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A review by sizrobe
The Enchiridion on Faith Hope and Love by Saint Augustine
4.0
Some capital L Literature about Christianity from early in the days of the church. Mercifully short, but also very slow going and sometimes convoluted.
Some highlights include: Every crime is a sin, but not every sin is a crime. Faith without works is dead. It's a sin to take from a rich man and give to a poor man, even if the rich man wouldn't notice it missing and it would be a huge boon to the poor. Failure to believe in the redemption of sins is in and of itself sinful. Christ allowed himself to be baptized, not because he needed it, but merely to show humility. All lies are sin, regardless of purpose, it's just a matter of exactly how sinful. Even a lie for someone's benefit is sinful.
Not all of it made total sense to me. Apparently, being superstitious about certain numbers is a big no-no for reasons I didn't fully grasp. I had to reread chapter 78 over and over, going through it with a fine tooth comb to be sure I wasn't misreading. In short, it says that it's sinful to take another Christian to court, and that such issues should be dealt with inside the church. I take it that this has changed significantly in the church since this book was written.
And finally, one bit actually made me chuckle. In one chapter, he confesses that he isn't certain if the sun, moon, and stars are some form of angels, or merely "luminous bodies." A lot of the stuff in here is timeless, but some things really do change.
Some highlights include: Every crime is a sin, but not every sin is a crime. Faith without works is dead. It's a sin to take from a rich man and give to a poor man, even if the rich man wouldn't notice it missing and it would be a huge boon to the poor. Failure to believe in the redemption of sins is in and of itself sinful. Christ allowed himself to be baptized, not because he needed it, but merely to show humility. All lies are sin, regardless of purpose, it's just a matter of exactly how sinful. Even a lie for someone's benefit is sinful.
Not all of it made total sense to me. Apparently, being superstitious about certain numbers is a big no-no for reasons I didn't fully grasp. I had to reread chapter 78 over and over, going through it with a fine tooth comb to be sure I wasn't misreading. In short, it says that it's sinful to take another Christian to court, and that such issues should be dealt with inside the church. I take it that this has changed significantly in the church since this book was written.
And finally, one bit actually made me chuckle. In one chapter, he confesses that he isn't certain if the sun, moon, and stars are some form of angels, or merely "luminous bodies." A lot of the stuff in here is timeless, but some things really do change.