augustine reflection

The Confessions of St Augustine shows that faith is a series of stages. Faith is a journey filled with trials and attempts. It involves reevaluating one’s life. Throughout his confessions, Augustine lays out all the sins he executed. His journey comprises of a transition from sinfulness to faithfulness. Augustine begins by telling about his childhood. He concludes he doesn’t remember much since children’s memories are short term. But as the book transcends to his adolescent years, we slowly get a sense of religious thinking. This indicates the journey of faith does not really begin until one matures. As people mature, God teaches them to think of others first.
Faith itself involves on reflections of events and people in one’s life. During his confessions, Augustine questions and seeks God. At the same time he reflects on the influence of events and people that propelled him to his faith. His mother had a firm belief to raise him as a Catholic. So he was sent to school, but school corrupted him by training him to devote to materialistic pursuits. Not much happened in his adolescent years. Augustine reminiscences the time he wanted to steal pears. He did not steal the pears out of hunger but as an attempt to defy God. Sin is an act of betrayal of God’s love for humans.
Faith as a journey is not always as smooth. Sometimes there are numerous obstacles to overcome. For instance, Augustine lost all interest in life after the death of his friend. Everything reminded him of what he lost. According to him, loss is felt when one loves something besides God. It is not a smooth ride to attain faith. One can fluctuate his faith in certain religions. Although he converted to Manichaeism, he became detached in Milan. He loses his faith in finding truth in Manichaeism. Then he converts to Neo-Platonism. which he later rejects. He struggles to create his own views on God. He slowly leans toward Christianity but wavers. In an attempt to stabilize his faith, he turns to