Saint Augustines Confessions and The Letters of Abelard and Heloise

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

In the journey of life, man is faced with many questions which neither he nor his intelligence can answer. Our lives are characterized by a sustained search for answers to issues that continue to influence our lives. We are always searching for our true selves. Some people admit that there is a super deity who continues to control and influence our lives while others believe that the answer to all our problems is with us. The two classical works of Saint Augustine confessions and The letters of Abelard and Heloise can be effectively used in modern contemporary society to expound on the different world views and Christianity views held by people (Augustine: Confessions, 2002).

In a nutshell, The confessions of Saint Augustine were written in A.D. 397. They are a compilation of Augustines difficult struggles to overcome his reckless ways of life and attain a life filled with spiritual grace. The questions that continue to dodge the hearts and minds of considerate men in the present-day world have very well be answered by Saint Augustine. The classical works of Saint Augustine explain our relationship with God and how we should always seek Him in whatever we do so that we can establish our true self (Augustine: Confessions, 2002).

Saint Augustines adolescence and early adulthood were characterized by an immoral and riotous lifestyle. The works portray a picture of continued struggle with evil in an attempt to find faith and learn to trust in God. In The Confessions, we see how Saint Augustine struggles in his youth to secure his faith among the Neoplatonists and Manicheans of Rome. The classical works also reflect how Saint Monnica, his mother made frantic efforts to save her son from self-destruction. This was achieved when Saint Augustine was converted to Christianity when he was thirty-two years old (Augustine: Confessions, 2002).

This is a route that has been passed by very many people in their attempt to seek answers to the questions of life. In contemporary society, many youths are living riotous lives in their attempt to find truth and happiness. Parents are always finding it hard to control and guard against their childrens engagement in destructive behaviors. But while at a certain age, the youths find themselves reforming their wayward ways and developing faith in God as the master of all things in the universe. Like Saint Augustine, the majority are converted into Christianity thus mending up their ways with the Almighty. Those who fail to listen to their voices of reason perish in their own sins (Outler, 1994).

A figurative explanation of the Mosaic explanation of creation is explored in the last three books of The confessions. Here, Saint Augustine addressed his narrations to God and makes use of instructions, meditations, and prayers to the Almighty God (Outler, 1994). Contemporary Christian churches still use these liturgies of meditations, prayers, and instructions in their teachings even today. His works continue to influence the path of Christianity in the modern world (Augustine: Confessions, 2002).

It is a well-known fact that The confessions continue to be an influential model for writers in Christianity. It is a theological piece of work that continues to be significant to our lives. Through the classical works, we can be able to reflect on the sexual sins of modern-day society and teach our people the relevance of sexual morality. Influences of engaging in the bad company of friends are well discussed.

By discussing his boyhood and early adulthood, Christians are made to understand that the Almighty God teaches us to care about others before we even care about ourselves. This is a Christian teaching that is taught in many modern-day churches around the world (confessions of St. Augustine, 2008).

After his friend died, Saint Augustine was at a loss to explain what had happened and almost hated and despised everything and everybody. He had put his love in his friend, not in God, the ruler of the Universe. This sudden loss made him realize that when we put our love in something that is not in God, we are bound to despise ourselves when we lose it (confessions of St. Augustine, 2008). This is what is happening in modern society. We tend to put our love and trust in our friends more than in God. We are devastated when we lose such friends for we had learned to trust in them rather than giving ourselves to the Almighty God.

In The Letters of Abelard and Heloise, tragedy, controversy, and vengeance are manifested in the love relationship that went sour. A French philosopher, Peter Abelard lived from 1079 to 1142 and was painstakingly one of the supreme intellectuals of the 12^th century. Heloise on her part was well educated, a niece of Canon Fulbert, and lived from 1101 to 1164. Abelard was attracted to Heloise despite their age differences and thus sought ways by which he could be together with her. He persuaded Fulbert, Heloises uncle to let him teach her. In the process, they fell in love and made love. But Fulbert soon discovered their illicit love affair and was greatly offended.

