ABSTRACT
Augustine’s choice of narrative is likely the most powerfully influential feature of Confessions. Most importantly, Confessions offered a new and influential vision for Christian theology. While many groups of Christians claim Augustinian heritage, the author of Confessions has historically been associated with Roman Catholicism. In fact, a major collection of articles published by Roman Catholic Church historians in 1990 declared Augustine to be the “Second Founder of the Faith.” Today, Augustine is typically read in undergraduate courses in which great works are studied, as well as by theologians, historians, and philosophers of religion. But while this might suggest that its readership is limited, readers today should be aware of its huge impact on important writers and scholars throughout history. Thinkers as diverse as Boethius, Anselm, Aquinas, Geoffrey Chaucer, the French philosopher Rene Descartes, and the Swiss philosopher and political theorist Jean-Jacques Rousseau have been attracted by Augustine’s masterpiece.
