Issue 39 Steadfast PrayerBlog | Classic Book Review – Saint Augustine of Hippo
Classic Book Review – Saint Augustine of Hippo
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 13.06.24
What book, apart from the Bible, have you found yourself returning to again and again, in your preaching ministry? In our Classic Review series we have asked some preachers to consider that question, with our focus turning to the life of Saint Augustine through The Confessions and Teaching Christianity.
His Early years
Augustine was brought up in Roman occupied North Africa, and his family came from the Berber people. His mother Monica was a godly woman who prayed earnestly for her son. Augustine trained as a rhetorician in Milan and was converted under the ministry of Ambrose of Milan. Eventually, Augustine returned to North Africa, becoming the Bishop of Hippo in 395, and spent his last thirty f ive fruitful years there.
His works
The fresh translation of Augustine’s works by New City Press now runs to 45 volumes and counting. Augustine has written one of the best spiritual biographies of all time, Confessions; one of the first books on preaching, On Christian Teaching; and a key text On the Trinity, written at a time when the doctrine was being hotly debated. Added to this is one of the greatest books that explore the relationship between Christianity and culture, The City of God.