Of course, they were forcefully separated but this did little to end their relationship. Heloise had discovered her pregnancy and soon eloped with Abelard without her uncles knowledge. Soon afterward, Astrolabe was born of the relationship between Abelard and Heloise (Lombardi, 2008).

Abelard of course realized his mistakes and went to seek forgiveness from Fulbert. This reflects our human nature. We fall into sin while chasing our endeavors and desires. But once we realize it, we are always remorseful of our sins and always ask for forgiveness. In fact, seeking forgiveness is a fundamental tenet of Christianity. Fulbert assented to the gestures of Abelard to be forgiven and be allowed to marry her lifetime lover. But this he did not do from the bottom of his heart. Vengeance and a desire to revenge for the wrongs that Abelard had done were consuming his heart (Lombardi, 2008).

This is what is happening in our contemporary society today. As Christians cross paths with one another due to vested interests, true forgiveness is never attained. They forgive with their lips while their hearts are very far from it. Vengeance and ill intentions have been reflected in Christians when they disagree on issues of principle. Some Christians have been known to burn down the churches of their competitors.

Abelard and Heloise secretly married and then left their child in the care of Heloises sister-in-law. Fulbert and his kinsmen laid an ambush targeting Abelard after they thought that Abelard had chased off Heloise to go and stay with the nuns in Argenteuil. Heloises relatives and kinsmen were so violently incensed towards Abelard to a point of castrating him. This is the worst kind of punishment that a man can deliver to another man (Lombardi, 2008).

The moral of the story is that people are violent in their nature and always want to seek revenge whenever wronged. Like Fulbert did to Abelard, people seek the most severe punishments to revenge their perceived wrongdoings by fellow people. This goes against the very teachings of Christianity. The virtues of Christianity always teach us to forgive others the way we would like them to forgive us. At no time should we propagate vengeance, improper sexual behaviors, and lies (Randice, 1974)?

Just like Saint Augustine, Abelard converted into a nun when all those troubles befell him. He gave thanks to the Almighty God for giving him back his presence and remaining faithful to him even after the world turned against him. He accepts that God had a purpose for him, though that purpose needs to be taken care of and well-nurtured for it to develop and thrive (Randice, 1974). People in modern society also fall back to God when nothing else seems to be working for them.

They realize that God has a purpose for them. According to Abelard, when we become holy to God, we shall be blessed by his grace and achieve all the goals we set in our lives. This is a Christian virtue that is still in use today in many churches worldwide.

Abelard exemplifies the many persecutions that Christians go through in the hands of traitors, the supreme mutilation of their character and person, and the monstrous covetousness and aggressive attacks perpetrated by fellow men (Randice, 1974). This is a fitting description of the character of man today. It is only through Gods salvation and gratitude that this state of the affair can be changed.

Finally, Abelard realizes that wealth or possessions cannot define a mans worth. His worth can only be described by measuring his merits. Marriage should never be based on wealth or possessions. A woman who identifies more with her husbands wealth and possessions rather than her own husband offers herself for sale when she gets married (Randice, 1974). These are important Christian teachings that should be observed in modern time marriage relationships.

Works Cited

Augustine: Confessions. 2002. Cyber Library. Web.

Confessions of St. Augustine. 2008. In Wikepedia online encyclopedia. Web.

Heloise(Abbess). 2008. In Wikipedia online encyclopedia. Web.

Lombardi, Esther. Abelard and Heloise: The Love Affair. 2008. About. Web.

Outler, Albert C. Augustine: Confessions. 1994. Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press. Web.

Randice, Betty. Abelard and Heloise. 1974. England: Penguin books. Web.

Click Here To Order Now!

Saint Augustines Confessions and The Letters of Abelard and Heloise

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?

We have qualified writers to help you.

We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.

You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)