The Confessions

Description

"God is our home but many of us have strayed from our native land.
The venerable authors of these Spiritual Classics are expert guides--
may we follow their directions home."  --Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Writing in the last years of the fourth century a.d., Saint Augustine of Hippo created what is at once the first true autobiography in Western literature and among the most sophisticated yet accessible theological arguments in the history of Christianity. With extraordinary candor and psychological acumen, Augustine recounts his passage from a life of sensuality, Manichaean superstition, and empty careerism to a genuine spiritual awakening, and he articulates views on marriage, morality, and faith that have shaped our discourse ever since. The Confessions allows us to appreciate both the startling modernity of Augustine s insights and the imperishable poetry of his voice. With a new Preface by MacArthur Fellow Patricia Hampl,
author of Virgin Time and A Romantic Education.


In the annals of spirituality, certain books stand out both for their historical importance and for their continued relevance. The Vintage Spiritual Classics series offers the greatest of these works in authoritative new editions, with specially commissioned essays by noted contemporary commentators. Filled with eloquence and fresh insight, encouragement and solace, Vintage Spiritual Classics are incomparable resources for all readers who seek a more substantive understanding of mankind s relation to the divine.Augustine s Confessions is arguably the first, and unequivocally the most influential, religious autobiography in the Christian tradition. Augustine (who was a hard-core hedonist before his sudden conversion) writes about faith with the reckless abandon of a lover; his descriptions of friendship are so beautiful they ll bring tears to your eyes; and his tributes to his mother, Monica, cast eternally fresh light on the unofficial authority of women in the early Church. --Michael Joseph Gross