City of God

By: Saint Augustine

Narrated by: Mark Meadows

Written after the capture of Rome in 410 by Alaric, King of the Visigoths, St Augustine's City of God was intended as a response to pagan critics who blamed Christianity for this brutal defeat.

Augustine attacks ancient pagan beliefs and relates the corruption and immorality that led to Rome's downfall, which began before Christ, before reaching his main argument: that the City of Man is perishing and only the Heavenly City of God will endure. Members of the City of Man, misled by vanities and futile laws, will suffer the same fate as the Romans, while those of the City of God, who act in harmony with God's will, will reach salvation and paradise.

Monumental in its scope, City of God is a theological and philosophical treasure trove that offers fascinating insights into the perennial problems of Christian philosophy, such as free will and the problem of evil, as well as the long-standing conflict between church and state.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2020 Naxos Audiobooks

translation a bit iffy in places but well read

1.75x Meadows reads it well, translation could be better but still good, better to see

Best City of God Audiobook

If you want City of God on Audiobook, this is the version to get. The reader’s pacing and inflection reflects an understanding of the text. Moreover, all the individual chapters (hundreds) are titled and selectable. This is unique to this version and alone makes this the far superior choice.

(The most reviewed version on Audible just dumps two-hour chunks on you, so good luck if you’d like to try to locate an individual chapter. You’ll need it.)

Edifying and informative

While not everything that Augustine stated in this book conforms to a right interpretation of the Bible, the great majority does, and the book also serves as an informative glimpse into history, mythology, and development of doctrine. His high view of God and of Scripture ought to be imitated by the true church at large. Several parts are rather speculative and labor a long time on things that may not seem applicable to people today, but clearly were of importance in his own contemporary time. Even in these sections a lot to be learned.

As for the reading of this book, Mark Meadows does a much better job, in my opinion, then the other version I started listening to, which was much harder to follow. The fact that this audiobook is divided up into chapters (and not merely the 22 books) also helps when listening to it.

The stunning depth of reason sanctified.

I can't begin to express in words the spiritual profundity of The City of God. Humbling, challenging, and Christ exalting. A true protos of the Christian experience outside the Word.

Brilliant!

Highly intellectual work by one of the great doctors of The Church. Voice narration was very fluid and natural, and it was a pleasure to listen to.