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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Augustine wonder about concerning God before creation?

2. Who has Augustine already studied much?

3. How does Augustine create his own image of the Heaven of Heavens?

4. How can memory make you unhappy?

5. What does not signal the end of Augustine's struggles?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Alypius' view of Jesus and what is Augustine's?

2. Explain why Augustine rejects astrology.

3. What does Augustine think about the Manicheans and why is he angry at them?

4. By the beginning of Book VII, how does Augustine begin to think of God?

5. Why does Augustine feel a sort of schizophrenia?

6. What does Augustine decide to do at the beginning of Book IX? How does he do it?

7. What does Augustine say about music and pleasure?

8. What does Augustine say about his mother's upbringing and some of her behaviors as a married woman?

9. What does Augustine say about formlessness?

10. What does Augustine say about writing his confession?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Moses wrote down the Holy Scriptures, he had to make them understandable, says Augustine. Moses also needed them to convey a deeper meaning to scholars and truth-seekers. The simple people think of the story of creation in a simple way, which is literal and materialistic.

1. Do you believe scholars are better able to understand religious writings than lay people? Why or why not?

2. Explain a situation in which you have read something you didn't understand.

3. What do you think Augustine means by "literal and materialistic" in the above sentence?

Essay Topic 2

Augustine recalls that he was under a lot of peer pressure to seek sexual pleasure and to applaud those who seek it from his peers that he knew from his town and from school. Augustine remembers even inventing sexual exploits to tell his peers, just to impress them.

1. Do you think Augustine's feelings of pressure from his peers was valid? Why or why not?

2. Do you think young men today feel the same peer pressure Augustine felt? Why or why not?

3. Discuss your beliefs about how young people are subjected to peer pressure and what a young person can do about it.

Essay Topic 3

In book VII, Augustine rejects astrology after speaking to an old man Vindicianus, and also due to the arguments of his friend Nebridius. They both say that the predictions of astrologists are purely a matter of chance, plus taking into account a person's condition, wealth, and circumstances. Discuss one of the following ideas:

1. What do you think Augustine's Christian beliefs would say about the concept of astrology? Use examples from the text and your own knowledge.

2. Why do you think many people in those times believed in astrology? Do you think the people who believe in astrology today do so for the same reasons?

3. Do you think science has disproved the validity of astrology? Why or why not? Discuss thoroughly.

4. What do you think about the thoughts of Augustine's two friends who say that the predictions of astrologists are purely a matter of chance, plus taking into account a person's condition, wealth, and circumstances?

(see the answer keys)

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