Confessions by Augustine of Hippo is a profound piece of Christian literature that has been influencing Western thought since the 4th century. In the book Augustine addresses various issues that still resonate today. Confessions is broken up into 13 sub-books each addressing a different issue or ˜confession' in Augustine's life. Confessions is an autobiographical work that outlines Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. Through his testimony, Augustine expounds on the brokenness of humanity and how we are all in need of a savior. In reading his work I came to realize how blind I am to my own sin. Throughout the book, Augustine's voice is directed to God. He solemnly pleads and confesses to God in extraordinary humility. There were several major themes in this book including: the brokenness of the world, God's abundant mercy, and God's desire for us to repent and come to him. In this report I will also address Augustine's experiences with other religions and how that shaped his way of thinking. During the early years of his life, Augustine dealt with various struggles. One profound confession or struggle that Augustine details in the book is his experience with Manichaeism during his young adult years. Manichaeism is a Gnostic religion that taught about the struggle between the spiritual world of light, which is good and the material world of darkness, which is evil. Since the beginnings of Christianity, claiming the material to be evil and the spiritual to be good has been a form of heresy.? This form of Gnostic thinking has come into the church at different times over the years. I think certain Gnostic ways of thinking have influenced some modern Christian churches. Certain pastors claim that if you "think positively" God will deliver you from hardships and you will be successful. After Augustine's conversion to Christianity he reflected on his experience as a believer in Manichaeism and his idea that his carnal flesh was somehow separated from his spiritual soul. He said "I still thought that it is not we who sin but some other nature that sins within us. It flattered my pride to think that I incurred no guilt and, when I did wrong, not to confess it...I preferred to excuse myself and blame this unknown thing, which was in me but was not part of me. The truth, of course, was that it was all my own se