Reading Augustine: A Guide to the Confessions (Cascade Companions)
Overview
The Confessions of St. Augustine is one of the few Christian classics that is still widely read in the secular academy. Yet, oddly enough, it is not often read in the manner Augustine appears to have intended and in which the church read it for centuries: as a model of conversion, devotion, friendship, and the love of God. This book is a companion for any reader of the Confessions—whether in an academic, ecclesial, or devotional context—informed by the latest scholarship yet always directed toward pushing the reader, with Augustine, toward God.
In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
Save more when you purchase this book as part of the Cascade Companions Series .
- Analyzes the purpose of St. Augustine’s Confessions
- Studies the desert fathers’ Sayings, their theology, and their lives
- Links all Scripture passages to the Bibles in our library
Top Highlights
“Another key theme in this first book is that of education” (Page 10)
“Augustine here wrestles with what philosophers call ‘epistemology’—the question of how we know what we know. For him, our desire to praise is key to our knowledge about anything.” (Page 10)
“only after the fact of his conversion can he narrate his missteps as false attempts to flee a God he cannot escape.” (Page 9)
“There is a great irony in the Confessions not often commented upon: that a Christian convinced that ‘pride,’ that is, undue self-attention at the expense of attention to God, is the worst of sins should tell us such intimate details of his personal life.” (Page 7)
“These ‘depths’ are summed up for Augustine in a key scriptural verse, 1 John 2:16, where lust, ambition, and curiositas1—a distracting interest in created things without reference to their Creator—are diagnosed as a kind of malevolent trinity of sin.” (Page 13)
Augustine’s Confessions are a glorious exploration of a living, gracious God. We could have no better guide through Augustine than one of his great friends, Jason Byassee. For anyone who has longed for the living God, for anyone who wants to explore the depth and breadth of the human soul, Byassee opens up new dimensions of this classic of the Christian faith.
—William Willimon, bishop, United Methodist Church, North Alabama
Jason Byassee’s learned, intimate, and engaging guide to Augustine’s Confessions is a delight to read and a wonderful resource for everyone who wishes to become the faithful and discerning reader Augustine so fervently desired.
—Carol Zaleski, professor of world religions, Smith College
Jason Byassee is an ideal guide to the Confessions: lucid, unpretentiously learned, witty, and above all generous—to his subject, to his fellow scholars, and to the reader.
—John Wilson, editor, Books & Culture
- Title: Reading Augustine: A Guide to the Confessions
- Author: Jason Byassee
- Series: Cascade Companions
- Publisher: Cascade
- Print Publication Date: 2006
- Logos Release Date: 2013
- Pages: 102
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo › Confessiones; Theology › History--Early church, ca. 30-600
- ISBNs: 9781597525299, 9781621897422, 1597525294, 1621897427
- Resource ID: LLS:CASCADEAUGUSTINE
- Resource Type: text.monograph.study-guide
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T19:17:17Z
Reviews
1 rating
Colin
3/24/2016
This book has brief chapters which helpfully draw attention to some of the most important ideas in each Book of Augustine's Confessions. Each chapter ends with some questions for further study and reflection which help ensure that you have grasped the material. The real strength of the book is in the encouragement and assistance it gives to the reader of Augustine's Confessions. It also includes some helpful references for further study if desired. I enjoyed it very much!
