St. Augustine Of Hippo - 1280 Words

People are weird. A lot of this is because there are so many, 7.4 billion Homo Sapiens cram themselves onto a damp rock swinging around a star and hurtling through the galaxy. On this rock we are born, grow up, thrive, grow old, and die. In general, this cycle of life has been consistent throughout history. Because of how common this cycle is, it has been subject to repeated attempts at improvement by philosophers and prophets of all time periods around the globe. One of the most important of these philosophers was a man named Augustine of Hippo, better known as Saint Augustine. Living in the fourth century CE, he constructed in his book On the Free Choice of the Will a philosophy where the mind is the dominant force that controls a person. Therefore, whatever rules the mind rules the person. The goal then is to have the mind ruled by reason and not by passions and desires. Someone who is ruled by passion and emotion will make illogical decisions, often leading to harm. There is also a Christian component to this. God’s creation is perfect, there is no evil in it. Humans make themselves a bit of an exception in creation because they have the free will. We can choose between being ruled by our passions and ruled by reason. In order to further explore this philosophy, we will take a look at two figures who live on opposite sides of history; the mythical and powerful Creon in the Sophocles play Antigone and the young and idealistic Chris McCandless in Jon Krakauer’s Into theShow MoreRelatedSt. Augustine Of Hippo1517 Words   |  7 PagesSaint Augustine was an early Christian scholar and philosopher, whose works affected the advancement of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He was the Bishop of Hippo which is situated in Africa. He is seen as a great leader amongst the most critical Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his works in the Patristic Era. Among his most essential works are The City of God and Confessions. Confessions is the name of a personal work, comprising of 13 books, by St. Augustine of Hippo. TheRead MoreThe Life of St. Augustine of Hippo842 Words   |  3 PagesSt. Augustine of Hippo is revered as one of the primary leaders of the Western church. His name conjures up images of great wisdom, unparalleled resilience in faith, and superb eloquence of words. Some of the greatest quotes to be found addressing nature, the journey of life, and the Christian path are credited to St. Augustine. Climbing from humble beginnings, St. Augustine became, and remains to this day, a primary figurehead in the world of theological writing, thought and debate. His ideas areRead MoreAugustine Of Hippo, Later Known As St. Augustine Essay1496 Words   |  6 PagesAugustine of Hippo, later known as St. Augustine, is credited with one of the most influential literary works of all time. Not only did his autobiographical work, Confessions, have great influence on both medieval and early modern writers like Dante, Montaigne, and Rousseau, it also had a profound effect, in fact a large one, on medieval thought and the thought of eras to come. It is also widely considered to be one of the first of its kind in the Western world. One might ask themselves what could’veRead MoreSt. Augustine of Hippo, Bishop and Theologian Essay1693 Words   |  7 Pages St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, was one of the greatest theologians of his time. He is still regarded in the highest manner. He was raised in a divided home, but through time he found the truth. He was always a superb student. He fully mastered Latin; however, he never grasped Greek. He was also very crafty in speech - a black-belt of rhetoric if you will. After his teenage flings and rebellions, he found a heretical sect in which he became involved for a while. He traveled and landedRead MoreThe Hero and the Saint: Paul and Augustine656 Words   |  3 PagesThe Hero and the Saint: Paul and Augustine The idea of the hero in Greco-Roman culture was integrated into the idea of the saint (in the process of conversion and totalization) by way of Christianitys adoption of and ancestry in the Greco-Roman culture. As Professor Ambrosio indicates, The need and the search for meaning is shared by all human beings (Hero or Saint Saul of Tarsus). Thus, it is no surprise to find that a pagan Greco-Roman title is applicable to a Christian whose virtue is viewedRead MoreSaint Augustine Essays719 Words   |  3 PagesSaint Augustine Saint Augustine, b. Nov. 13, 354, d. Aug. 28, 430, was one of the foremost philosopher-theologians of early Christianity and, while serving (396-430) as bishop of Hippo Regius, the leading figure in the church of North Africa. He had a profound influence on the subsequent development of Western thought and culture and, more than any other person, shaped the themes and defined the problems that have characterized the Western tradition of Christian Theology. Among his many writingsRead MoreEssay on Saint Augustine970 Words   |  4 Pages Saint Augustine was born on 354 CE in Tagaste, Africa. His given name was Aurelius Augustinus. His father was Patricius, a pagan who was baptized Christian before he died, and his mother was Monica, a baptized Christian with an influential role in the life of her son. Augustine is regarded as one of the most intelligent Christian theologians and bishops of all time. His works and actions have left a major imprint on the Church and its doctrine. As a boy, Augustine was not baptized andRead MoreSt. Augustine: A Man of Great Genius Essay1778 Words   |  8 Pages Throughout the ages, there have been countless influences on not only social and political life, but on religious character and prevalence as well. Aurelius Augustine, who would eventually rise to the position of bishop in the early Catholic Church, was one of the most interesting characters that would surely leave his mark on the Roman Empire, especially in the few decades before the western part of the empire was to be taken over by Germanic tribes from the North. Perhaps, his most influentialRead MoreReligion : A Way Of Life946 Words   |  4 PagesWestern Roman Empire led the people to people depending on Christianity. The text Arius, Letter to Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria and The Nicene Creed showed the public matter of Christianity. On the other hand the excerpt Augustine of Hippo, Confessions and The Life of St. Theodore of Sykeon addresses the person al effect of Christianity, the private affairs. The point is that is that over the course of about 300 years Christianity has united the fallen people of Rome onto the Byzantine EmpireRead MoreEssay about St. Augustine916 Words   |  4 Pages Saint Augustine of Hippo Theologians, Biblical scholars and Christians all over the world often wrestle with two extremely important questions about their faith. These questions are, quot;What is God like?quot; and quot;How should we live in response to God?quot; Some feel that we need others to direct us, some feel we need them to challenge us, but everyone agrees that we need others. That is exactly how Saint Augustine struggles to find his faith and beliefs. He found it extremely difficult