5 Lessons from Augustine

This book provides readers new to Augustine with an introduction to five thought-provoking passages in the Confessions. Readers already familiar with Augustine will delight in revisiting these same passages and considering them more deeply. The author, Oswald Sobrino, holds an M.A. in Theology from a Catholic seminary, among other degrees (including a J.D.), and has studied Latin, ancient Greek, classical Hebrew, biblical Aramaic, Syriac, and French at the University of Michigan. The following "study" or "reflection" questions reflect some of the main themes of the book: 1. The Gospel calls us to be like children, but the Bible also calls us to maturity. How do you resolve this apparent tension? What should we keep from childhood, and what childishness should we leave behind as we mature? (Chapter 1) 2. What vain pursuits do we engage in as a way to "mark time" until we die (to borrow an expression)? Why are we doing certain things or following certain paths in our lives? Is it because we are bored? Is it because we are searching for approval from others? Do these pursuits feed our ego or vanity, or do they feed our souls? Are these pursuits worth it? (Ch. 2) 3. Socrates famously said that the unexamined life is not worth living. Do you think this saying applies to all or just to a few? How can you flourish and mature if you do not examine your life, including its past? What does this bit of wisdom tell us about the dangers of denial and unquestioned assumptions, which are rampantly present in human nature? (Ch. 3) 4. What do you desire the most? If you desire anything above wisdom, will you end up getting that thing you put above wisdom? The Gospel says that he who loses his life will find it. A recent book spoke about the value of "obliquity," of pursuing goals indirectly or obliquely. If we directly desire wisdom over all other things, will we then be in a position to get everything else indirectly? What Gospel saying comes to mind when you consider this issue? (See Matthew 6:33.) Think of people who have lost their souls as they pursue their desires. If they had put wisdom first, what would be different in their lives? (Ch. 4) 5. If we view life biblically as a series of liberations or exoduses from different forms of slavery or bondage, what have been your exoduses over the course of your life? What is the next exodus that you are called to dare to make? What or who can help you rise up from your current bondage and enter the promised land? (Ch. 5)