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/lit/ - Literature

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14598999 No.14598999 [Reply] [Original]

What does /lit/ think about this?

>> No.14599440

Stupid thread. It's a classic of world literature, one of the first western autobiographies, and an important work for understanding early Christian philosophy. Everyone should have read it whether they agree with it or not

>> No.14599492

>>14599440
Fpbp

>> No.14599526

Very relatable for young men struggling with commitment to some sort of higher goal

>> No.14599576

One of the most important thinkers of the first millennium, anybody who says otherwise is ignorant to his importance in both the development of Christianity and philosophy

>> No.14599604

>>14598999
His main error was his apostasy from Manichaeism.

>> No.14599615

I confess I've never read it.

>> No.14599654

>>14599604
Refute a single one of his arguments in the anti-Manichaean writings. You can't.

>> No.14599849

I haven't read it, but in Houellebecq's novel on Islam (Submission), it gets mentioned when a character compares Ben Abbes (other character) to St. Augustine as a kind of spiritual important figure.

>> No.14600639
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14600639

>>14598999
I’m 1/5 of the way through that exact version and it’s boring as shit.

>In my youth I once shook a tree of tasteless pears and fed them to pigs! How wicked I was! But you oh Lord, [proceeds to string together 3 quotes from psalms, one from Isaiah, and one from Proverbs].

>> No.14600644

>>14600639
>Proceeds to shit on Manichaeans and Donatists, two early Christian sects I don’t care about at all.

>> No.14600691

>>14600639
The point is that he did something wrong needlessly not even for personal gain but just because he could. He btfo Roman religion in The City of God btw Centurii chan poster, maybe read that instead.

>> No.14600710

>>14600644
I wouldn't call the Manicheans a Christian sect, considering Mani claimed to be a reincarnation of not only Jesus but also Buddha, Krishna, and Zoroaster.

>> No.14600892

It's one of the most important and influential books of (late) antiquity As others have said, the book is autobiographical and Augustine definitively btfo's some of the breakaway Christian sects of his time.

The most widely influential parts of the book are at the end what he talks about time, eternity, and the problems of biblical interpretation. Augustine basically goes full Plato with his conception of time, saying how the past and future don't exist and are mere inventions of our own imaginations. We only exist in a constantly moving present. God, however, is eternal and thus fully transcends our conception of time. This formulation is still a part of most Christian theology.

Augustine's approach to biblical interpretation were also innovative and highly influential. Augustine was tormented by the fact that there were passages in the Bible that probably weren't true in the physical and temporal sense (such as the sun and stars stopping, or the noachian flood). He was also troubled by philological questions concerning translations of specific passages, and if they were 100% true to the original or not. To get over these worries, Augustine claimed that there were two "books" of god: the book of Scripture, and the book of Nature. The former, obviously, was the Bible. While the latter concerned things learned from the natural world and could be considered similar to what we call science (though this is not fully adequate). Augustine said that these books could NEVER be in conflict with each other, because God created both. If the book of nature seemed to conflict with the book of Scripture, then it was necessary to reexamine Scripture to find meaning beyond strictly literal interpretation by looking for moral or analogical meanings instead. This process opened up the Bible to a larger array of interpretations, and has had a wide ranging effect on Christian theology. This groundbreaking formulation still has Prots butthurt today.

>> No.14600992

>>14599440
>>14599492
>>14599526
Nice, I literally just ordered this.

>> No.14601054

>>14600691
How does he btfo Roman religion?

>> No.14601059

>>14601054
>Roman religion
is there such a thing to begin with?

>> No.14601064

>>14601059
Of course

>> No.14601227

>>14600710
don't ever reply to me again you disgusting tripfag

>> No.14601387

>>14598999
>i stole a pear lmao

so...this is the foundation of w*stern civilization...

>> No.14601548

An amazing book.
but The Golden Ass did it better and funnier

>> No.14601559

Good but his view on original sin is retarded and quite blasphemous tbqhf

>> No.14601611

>>14600892
Great post, great thread

>> No.14602368

>>14601559
a shame orthodoxy can't produce any interesting theologians

God had them overrun with muslims for a reason, I guess...

>> No.14602399

>>14601227
Fight me, with your hands, bitch.

>> No.14602482

>>14602368
>why yes, of course I have never read St Maximus, how could you tell

>> No.14602849

>>14600892

On the third paragraph: that is Buddhism.

>> No.14603145

>>14602482
>pre-schism ortho

name me one (1) post schism ortho who had anything interesting to say at all

palamism is the most boring, basic bitch shit theology ever btw

>> No.14603165

>>14600691
>The City of God
I like the part where he says the world is 6000 years old and people who believed otherwise are deceived. Very relevant to life in modern day America.

>> No.14604723

wtf. Saint Augustine stole Rousseau’s title.