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
Date Published: 1942
Description: Very Good. No DJ as Issued. 1942 Printing-CLEAN in text. Light wear on cover. Blue cloth boards. Saint Augustine (Latin: Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis) (November 13, 354 ñ August 28, 430), Bishop of Hippo Regius, was a philosopher and theologian. Augustine, a Latin church father, is one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity. Augustine was heavily influenced by the Neo-Platonism of Plotinus. He framed the concepts of original sin and just war. When the Roman ... read more
Binding: One-Quarter Leather
Publisher: Fine Editions Press, Cleveland
Description: VG+ Hardcover, very attractive gold-tooled burgundy leather spine, brown cloth covers, top edge gilt, issued without a dustjacket, no copyright date but probably 1950s, has a bit of wear at the spine-extremities, no other significant flaws, looks great on the shelf. read more
Description: Fine. No Jacket as Issued. 4to-over 9¾"-12" tall. FINE clean copy. No marks. LARGE OR HEAVY BOOK AND MAY REQUIRE EXTRA POSTAGE. NO AMAZON INTERNATIONAL ORDERS ON THIS TITLE. read more
"My only criticism is that the book sometimes lagged - but this is true of almost all philosophical and theological works, especially classical ones.
Otherwise, it was very illuminating as to the nature of Christianity (I'm Jewish, so a lot of this stuff is new to me). What was most impressive was Augustine's razor-sharp self-awareness. I couldn't believe that a classical author could have written with what I had previously taken to be uniquely modern Angst (in Existentialist terms). He was very accessible, and very much ahead of his time (at least so I think - but then again, Lucretius showed me just how modern the Romans actually were). At first, as a Manicheean, he criticized and wrestled with the Judeo-Christian God. When he unable to answer the philosophical problems he found in Manicheeism, he began to suffer spiritual discontent. What was truly amazing was how he brings us with him through his spiritual journey - we really get in his head as he questions he had once thought of as certain and slowly begins embracing Christianity. This is really a profound text. It was unfortunate that I could only spend a few days reading it, so I had to read quickly through some beautiful language.
"A fascinating autobiographical account of a man who has gone down in history as one of the greatest philosophers and theologians that ever lived. His oft-quoted words, "Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, until it repose in Thee" perhaps best sum up the heartfelt writings contained in this collection. One cannot help but both smile at his subtly humorous monologues ("There I put my ear to the cauldron and heard from within and all around a song of unholy loves. I did not love, but I loved the thought of love. And in the depths of my desires, I detested the fact that I could not love more. I looked for something to love in my love of loving.") and be challenged by his profound observations ("My faith was no larger than what my eyes could see. It never occurred to me that the very mental processes I used to reason such things were real enough to do wondrous things and form marvelous images, yet it did not have form of the sort I was demanding that my God fit.")."
"I'm really hoping that this book gets better. Augustine's droning is melodramatic and is resulting in multiple eye-rolls on my part. He has very interesting things to say about his relationship with God, but his long explanations of his various infant or adolescent sins seem to overpower the pages. I was particularly annoyed as he described his conflict recalling his infancy, as he couldn't quite remember all of the sins and assumed that they were insignificant and then goes on forever about stealing pears. Maybe I have too high of expectations? I've read other Augustinian writings, if I remember correctly, I liked them very much. I'm just fearful that this entire book will be a chronicle of all of Augustine's sins playing again and again on a broken record. God's grace ensures that one's sins are forgiven upon repentance. Since his sins are canonized in this text, I wonder if Augustine submitted himself to God and actually accepted the forgiveness that was offered."
"This book elucidates how directly self-narration brings about self-realization. The "personal testimony" of religious conversion occupies a momentous place in the evangelical Christian tradition. The act of narrating an encounter with the divine takes on the characteristics of a creative act. When St. Augustine narrates his "conversion" he brings his feelings, impressions, perceptions about the holy out of the realm of subjectivity and emotion and into a format he can apprehend and use, and consequently share as his testimony.
This book provoked thoughts such as: (1) Narration of a personal divine revelation/encounter is an overt act of creation. (Especially since Augustine's understanding of his conversion changes markedly from the immediate post-conversion period as the matured narrative he offers years later is "re-written"/re-narrated. (2) The narration of one's testimony undergoes revision as its applicability/usefulness/relevance to the believer is recalculated.
It makes for some exciting thought, especially from a phenomenological perspective. This book also welcomes thought such as that of Paul Tillich."
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