An Exploration of Elements in Augustine’s Spiritual Journey that Led him to the Point of Conversion

Abstract

If the life of human on earth is a pilgrimage of seeking happiness and the meaning of his life, he ought to ponder, discern, and act on values he chooses in order to progress the pilgrimage. The ultimate destination of the pilgrimage is God who is the true happiness for human being. “The biblical notion of conversion denotes a ‘returning’. This reversal manifests as a fundamental re-direction in one’s life, and not simply a change in notions, opinions, or sentiments”. Christian conversion is seen as a turning to God through Christ, through which the human being is given newness of life. And ‘turning to God’ is also a turning to self, since, in the inner self of his heart, the human being finds God’s image: “return to your heart; for in it is the image of God. In the inner man dwells Christ, in the inner man are you renewed after the image of God, in His own image recognize its Author”.