In reading St. Augustine's classic book, I was very aware that he lived "long ago and far away" from my world. That said, I was surprised by how pertinent his questions remain in the world today. His honest pondering the byways of the human heart and our exchanged meetings, heroic and villainous, drew forth his contemplative thoughts. On religious experiences and matters of faith, he had few equals, and his conclusions certainly gave me a reason to pause and consider life as far more meaningful than daily distractions would have me believe. When he strayed into the area of science, he slipped off his mark and followed uninformed knowledge into a rabbit hole of misconceptions. But his logic remains respectable nonetheless. A truly powerful reflection on the depth of the human experience in relationship with the God who made us.

...el paradigma holderliniano [...] fue articulado por primera vez por San Agustín en la Ciudad de Dios: "donde se halla el peligro crece también lo que pueda salvarnos".

Visión de Paralaje Pág.112

A Masterpiece of Christian Apologetics

St. Augustine started the book to address a pressing crisis and the practical problem of suffering, and then gradually rose to the height of Christian philosophy and theology that has rarely, if ever, been surpassed since. He gave a sweeping overview of ancient history, the history of the Jewish people intertwined with the history of the worldly empires (Roman and Assyrian), and revealed the main, though hidden, plot in the script of history, i.e., the birth, growth and maturation of the City of God, His Temple, the Body of Christ, His Image Incarnate. In the process, Augustine introduced and expounded the concepts of free will, original sin, God's foreknowledge and salvation, immortality of the soul, resurrection of the body, the parallel development of the City of God vs. the City of Man, the former destined for eternal life and the latter eternal punishment.

(Read full review at Nemo's Library)

Not an easy book, translated from the original Latin, to read. Augustine (354-430) discusses, in 22 books, two main themes. In the first half of the work (books I-X), he details the development of Roman paganism, refutes the famous philosophers of his day, and explains why the Greek and Roman gods, being demons, should not have been worshiped. In the second half (books XI-XXII) , he pours on the theology in tracing the parallel development of the earthly city (Rome) and the Heavenly City (the New Jerusalem). Those who worship the one true God go to heaven while those who don't go to hell.

Written at the end of the Roman Empire, Augustine defends Christianity against paganism and then proceeds to lay out the differences between the worldly city and the city of God.

It's interesting to read this from a historical standpoint. You see arguments against the Pagan gods that had preceded Christianity in the Roman Empire. You read answers to the philosophical arguments of Augustine's day. You catch a glimpse of the church just before it entered the Middle Ages. You begin to understand why this one person so influenced both the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Church and why both sides claim him as their own.

But this book is not simply a historical read. I was at times brought to consider just how glorious the City of God really is and was made thankful for God's work of salvation to make me a part of that city.

I know that this is a hard read. It is long and written long ago, but you will likely find yourself glad that you did the hard work it took to read it.

Denna bok är beryktad, och säger i många punkter emot de positioner den tar enligt ryktena. Den är överkänslosam, pratig, och tendensiös; förklenande mot motståndare, utan att kunna försvara den egna positionen med mer än petimeter-logik. Jag känner igen Luthers värsta sidor i texten, vilket naturligtvis inte kan läggas Augustinus till last, men ändå är talande kring varför den stryker en någorlunda sansad tänkare mothårs.

Nej, denna är nog en bok som bättre beundras i kulturell vördnad och faktisk okunskap, än den läses. Jag rekommenderar de som känner impulsen att motstå den.

This is St. Augustine's magnum opus, written in the wake of the city of Rome's being captured and sacked by the Goths in the year 410. The remaining pagans blamed the event on the Romans having abandoned their traditional worship of the pagan gods for Christianity. This work is Augustine's refutation of that claim, among other things. The major theme is that on this earth there are 2 "cities" - the City of Man and the City of God, which coexist until the end of the world when Jesus Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead. Throughout the work, Augustine continually digresses to discuss all kinds of side issues and concerns, historical, philosophical, theological, etc. The book presents a synthesis of Christianity with classical philosophy and culture which had an enormous influence in the subsequent Middle Ages and into modern times. Christian theology to this day has its roots in St. Augustine, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, for which reason some Eastern Orthodox have described the RC's and Protestants as being 2 sides of the same Augustinian coin (over against the Orthodox).

La idea utópica de Agustín, cuyo punto de partida es la tradición social cristiana, cerca del comunitarianismo aunado a la reflexión teológica-filosófica de fondo. Un texto pesado pero que vale la pena leer para entender en esencia el origen de la doctrina sociológica del Cristianismo.

It's hard to believe, but I submit that Augustine is somehow underrated as a theologian.

"Two cities, then have been created by two loves: that is, the earthly by love of self extending even to contempt of God, and the heavenly by love of God extending even to contempt of self. The one, therefore, glories in itself, the other in the Lord; the one seeks glory from men, the other finds its highest glory in God, the Witness of our conscience. The one lifts up its head in its own glory; the other says to its God, 'Thou art my glory, and lifter up of mine head.' In the Earthly City, princes are as much mastered by the lust for mastery as the nations which they subdue are by them; in the Heavenly, all serve one another in charity, rulers by their counsel and subjects by obedience. The one city loves its own strength as displayed in its mighty men; the other says to God, 'I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength.'" - XIV.28

BOOK XII- page 244, Created Wills and the distinction of Good and Evil

“Preferring the pomp of pride to this sublimity of eternity, the craftiness of vanity to the certainty of truth, and the turmoil of dissension to the union of love, they became proud, deceitful, and envious.”

This and John Calvin’s Institutes of Christianity seem to be competing for most meaty theological quesadilla.
———
“And yet, will we ever come to an end of discussion and talk if we think we must always reply to replies? For replies come from those who either cannot understand what is said to them, or are so stubborn and contentious that they refuse to give in even if they do understand.”

“Pride is the beginning of sin. And what is pride but the craving for undue exaltation? And this is undue exaltation - when the soul abandons Him to whom it ought to cleave as its end, and becomes a kind of end to itself.”

“What grace is meant to do is to help good people, not to escape their sufferings, but to bear them with a stout heart, with a fortitude that finds its strength in faith.”

“For a prohibition always increases an illicit desire so long as the love of and joy in holiness is too weak to conquer the inclination to sin”

“He who lives according to God ought to cherish towards evil men a perfect hatred, so that he shall neither hate the man because of his vice nor love the vice because of the man.”

“So it falls out that in this world, in evil days like these, the Church walks onward like a wayfarer stricken by the world's hostility, but comforted by the mercy of God. Nor does this state of affairs date only from the days of Christ's and His Apostles' presence on earth. It was never any different from the days when the first just man, Abel, was slain by his ungodly brother. So shall it be until this world is no more.”

Read as part of a reading group at the Elm Institute in New Haven, led by Justin Hawkins. Didn’t read the whole thing - I read 7 of the 22 books. But going to count it as read for now haha.

A defence of Christianity in the face of the then-popular Paganism. Zero relevance in today's world. A deep understanding of Pagan belief and mythology is neccessary to understand this long, verbose argument.