This pride isn't the kind that's in the name of love, unfortunately. Now, one seven deadly sin we can understand—but two? Well, if you're not going to confess your sins, then what are you going to confess? Pride doesn't get as much airtime in the Confessions as its friend Lust, but that seems to be because Augustine isn't as guilty of it as he is of lust. Also, lust is pretty easy to recognize, because it's an actual act. But we're a little sketchier on the details of pride-as-sin. How often do we even realize that we're guilty of being prideful? How much pride does one have to have in oneself before committing a sin?
Questions About Pride
- How is pride at odds with the kind of Christian that Augustine wants to be?
- Why doesn't pride pose the same barrier as lust does to Augustine's conversion?
- In what ways is Augustine guilty of pride? Does he demonstrate it in the book?
- According to Augustine, how does pride affect a person's acceptance of God or the truth?
Chew on This
Pride is the antithesis to confession in the Confessions.
Augustine is more adamant about condemning the proud than he is about condemning people for other things.