By Robert Falconer, robertfalconer.
The greatest Church Father and theologian of the Western Church is arguably Saint Augustine, or Aurelius Augustinus, as he was called. One of his most famous works is his autobiography, Confessions, which provides significant detail about his early years.[1] Today, when we hear the word “confessions,” we typically think of confessing sins or wrongdoing.[2] There is certainly some of that in Augustine’s book, where he takes a transparent approach, exposing the evil and darkness in his heart—especially in his youth. But by Confessions, he had more in mind a testimony. As Liftin explains, the book is written as a prayer and bears “witness to the unfathomable greatness of divine grace in the midst of human sin.” Augustine takes us on a journey through his years of restless wandering until, at last, he found God—or, as he would have put it, God found him.[3]
The Confessions presents Augustine as a “restless wanderer.”[4] He tried to find peace in various religious and professional pursuits.[5] This theme is central to Confessions. In Ruden’s translation, at the start of Book One, Augustine writes one of the most memorable lines of the entire work: “In yourself you rouse us, giving us delight in glorifying you, because you made us with yourself as our goal, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”[6] Here, he describes the spiritual longing that many people attempt to satisfy by whatever means they can—yet only God can truly fulfill this hunger. Thankfully, Augustine discovered that true peace comes only by knowing God through Jesus Christ.[7]
As ancient as Augustine’s works are, Confessions, along with his major writings such as The City of God and On the Trinity, remain profoundly relevant today. Though likely unintentional, I was struck by how similar the lyrics of “Hopeless Wanderer” by Mumford & Sons[8] are to Augustine’s Confessions: