On Wednesday evening Mike Reeves spoke to us on the church father Augustine. Clearly in his element, Mike took us to the Confessions and got us under the skin of this great and influential man by describing his life.
Among the highlights were his drawing attention to Augustine's great humanity, for example his ability to describe sin.
One example is his reference to childhood sins "When I did not get my way, either because I was not understood or lest it be harmful to me, I used to be indignant with my seniors for their disobedience, and with free people who were not slaves to my interests; and I would revenge myself upon them by weeping."
He talks of a young friend Alypius who abhorred everything to do with the gladiatorial games, but was dragged along one day by some friends. He shut his eyes, but 'when a gladiator fell, there was a great roar from the whole mass of spectators and, overcome with curiosity, he opened his eyes'. He was, Augustine adds, transfixed. 'He saw blood, and gulped back savagery. Far from turning away, he fixed his eyes on it' and 'without knowing what was happening, he drank in madness, he was delighted with the wicked conflict, drunk with the lust of blood.' And from then on, he was hooked.
He also makes a point about creeping addictions by referring to his mother Monica's eventual alcoholism.
Other good quotes from Augustine
Love for God is the enjoyment of God for his own sake, and the enjoyment of other things for God's sake.
Too late came I to love you, O Beauty both so ancient and so new! Too late came I to love you - and behold you were with me all the time . . .
We also had references to Augustine's opposition to Donatism and Pelagianism (including his mistaken focus on Romans 5:5 that set up the Roman trajectory in his teaching that is undoubtedly there in his writings).
Among the highlights were his drawing attention to Augustine's great humanity, for example his ability to describe sin.
One example is his reference to childhood sins "When I did not get my way, either because I was not understood or lest it be harmful to me, I used to be indignant with my seniors for their disobedience, and with free people who were not slaves to my interests; and I would revenge myself upon them by weeping."
He talks of a young friend Alypius who abhorred everything to do with the gladiatorial games, but was dragged along one day by some friends. He shut his eyes, but 'when a gladiator fell, there was a great roar from the whole mass of spectators and, overcome with curiosity, he opened his eyes'. He was, Augustine adds, transfixed. 'He saw blood, and gulped back savagery. Far from turning away, he fixed his eyes on it' and 'without knowing what was happening, he drank in madness, he was delighted with the wicked conflict, drunk with the lust of blood.' And from then on, he was hooked.
He also makes a point about creeping addictions by referring to his mother Monica's eventual alcoholism.
Other good quotes from Augustine
Love for God is the enjoyment of God for his own sake, and the enjoyment of other things for God's sake.
Too late came I to love you, O Beauty both so ancient and so new! Too late came I to love you - and behold you were with me all the time . . .
We also had references to Augustine's opposition to Donatism and Pelagianism (including his mistaken focus on Romans 5:5 that set up the Roman trajectory in his teaching that is undoubtedly there in his writings).
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