In Saint Augustine’s deeply personal work, Confessions, he shares the story of his life up to his eventual conversion to the Christian faith. His odyssey through life is, at times, one of bitter inner conflict between his intellect and faith. Augustine’s classical education had a profound affect on the way he viewed the world, and eventually had a major affect on the way he approached Christianity. He is definitely an “intellectual” Christian, and viewed many aspects of his faith from this perspective. Augustine’s attitude towards classical literature and thought was at times slightly self-contradictory. It is clear, however, that although he was grateful for the education he was given, it was not necessary to his conversion. At many points throughout his life, his education actually seemed to hinder his flight towards Christianity.

Augustine continually incorporated Bible verses and passages into his own writing, artfully blending the Scriptures in with his own views. His attitude toward intellect is best illustrated by this short passage in Corinthians:

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s str

Augustine then heard a child say “Take it and read, take it and read,” and he interpreted that as a divine command to pick up the Bible. He read the first section he opened to, Paul, and made the decision to become a celibate and devoted servant of God. Augustine was a rationalist man throughout the work, and yet his most defining moment is one of pure faith.

When Augustine made the decision to fully convert to Christianity in Book VIII, it was truly a “leap of faith.” He knew then that he had to leave part of his philosophical pursuits behind and commit himself fully to Christ.

“A man who knows that he owns a tree and thanks you for the use he has of it, even though he does not know its exact height or the width of its spread, is better than another who measures it and counts all its branches, but neither owns it nor loves its Creator. In just the same way, a man who has faith in you has all the wealth of the world…” (V, 95)

Some topics in this essay:
Christianity Augustine, Saint Augustine’s, Book VIII, God Augustine, Lord Augustine, pursuit worldly, pursuit worldly wisdom, education conversion, attitude towards, god chose, worldly wisdom, iv 89, world shame, classical education,