After a lifetime spent engaged in a philosophical search, Augustinefinally began to read Neoplatonic texts. He was getting closer and closer to conversion, and his discovery of Neoplatonic literature came at an opportune time. Essentially, through several different philosophical and theological points, Neoplatonism made it much easier for Augustine to accept Christianity on an intellectual level and open his heart to the faith.
Augustine recounts the beliefs he held at this time in his life (which he describes as his "evil and wicked youth"). The fact that Christians believed that God was not changeable, was the source of all things, was wholly benevolent, and had power over everything, caused Augustine great intellectual difficulty. Central to this problem was theodicy: how could Augustine believe in an omnipotent and benevolent God who could allow evil in the world? This was coupled with the continuing idea of "spiritual substance." Trained in philosophical and skeptical inquiry, Augustine would be expected to have a problem with the idea of a substance that was not material, but did exist in space. This notion of God is common to religions of all kinds today, but it was new - and particularly problematic - to thinkers of Augustine's day. The difficulty of defending this idea through purely skeptical philosophical rigor put Augustine in an intellectual quandary. He continued to picture God as various immaterial things - sunlight, breath - but admits now that he should not have been trying to picture God at all. He notes ironically that if he had considered the nature of thinking and the reality (but immateriality) of thoughts, he would have been able to solve this problem earlier.
