DAY 23 - USE OF FREE WILL (VS. SUPERSTITION)

On this Day 23 of the Lenten journey through St. Augustine’s Confessions explores the dangers of seemingly harmless superstitions and the importance of free will.

Augustine recounts being approached by a soothsayer who offered to perform animal sacrifices to demons to help him win a poetry contest. While Augustine was repulsed by the idea of animal sacrifice, he initially saw no harm in consulting astrologers because they did not involve such "loathsome" rites.

In hindsight, Augustine realizes that astrology contradicts the principle of free will. He argues that celestial bodies like Saturn or Jupiter cannot command a person's future or dictate their ability to sin or follow God.