Augustine’s Confessions is one of the great works of Western literature and the work of one of the most important thinkers and writers of Christian antiquity.

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It is also generally considered the first modern autobiography, and arguments have been made that Augustine even invents here much of what would become the modern novel.

 

This summer we will read together Sarah Rudin’s brilliant, fresh new translation of this classic work. We will read Augustine as a seeker—of life, of pleasure and power, of wisdom, and ultimately of God’s will.  In his work we will find not only masterful narrative, but prayer, scriptural exegesis, and theological and philosophical experiment. And we will journey with Augustine from his humble beginnings and education, through his secular ambitions, to his conversion and the recovery of the faith his mother Monica taught him in his earliest years.

 

Our tentative schedule for meeting to discuss our reading together will be:

Wednesday, July 15: Introduction and Books 1-3

Wednesday, July 29: Books 4-7

Wednesday, August 12: Books 8-10

Wednesday, August 19: Books 11-13

We will meet at 5:00 p.m. in the Huger Meeting Room (construction permitting) for no more than one hour, both in person and via Zoom.