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HAPPINESS AND THE RESTLESS HEART: AN AUGUSTINIAN CONFESSION

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2014

Luke Timothy Johnson
Luke Timothy Johnson*
Affiliation:
Robert W. Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins, Emory University
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Abstract

Saint Augustine opens his Confessions with the words “Great art thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is thy power, and of thy wisdom there is no number. . . . this tiny part of all that Thou hast created desires to praise Thee. Thou dost so excite him that to praise Thee is his joy. For Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.” The author discovered these words, in the translation of Frank Sheed (New York: Sheed & Ward, 1943), at a young age, and the concluding line in particular, “For Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee,” has occasioned continual return and reflection. In this article, the author investigates the meaning of this line in its context, following the phrase “to praise Thee is his joy.” Adopting a generous construal of his own experience with the text, the author examines some of the ways in which a person who wishes to be a Christian thinks about the elusive yet all-important dimension of human existence called happiness or joy.

Keywords

ChristianityAugustinehappinessfaithidolatry
Type
SYMPOSIUM: PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS IN INTERRELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE
Information
Journal of Law and Religion , Volume 29 , Issue 1 , February 2014 , pp. 67 - 75
Copyright
Copyright © Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University 2014 

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References

1 Augustine, , The Confessions of Saint Augustine, trans. Sheed, F. J. (New York: Sheed & Ward, 1943)Google Scholar, 3.

2 Augustine, De beata vita 2.10–11.

3 See Matthew 5:3–12. These verses form part of a set of Jesus's teachings also known as the “Beatitudes.” (Biblical quotations are taken from the New American Bible.)

4 See, e.g., Augustine, De Gratia et Libero Arbitrio, Liber I.

5 Matthew 25:21.

6 Johnson, Luke Timothy, Faith's Freedom: A Classic Spirituality for Contemporary Christians (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Fortress Press, 1990)Google Scholar.