Today we move from the early church’s public witness to the inner struggle of conversion and finally into the careful reasoning of medieval theology. Justin Martyr explains to the Roman world what Christian baptism actually is: a washing tied to repentance, illumination, and new birth in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Augustine then opens a window into his own divided heart, describing how his friend Alypius urged a life of celibacy so they might pursue wisdom together, while Augustine—still bound by the “disease of the flesh”—resisted even the freedom he knew he needed. Finally, Thomas Aquinas addresses the origin of the human soul, arguing that it is not made from God’s substance but created directly by Him and joined to the body at its beginning. Together these readings move from sacramental rebirth, to personal struggle with de ...