Augustine was born Aurelius Augustinus on November 13, 354 in North Africa. He received a classical Latin education and went to study rhetoric at the age of twelve in Madaura. He later studied at Cathrage and became a Manichean. After reading Cicero's Hortensius Augustine was inspired to dedicate himself to the study of philosophy. He opened a school of rhetoric in Cathrage, he later went on to teach in Milan. In 386 he had his conversion and was baptized later. In 391 Augustine was appointed Bishop of Hippo.

He is considered the greatest Church Father. He was a defender of the Catholic faith and wrote and developed many doctrines to combat the heresies of his day, including his most famous rejection of the Pelagian doctri

Of special interest is his candid rememberance of stealing from a pear tree with his friends. He points out that he was not in need of the pear and he did not even eat it, but rather he took delight in the act of stealing with his friends. According to Augustine this is very important because it shows that we as humans, because of original sin are inclined towards evil. We take delight in the act of evil as evil. This is disturbing, but it shows that we have free will and with that the power to sin. Augustine says he was "in love with my own ruin, in love with decay (30)." This shows us what will happen if we do not have sanctifying grace. Augustine was looking for happiness and could not find it. He know realizes that happiness is from God and he is sorry he did not see that then.

Augustine is considered to be one of the Catholic Church's greatest theologians. However, he was also a philosopher. See pg 244 textb

Augustine discusses his childish sins (22), and is discusted with them. Augustine appears to be too hard on himself, however he points out that, "These same sins grow worse as we grow older:first it is offenses against pedagogues and teachers, or chearting over nuts and balls and sparrows; then later is is crimes against prefects and kings, and fraud in gold and estated and slaves (23)." Augustine ends by thanking God and again points out the power of God's grace in every moment of his life.

The content of my paper will be an analysis of Augustine's Confessions. I will focus on the first nine chapters of the book. First, I will write an introductory page about Augustine. Second, I will explain why Augustine wrote the Confessions and the importance of the Confessions as a philosophical work. I will analyze Augustine's view of God and show the main theme of his book, which is, the sovereign God of grace and the sovereign grace of God. I will focus on Augustine's view of God and His grace.

The Confessions is divided into thirteen books. I will focus my analysis on the first ten books, which are his autobiography. The other three books are important but they do not have to do with his life story.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3034
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)