Christianity in Antiquity and Modern Life
Christianity has existed since antiquity and continues to exist in modern life. Most residents have been exhorted to turn away from their bad ways and embrace Christian ideas. St. Augustine is a scholar who is an important person in modern civilization because he repented of his wrongdoings and turned to God. There were early Christians, often known as the Jesus Movement, who can be utilized to envy the early Christian history. Many people did not recognize early Christian groups because they were ostracized. Therefore, the work of St. Augustine in The Confessions that narrates how he used to lead a sinful and immoral life but later turned to God and confesses his sins can be used in the context of the early Christianity to convert most people to Christianity.
Augustine's Diverse Blend
Augustine's work is a diverse blend comprising of the autobiography, philosophical aspects, theology and concepts of the Christian Bible. The first nine chapters of his work reflect on the immoral early life before he was converted to embrace the Catholic faith. From the time of birth in Algeria, his social life was sinful, in most cases, the boys he met while at the school where he was involved in the sexual adventures misled him and the utterances based on false philosophies. Additionally, the gut to write his work came to him after seeing his primary living as a moral lesson of getting deep into the material world, an initiative that let him in confusion and grief. He later developed the interest of showcasing the philosophical truth by keeping to the doctrines of the Manichaeism, and he was majorly inclined on the Catholic theology that made him compose the confession.
Returning to the Right Path
Augustine considers the process of returning to the right path by fully devoting his life to the Catholic faith as an instance of the return of the whole creation of God. Therefore, the analogy can be used to move Early Christianity foreword from its place as a marginalized religious group to a mainstream religion of the Roman Empire by keeping to the context of the readings. In the ancient times, Christianity was never given consideration, and most of the Christians were persecuted belong that most of the people indulged in sex and other pleasures of the sensual world. The Jesus movement suffered a serious fall back after the death of Jesus being that they now depended on the memory of Jesus. Thus, most of the followers to went back to their old barbaric ways. The arguments made ion the Books can be used to enlighten the ancient the Christians on the doctrines of Christ and the virtues of God for them to be more firm in matters of Christianity.
Examining the Conflicting State of Mind
From the work of Augustine in Book IV that talks about examining the conflicting state of mind, it can be applied on the Movement of Jesus to have more desire on Jesus for them to turn their ways to God. The implication is that people of the ancient world were so much committed to the material world and they never saw the essence of turning their ways to follow God. Therefore, the Book talks of the consequences of getting indulged into the earthly deeds which are the same scenario in the ancient society. The movement of Jesus can, therefore, adopt the teachings of Augustine on confession for them to overcome the marginalization they faced and moved forward. For instance, Augustine reflects how he made a friend progress towards the truth, an implication that the same procedure can apply to the early Christians to make them stand strong in the faith. Therefore, the connection is that the teachings from the book of the Augustine to empower the movement of Jesus on Christian virtues to help be one of the most powerful religion in the Roman Empire.
Literary Qualities in The Confessions
Some of the literary qualities used by the author in the books are meant to capture the attention of the readers and make the message more imploring. Among the devices used are symbolism, imagery, and allegory. Symbolism is used in various parts of the work, for instance, fire is symbolically used in the text to bring out the passion and the strength of the sermon. You know "The Fire Sermon" section of T.S. Eliot's super-major-important poem, "The Wasteland"? Additionally, different phrases are metaphorically used in work, like "Who are you then. My God" as used in Book I to imply the direct approach used in addressing God as it introduces the miseries about god. The third important literary device used in work is allegory where a concept is used to reveal a hidden meaning. For instance, the word sole is used in work to represent the ability of God to heal the body when sick because Augustine always refers to God as the "Physician of my soul."
