Having just read the Enchiridion of Epictetus, I figured one good Enchiridion deserved another. Or something like that.

It had been a good solid decade since I read Augustine, and honestly, it wasn't easy going. It was classical orthodoxy, the sort of thing I digested while taking systematics in seminary, and I found myself leafing forward through it as Augustine laid out statements so familiar that I didn't need to hear them again. For those uninitiated in the minutiae of Christian theology, it would be frustratingly opaque, bordering on unreadable.

Three things struck me, as I compared Augustine to Epictetus. First, the Stoic was far more accessible, relying almost entirely on human reason and experience for his argumentation. The Saint, on the other hand, used scripture almost exclusively. Second, the Stoic spoke of the things of life, whereas the Saint seemed almost entirely about the business of making intricate theological points.

Still and all, where the Saint concluded was the radical ethical demand for compassion, charity, and service...while the Stoic felt robust but peculiarly distanced from others. The abstract, yielding concrete connection, while the more concrete philosophy yielded an ethos abstracted from others.

Profound insight into Christianity in the time of Saint Augustine. Points to the truth of the Catholic faith.

An excellent short work by Augustine. Many of his most famous quotes I found in here.

90% is just an exposition of the Creed. Awesome, product of its time.

Reading the Enchiridion helped me to better understand what some commentators mean when they say that the Protestant Reformation was a victory of Augustine's view of salvation over Augustine's view of the church. Although I would say it more this way. It's about Augustine's view of salvation vs. his understanding of sanctification as a process. As a Protestant reading the Enchiridion I was challenged to try to appreciate Augustine's understanding of the process of the Christian life and our ongoing struggle with sin. Reading this book did not do anything to change my view of sanctification. But it gave me a new understanding of how penance became such an important part of the church in the Catholic tradition.

Augustine wrote this book to help a friend answer questions regarding essential Christian doctrines. As such it's one of his most accessible and comprehensive. The J.B. Shaw translation is readable and clear.

he puts it very clear what is it all about for a beginner.....whole Churh teaching in one little book.....u ll have alitttle fire going in your chest (thats his goal)

4.5 stars. This was really good...no time for a review.

Remember discussing aborted fetuses during catechesis? yeah, me neither - this highlights some of Augustine's concerns regarding life, resurrection and human bodies and also his 'agnosticism' on these topics (add to that also angelology); nonetheless, he is *certain* about God the Father and Creator, God the Son and Redeemer, and God the Spirit and Life-giver, divine grace and human bondage to sin, predestination and human freedom.
Laurence, the recipient, got a bit of everything, in a concise orthodox manner and with references to some of Augustine's larger works for "digging deeper". A great primer on Augustine's thought!

I read this quickly on the last night of my retreat. This was written for Laurentius as a handbook. I can imagine Augustine spitting out his thoughts to his secretaries. His views on predestination were grim and I could see when the take-off from him was in the wrong direction.

But there are gems everywhere, especially on mercy as prevenient but also as something we have to work for.

2 years ago, I set out to read as many church fathers as possible, chronologically. I burnt out around Clement of Alexandria (~198BC) and decided to read a heavy hitter – Augustine. I thought The Enchiridion would be a good intro since it's basically a little catechism.

I bring this up to say, Augustine is in a league of his own. I felt like Enchiridion could have been written in 2020 and I wouldn't second-guess it. Augustine is so level-headed, even about very polarizing issues like abortion. And his writing is so relevant, I couldn't skip a single page. I devoured every word, often finding excuses to read. I kept saying, "mmm," and, "amen," as I read. Augustine is famous for a reason – if I could give Enchiridion 6 stars, I would.

That's not to say Augustine is correct about everything. For example, he believed that the molecules that make up our bodies return to us when we're resurrected (he didn't use the word molecule, obviously). And he had a very Catholic view on penitence, baptism, etc. In many ways, Augustine was ahead of his time, like his view on Original Sin. He seems Calvinist over 1000 years before John Calvin, especially in terms of Unconditional Election and Irresistible Grace (I'm Armenian, so I found some sections hard to read). In other ways, he was a product of his time. But everything was engaging and I learned a lot. Most importantly, I have more reverence for God. God bless Saint Augustine of Hippo.

Saint Augustine is the man

It’s a great book. Saint Augustine is the man. It brings to light a lot of different views that I think are often misunderstood yet understood if you read everything he says.