Syed Hussain

CST 120
Prof. Ralph Keen
2/27/14
Confessions, St. Augustine
The relationship of God and truth within and throughout St. Augustines work,
Confessions, is something of great interest to many Theologists and Philosophers of Catholic
studies. Particularly how, Augustines personal outlook on God changes during the course of his
lifetime. His yearning for a logic based connection with a higher being, results in him finding
faults within himself at certain points throughout his lifetime. His perspective on faith and reason
coupled with the various affairs he has with other forms of religions and schools of thought like
Neo-Platonism and Manichaeism, ultimately lead to his conversion to Christianity, leading to a
new concept of God.
Book one of Confessions deals with Augustines childhood and the troubles he faced
dealing with the concept of god. He raises the possibility of believing in god without having any
concrete evidence. His response to these questions is to have a sense of blind faith, meaning
believing in something that cannot be seen in its existence. He uses a metaphorical approach to
describe his love and faith for god, most high...deeply hidden yet most intimately present...you
are wrathful and remain tranquil...you pay off debts, though owing nothing to
anyone.....Augustine believes that if one constructs a form of self-knowledge, then it is easy for
one to find the truth. By being true to oneself, truthful beliefs are relieved resulting in a quest for

a religion that best fits ones needs. Augustine firmly believes by relating concepts truth, selfknowledge, and divinity to each other a life of satisfaction is possible. He concludes the chapter
on his childhood by stating that whatever good deed were accomplished, were indeed from God
and the sins committed were a result of his own misdirections. This train of thought falls directly
in line with a Neo-Platonism type of view. A Neo-Platonism infused Augustine then makes
claims to combat his prior affairs with Manichaeism.
In book four Augustine delves deep into his experience with Manichaeism which he
directly states is a false religion. He spent nearly 10 years pouring his beliefs into the religious
institution. His main gripe with the religion was the fact that sins/evil originated from God,
which he believed to be false. The Neoplatonist perspective of evil is of great importance to
Augustine. According to the Neoplatonist view, evil has no real form of existence and all evil
comes from being further spiritually away from God and his teachings. Augustine challenges
Manichaeism with such schools of thought.
A common interaction of faith and reason runs through the two different theological
visions of St. Augustine in Confessions. The two different visions are then used by Augustine
to create a brand new concept of god. The following is an excerpt In an instant of awe, my mind
attained to the sight of the God who IS. Then, at last, I caught sight of your invisible nature, as it
is known through your creatures. But I had no strength to fix my gaze upon them. In my
weakness I recoiled and fell back...", "And while we spoke of the Eternal Wisdom, longing for it
and straining for it with all the strength of our hearts, for one fleeting instant we reached out and
touched it. Then, with a sigh, leaving our spiritual harvest bound to it, we returned to the sound
of our own speech,..." (Page 197). These two excerpts are written in very similar styles. Both
excerpts consist of Platonist related language and concepts of faith and reason with the following

references to the line (the image of climbing to knowledge in the second vision, page 197), the
cave ("confusion of images," in the first vision, page 151), and the sun (the transient quality of
the first vision, page 152).
Together concepts of reason and faith are utilized by Augustine to further understand the
concept of god. The first excerpt has Augustine thinking in a rational way with his mind. This
shows how he reasons his beliefs with god. Contrary to the first excerpt, Augustine is now
communicating with his mother, a fellow catholic Christian, and he is doing so by portraying a
sense of faith. Either way whether Augustine is reasoning his beliefs based on reason or faith, he
is creating a new concept of God.
Back to the first excerpt, Augustine is in instant of awe (Page 151) when recognizing
God. These, along with the interaction between Augustine and Monica in the second excerpt in
which they realize the particular qualities of divinity are leading to a better more fulfilling
understanding of God for Augustine and also a more complete concept of God.
There are two types of truth: the truth found in God, but also the truth found in oneself
Due to reasoning and faith along with his affairs of various schools of thought, Augustine has
created a unique concept of god that pertains to him on a personal level. So, Augustines concept
of God isnt one of a solid foundation, its merely one that changes throughout his lifetime.