Augustine: Conversions and Confessions

Augustine: Conversions to Confessions, also titled Augustine: Conversions and Confessions, is a historical biography by Robin Lane Fox. First published in 2015, and the 2016 Wolfson History Prize winner, the book tells the story of Saint Augustine’s early years until the point he discovered Christianity and vowed to live a celibate life. The book is very popular with both Christian and atheist readers. Critics believe that it is one of Augustine’s most definitive biographies. Fox is a historian who specializes in ancient history. He worked on the set of the major motion picture, Alexander, as a historical adviser. He also worked as a gardening correspondent for the Financial Times.

Born in AD 354, Augustine is one of the most significant figures in Christianity. Significantly, he was born to a Christian mother and a pagan father. He barely met his father, but his mother encouraged him to think for himself. Although his mother wanted him to be baptized as a child, he refused, and she respected his wishes. Before converting to Christianity in adulthood, Augustine indulged in sins such as lust and greed, much to his mother’s despair. Fox’s book covers Augustine’s journey from sinner to one of the most devout Christians who ever lived.

Fox explains that we should think of Conversions to Confessions as a symphony. In the first half of the book, or the first movement, Fox focuses on Augustine’s conversions and moral dilemmas. In the second movement, or the second half of the book, Fox shifts the emphasis to Augustine’s confessions once he fully embraced Christianity. After converting to celibacy and Christianity, Augustine dedicated his time to educating others.



Fox begins the book with a brief reflection on Augustine’s most important work, the Confessions. Augustine wrote the Confessions sometime during his forties. He deeply regretted the sins he committed as a young boy. He hoped that God forgave him now since he repented and admitted all his wrongdoings. Forgiveness and penance are important themes throughout the Confessions, as Fox commentates.

In Confessions, Augustine explained that many sins still tempted him—particularly sex and pride. He begged God to keep him strong and help him wage his war against temptation. He dedicated the latter half of Confessions to praising God. Fox explores the Confessions in detail throughout the latter half of his book, and he asks us to consider how we can ensure that Augustine’s meditations stay relevant today.

Fox makes many claims about Augustine throughout the book, but his first claim is the most significant of them all. Firstly, Fox claims that Augustine always identified as a Christian. Saying, then, that he converted from atheism to Christianity is oversimplifying Augustine’s faith, according to Fox. To demonstrate this argument, Fox considers Augustine’s relationship with sex and pride.



As a boy, and later as a young man, Augustine enjoyed sexual relationships. He thought highly of himself, and he wanted people to recognize him as an intelligent, philosophical man. He loved it when people praised him and told him how insightful he was. Pride and lust are both sins.

When Augustine experiences an epiphany one day, meditating in a garden, he decides he’ll never have sex again, and he will live a humble life without seeking praise of any kind. The upshot of Fox’s argument is that Augustine converted to celibacy, humility, and wisdom, not Christianity. He already lived a Christian life.

Fox credits Monica, Augustine’s mother, with teaching Augustine Christian values, albeit she didn’t baptise him. Monica was a devout Christian who only wanted the best for her son. She didn’t, however, encourage him to marry and settle down young. She wanted him to find a good match to elevate the family’s social status. Fox considers the two sides of Monica’s nature—the devout side and the materialistic side—in detail. He concludes that Augustine, who wanted a sexual relationship, used his mother’s ambitions as an excuse to forego marriage and experience multiple sexual partners.



Later in the book, Fox discusses how and when Augustine wrote the Confessions. Although it’s unclear what prompted Augustine to sit down and write the meditation, Fox suggests that Augustine wrote the Confessions during Lent one year. Augustine spent the Lent of 397 AD suffering from terrible hemorrhoids. He couldn’t walk, sit, or lie down. Instead, Fox surmises, Augustine knelt before his secretaries and dictated the Confessions. For many scholars, the argument makes sense, because the Confessions reads like someone wrote it in one sitting.

Whichever way Augustine wrote the Confessions, they undoubtedly brought him closer to God, Fox explains. Although Fox is an atheist, he does appreciate how important Christianity was to Augustine and his family. He acknowledges the sincerity in Augustine’s repentance, and he suggests that modern Christians can learn something from Augustine’s dedication to the faith. Arguably, Fox suggests that there are many ways to be a good Christian—perfection isn’t required, or even possible.