What Were St. Augustine's Confessions? And Why Did He Convert To Christianity? (Christian History)

What leads someone to convert? And do they even need to be saved to start with? Theologians the world over base their careers on these questions. But none have attained recognition like Saint Augustine of Hippo, who is regarded as one of the most important church fathers. His autobiography, Confessions, reveals that Augustine's path to Christianity wasn't always written in stone. Born a pagan, in 354, in Roman North Africa, he had no reason to seek Christ, or repentance. He regarded his youth as hedonistic, and immoral, not for lack of knowledge, but because he actively sought a sinful lifestyle. He was well aware of morality, but giving in, just felt oh so right. Still feeling empty, he would join different religious groups. First, would be the Manichenes. This Persian religion was founded only a century earlier, by the prophet Mani, from the Sassanid Empire. It combined parts of Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism, Judaism, and Christianity, revering Mani as the final prophet, after Zoroaster, the Buddha, and Jesus. He eventually left the religion after his unfulfilling encounter with Faustus of Mileve, the Manichene bishop. Growing older, Augustine began teaching in Rome, but would soon move to This is where he would meet Saint Ambrose, then just a bishop. Being exposed to the bishop's sermons, leads Augustine down the path to Catholicism. But still, he is hesitant, and needs more answers. He would turn to the Neoplatonists. These Platonic thinkers would place emphasis on the One, as a mystical force that created and rules over the universe. A singular God that all reality originates from. Augustine rejects the absence of a Christ-like figure in their teachings and sticks with the teachings of Ambrose, who was staunchly against pagans, and Christian sects which strayed from orthodoxy. As is the catalyst for most conversions, Augustine claims to have been sitting in a garden, when he would hear children's voices He would find the nearest Bible, and the passage it fell on spoke to Augustine directly. He would soon be baptized by Ambrose, and go on to lead a monastic lifestyle. But before the end of the century, he would be called to Hippo, in Algeria, to minister there. Believing this the moral thing to do, Augustine would go on to become bishop of Hippo, but would write his autobiography first, covering the first half of his life. Confessions was used as a new way to promote conversions. Instead of the idea of gatekeeping, Christianity thrived through its attempts at conversion, no matter who the subject was. Augustine himself was a pagan, and hedonist, for much of his early life. Furthermore, conversion was seen as a long-term project, taking numerous years. Just having a religion as a default backdrop to one's society, makes it almost inevitable to dabble in the faith. Though Augustine is regarded as one of the most important theologians in history, his story is similar to millions of converts.