We’re reading Saint Augustine’s Confessions in a class I’m taking on autobiography. It was my second time reading the text for a class, and I did not do it justice on this read-through… though maybe that is justice, given that it’s a steaming pile of crap. But putting that aside, two interesting things came up in our discussions.

First, mortality.

Augustine grieves for a friend who dies—prior to his conversion, obviously. God doesn’t die.

The not-very-subtle narrative points toward a “necessary connexion” here: not wanting to love things that will die, Augustine becomes a bit closer to seeking out the heavenly yoke.

Second, location.

Augustine struggles with deciding where and what God is.

He doesn’t attempt to tie in any “witty” narrative techniques or implications, but here I swoop in like Batman to set things right. Check this!

1. People are in one place or another.
2. Person A might be in one place.
3. Person B might be in another.
4. They are not in the same place.
5. If Person A loves Person B, he loves something distant.
6. God is omnipresent.
7. If Person A loves God, he can love something nearby!

As Person A, I think it’s high time I converted…