Anglican evangelist, author and broadcaster J.John takes a personal look at the life and influence of one of the great giants of the early church.

Augustine of Hippo has been described as ‘the most influential figure in Christianity after St Paul’. That may sound extravagant – until you consider his legacy. He wrote on a vast scale, leaving millions of words behind him, and his teaching has shaped Christian theology ever since.

Like all of us, Augustine was a man of his time and place – and his were certainly ‘interesting times’. He was born in ad 354, just three decades after the persecution of Christians by the pagan Roman Empire had ended. He died 75 years later, with the now Christian empire collapsing around him. Born in North Africa, and spending most of his life in what is now Algeria, Augustine considered himself an African.

We know a great deal about the young Augustine because of his famous Confessions. He grew up with a devoted Christian mother, Monica, and, clearly gifted, rose through a succession of teaching posts, spending time in Rome and Milan. Yet Augustine was restless. He longed to find meaning and, in that search, pursued various religions and philosophies.

Eventually, drawn by a deep sense of emptiness, Augustine, now in his early 30s, turned back towards Christianity. The Confessions tells how, in the middle of his agonised indecision, he heard children’s voices saying, “Take up and read.” Prompted by this, he opened his Bible at Romans 13:13-14: “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”

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