Augustine's Manichaean Dilemma, Volume 1: Conversion and Apostasy, 373-388 C.E.

Augustine of Hippo is history's best—known Christian convert. The very concept of conversio owes its dissemination to Augustine's Confessions, and yet, as Jason BeDuhn notes, conversion in Augustine is not the sudden, dramatic, and complete transformation of self we likely remember it to be. Rather, in the Confessions Augustine depicts conversion as a lifelong process, a series of self—discoveries and self—departures. The tale of Augustine is one of conversion, apostasy, and conversion agai...