Last week I shared some highlights from St. Augustine's Confessions, which he wrote in about 397 A.D., before he became bishop of the city of Hippo in North Africa. After the sack of Rome in 410 A.D., Augustine had to contend with claims by pagan writers that the city had fallen because Christians had drawn the people away from worshiping their traditional gods.
In response, Augustine essentially rewrote the history of Rome (and all humanity) from another perspective: instead of being about the City of Rome, it was about the City of God. Alongside this city, founded by God (whose citizens included Abel, Abraham, the Prophets, and all the Saints of the Old Testament and the Christian era) grew the City of Man, or the Earthly City, founded by the devil (whose citizens included, well, most other people). It's this second City that sought power and domination over the world (as Rome sought to dominate first its Italian neighbors and then the rest of the world), while the City of God typically suffers and has no power or earthly glory.
Like Confessions, this later (and much longer) book means a lot to me personally. Over the years I've written about it here and there, and quoted it quite a few times in my book. I'm looking forward to sharing it with you on Sunday!
In response, Augustine essentially rewrote the history of Rome (and all humanity) from another perspective: instead of being about the City of Rome, it was about the City of God. Alongside this city, founded by God (whose citizens included Abel, Abraham, the Prophets, and all the Saints of the Old Testament and the Christian era) grew the City of Man, or the Earthly City, founded by the devil (whose citizens included, well, most other people). It's this second City that sought power and domination over the world (as Rome sought to dominate first its Italian neighbors and then the rest of the world), while the City of God typically suffers and has no power or earthly glory.
Like Confessions, this later (and much longer) book means a lot to me personally. Over the years I've written about it here and there, and quoted it quite a few times in my book. I'm looking forward to sharing it with you on Sunday!
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