Biography: St. Augustine of Hippo was born on the 13th of November, 354 in Thagaste.

His father Patricius had

unkind views regarding the Christian church while his mother, St. Monica, remained a devoted Christian throughout
her life. Augustine studied rhetoric (the art of persuading and informing an audience about certain matters) at
Carthage. He befriended men with sensual and self-indulging traits. Later on he succumbed to hedonism, the belief
that seeking pleasure is the ultimate purpose in life. He had a son named Adeodatus. He talked about the mother of
his child on his book Confessions. He wrote, "I lived with a woman, not my lawful wife but a woman whom I had
chosen for no special reason but that my restless passions had alighted on her." He felt grief upon parting ways with
his lover, and never disclosed the name of this woman. He was known for being a quiet and intellectual student, but
he was greatly displeased with his way of living. He began seeking enlightenment; he embraced Manicheanism and
Neo-Platonism before converting to Christianity.

Main thought: Augustine consistently asked himself why evil prevalently exists in this world. He wondered why God,
the omnipotent and merciful One every Christian deems Him to be, permits evil, loss, and suffering to exist. He
concludes

He concludes that evil exists because God gave the human race ultimate freedom of action. Evil comes from our own
free will. Since we can do anything in life as we please, evil is inescapable. Nothing hinders us from being selfish,
cruel, self-serving, or any of the flaws that we human beings inherently possess.

*concluded
Augustine believed that we bring evil upon ourselves because we CHOOSE to. He said that the mind of God is
impalpable and therefore we cannot know His plans or His judgment. We have no way of knowing whether an act or
deed is sinful or not.