Confessions by St. Augustine

Paper Summary:

This paper centers its discussion and analysis on St. Augustine's "Confessions," discussing in detail its dominant theme of "salvation as God's grace to humanity". The writer assumes the position that, according to St. Augustine, salvation is the path towards goodness and determines the purpose of humanity in life. The writer discusses in detail, with evidences from the "Confessions," how this thesis is proven in accordance to St Augustine's experiences and eventual conversion to being a Christian. The writer concludes that, ultimately, "Confessions" tells its readers that Salvation is the primary mover, influence, and factor that drive humanity to the path of goodness, whether this is prescribed by Christianity, or by St Augustine himself.

Outline:
Introduction
"Men are born with Sin"
Only God can save humanity from sin through good works
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"For St Augustine, humanity must not only surrender itself to God's will by acknowledging its inherent sinfulness, but it must also ask for God's mercy for this reason alone (inherent sinfulness of humanity). And because humanity's sinfulness is inherent, every individual on earth is subject to God's will and mercy, in the same way that every individual becomes a sinful individual because of the original sin, and, as posited by St Augustine earlier, by humanity's propensity to commit sins."
"For this section, the thought, "Men are born with Sins" is proven as an inherent and inevitable quality of humanity: it is inherent because humans are born with sin (i.e., the original sin), and it is inevitable because St Augustine believed that humans cannot not commit sins. Thus, in order to absolve the self from this inherent and inevitable nature of humanity's sinfulness, St Augustine recommended seeking God's mercy and following His will."

Sample of Sources Used:

• St Augustine. (1994). Confessions of St Augustine. A. Outler (Ed.). Dallas: Southern Methodist UP.
• Vashum, A. (2005). "Liberation as a Theological Theme: Exploring the Theme of Liberation in the Works of Some Selected Theologians." Asia Journal of Theology, Vol. 19, Issue 2.

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