Review of St Augustine's Sin

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Kelvin Ndambuki 1
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Review of St Augustine's Sin

Post by Kelvin Ndambuki 1 »

[Following is a volunteer review of "St Augustine's Sin" by Joe Baker.]
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5 out of 5 stars
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St Augustine's Sin is a non-fiction book written by Joe Baker. St. Augustine is a respected saint and is also considered a role model by the Christian community, the Catholic Church to be exact. Mr. Baker argues with this and says that the Saint is mentally disturbed and has his own issues with infant sexuality. St. Augustine says that all children from birth are guilt from the original sin. Mr. Baker, suggests that this is a both bad and dangerous belief.

This book presents a detailed review of Augustine's life, publications, and historical background, evaluating the soundness of his philosophies. Mr. Baker, who was raised by a devout Catholic mother, attended Catholic boarding schools and had encounters with Catholic priests, argues why these Augustinian doctrines are toxic and should not be mandatorily passed down to infants against their will, as they negatively affect them mentally and psychologically. He also opines that the state should be separated from religion because the state's funding of faith schools creates a bias in the process of school selection among the children and prejudice against non-believing teachers looking for employment in faith schools in Britain.

This book explains how British children are taught religion in their schools. Mr. Baker focuses on the teachings of Catholics and the Church of England and how this makes the British children look down on themselves for being sinful, and this leads to them feeling ashamed for no good reason. Mr. Baker also went a step further and keenly analyzed Augustine of Hippo's fourth - century teaching of infants born with original sin and how it had left a bad mindset to the people.

The amount of research in this book is remarkable and needs to be appreciated, not forgetting the time that comes with the research. Mr. Baker presents his arguments with proof, and analyzed them to the best of his knowledge, feelings and experience. Many of his points are backed by facts from both well-conducted researchs and surveys, which can be easily accessed and verified through the many links provided. I also love Mr. Baker's explanations and storytellings, like when narrating his life with his parents and his experience with the clergymen at school. To the best of my knowledge, the original sin for which Christians baptize is the sin of disobedience by Adam and Eve, but the author says that the original sin is Augustine's mark of guilt for concupiscence. This was him analyzing what Augustine of Hippo.

I must also say that I liked how Mr. Baker shares his personal experience of life encounters with the clerics. I believe that this will inspire many to read this book. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

There was nothing I disliked about the book. I recommend this book to all Christians, especially Catholics.

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St Augustine's Sin
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