Augustine: Conversions to Confessions

Summary

Saint Augustine is one of the most influential figures in all of Christianity, yet his path to sainthood was by no means assured. Born in AD 354 to a pagan father and a Christian mother, Augustine spent the first thirty years of his life struggling to understand the nature of God and his world. He learned about Christianity as a child but was never baptized, choosing instead to immerse himself in the study of rhetoric, Manicheanism, and then Neoplatonism—all the while indulging in a life of lust and greed.

In Augustine, acclaimed historian Robin Lane Fox re-creates Augustine's early life with unparalleled insight, showing how Augustine's quest for knowledge and faith finally brought him to Christianity and a life of celibacy. Augustine's Confessions, a vivid description of his journey toward conversion and baptism, still serves as a model of spirituality for Christians around the world.

Magisterial and beautifully written, Augustine will be the definitive biography of this colossal figure for decades to come.