I'm not going to lie, I'm more than partial to this book. The first time I read this I was 14 and I consider that reading to be my conversion. Before St. Augustine I never understood sin and forgiveness, I never understood the glorious, absolving blood of Christ. I think its dangerous in honors (and in all classes) to 'murder to dissect".* In other words, we take apart the words to find their flaws or trace their argument, instead of receiving the truth they have for us.
Our hearts are restless till we find our rest in thee.
Words like that are beautiful, powerful, bold and true. I don't ever want to focus too much on analyzing the theology and miss the beauty of the truth. That St. Augustine once was lost, but now is found and redeemed in the arms of Christ. And to be redeemed and found means to have ultimate joy in the midst of suffering.
*stolen directly from Wordsworth and a conversation in Brit Lit
I commented on Skylar Michelle's blog
Our hearts are restless till we find our rest in thee.
Words like that are beautiful, powerful, bold and true. I don't ever want to focus too much on analyzing the theology and miss the beauty of the truth. That St. Augustine once was lost, but now is found and redeemed in the arms of Christ. And to be redeemed and found means to have ultimate joy in the midst of suffering.
*stolen directly from Wordsworth and a conversation in Brit Lit
I commented on Skylar Michelle's blog
>>I don't ever want to focus too much on analyzing the theology and miss the beauty of the truth.
ReplyDeleteAh, but what was it Dorothy Sayers said? "The dogma is the drama." Head and heart, analysis and experience are not inherently opposed to each other; in a proper analysis of the theology we will experience its beauty.
I love this post, Mallory! I really like this book too, I have greatly enjoyed what I have read from it thus far. I love when you said we shouldn't spend too much time analyzing and miss the beauty. What a great thought. I often think about this when people argue biblical things. I think sometimes we can get so caught up in arguing to find the truth, that we miss the truth completely.
ReplyDeleteI love St. Augustine's imagery as he praises God and how every time he talks about his sins, he praises God from saving him. The best part of these confessions are Augustine's insights into the presence and character of God.
ReplyDeleteI could not agree with you more Mallory. I was actually having this same thought in class today. I always feel that sometimes we analyze novels, epics, and even art too much which just like you said leads to missing out on the beauty of it! In the same way if we questions the actions or words of God too much we forget that believing in God means believing in every part of Him and having faith even when we can't discover the truth for ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Mallory. Augustine's story is truly beautiful, and I feel like over analyzing and getting caught up in little things may cause us to miss the point. The whole idea of "overanalyzing" in general is something I have really been struggling with personally, and I feel like it's important that we find the balance between reading the works deeply and totally missing the beauty of the work.
ReplyDelete