How I Compare: 40%

In the spirit of being a college student, I decided to give myself a test. Chapter 4 of the Rule of St. Benedict is a comprehensive list of ways that monks should live by. I went through the list to see which rules I apply to my daily life (for the greater part, obviously I am going to have some slip-ups) and I found that I exhibit a meager 29 of 72 traits. There are easy ones, like not committing murder or adultery, but other ones are a lot more vague. 

It was quite eye-opening to go through the list and see the things that I do not do in my life, but that I should work harder to. Number 9 is the golden rule of treating others how you wish to be treated yourself. In face-to-face contact I definitely abide by this rule, but when I am engaging in a guilty pleasure of gossiping, I am most definitely going against this rule. In my defense, I do not engage in as harmful talks as others I know do, but I surely need to work on speaking only positively of others. Even if someone has wronged me or made me upset, what am I really going to gain from griping about it? 

Being a stranger to the world's ways, à la #20, would seem to be not only not helpful, but actually a disadvantage in this day and age. So much of our daily lives revolves around knowing what is happening in the world. One needs to be educated about other cultures so they do not offend and can understand customs different than their own. One needs to know basics of world goings on so that one can make an informed decision when time comes to vote. Now that I am 20 years old, I should retire my ways of voting for local officeholders by whoever has the coolest/most unusual name. Yes, I admitted it and you should too. I mean, who really knows about who they are voting for to be on the board of education? 

Number 27: Not to swear. Need I say more?

"But to recognize always that evil is one's own doing, and to impute it to oneself." This is one of the rules that I actually do follow in my daily life and I must admit that I have a problem with it. I seem to follow this rule too closely, and it is at a cost, I must say. First off, in most cases, not everything bad that happens to someone is his/her fault. Certainly that's the case with me. However, I do not recognize that bad things happen to me because of other people or just a random act of fate. I place so much blame on myself that I suffer undue amounts of stress-stress that I would not wish on anyone else. Therefore, I think that St. Benedict would benefit from switching this rule up a bit to account for random happenings and error of others. People can't go around beating themselves up for every little thing that goes wrong in their day! There would simply be no time for any enjoyment in life. 

To wrap things up, I would say that St. Benedict would excommunicate me from his little monastery. Well, that is if I even chose to go there in the first place. Which I wouldn't. Brown wool cloaks don't really tickle my fancy. 

A rant against people who have killed christianity for me

This essay is by no means a rant against the teachings of Jesus Christ. From my point of view he was a pretty cool guy and got almost everything right. What this is a rant against are the people who have, for lack of a better word, completely bastardized the teachings of Christ largely through their actions which they perform while claiming to be followers of Christ. Much of what Christ said to his followers is located in the rules put forth by St. Benedict. Although his book was written some 500 years after the death of Jesus, St Benedict still was preaching, in my opinion, the correct teachings of Christ and, more importantly, was actually following what Jesus said to do. For example some of the rules put forth by St. Benedict are as follows: 3. “Then not to murder.” 5. “Not to steal.” 8. “To honor all (1 Peter 2:17).” 52. “To guard one's tongue against evil and depraved speech.” Both rules 3 and 5 are part of the Ten Commandments, and rule 52 is another way of saying judge not lest ye be judged as well as to be careful what you say.

So how was it, I ask, that after 500 years one person could still understand the basic teachings of Christ while some 1000 years afterward many in the church have gone in a 180 direction from the original teachings of Christ? In my opinion at least part of the reason lies in the way in which certain people interpret the word of God. In fairness many people who are Christian actually do follow the teaching of Christ and try their best to love and honor their neighbor. The problem lies with the fact that the vast majority of Christians on TV, the televangelists as well as the most highly visible Christians throughout history are completely wacked out fundamentalists who use the Bible for their own personal gains.

Examples as to how these Christians misconstrue Jesus’ teachings are as follows. “Not to murder.” This commandment seemed not exist to the people of the Spanish Inquisition who gleefully murdered thousands of non-Christians in the name of Jesus Christ. I mean come on... the Aztecs did basically the same thing in offering human sacrifices to their gods and supposedly the Spanish were more civilized than they were. “Not to Steal.” Might I mention the names of Jim and Tammy Baker? If you don't know them look them up then ask yourself how many trusting older women sent their money to those two. “To honor all (1 Peter 2:17).” This is so important that the Biblical reference is given, yet many prominent Christians still do not understand it. From Jerry Falwell to Fred Phelps of Westborough Baptist fame, the common sentiment is we love you only if you agree with us. “To guard one's tongue against evil and depraved speech.” This should be taught to anyone who preaches hate in the name of Jesus, and, most recently, the  teacher in Indiana who said that she wants a "straight only prom because LGBT people have no purpose." To end this rant I myself would like to interpret the Bible for once. On November 7th 2012 both gay marriage and the use of recreational marijuana passed by referendum in some US states. Leviticus 20:13 states: “If man lies with another man he should be stoned.” It all makes sense now. We've just been interpreting it wrong.

 

 

"Get thee to a Nunnery!"

Living in a monastery...surrounded by people, prayer, and peace. While I understand the they are a brotherhood and helpful to each other, I cannot say they have the relationships with others that I believe make us healthy human beings and lead us to a better, more utopic society. After all, they removed themselves from society rather than interacted with it.

After reading the assigned chapters of The Rules of St. Benedict, there were a few aspects I found of the monastic lifestyle appealing:

1. The Instruments of Good works
   1. while I can't say I agreed with all seventy-two ules, most of them appealed to me
2. Living within their means
   1. One has to realize what is necessary and what is not. Once we realize these means, I feel that our society would be a bit better.
3. Honesty
   1. With yourself, others, and your God.
4. Content
   1. We have to be happy with what we have, but as we mentioned yesterday the grass is always greener on the other side. However, if we can be content with what we have, then we will be more likely to live a better, more meaningful life
5. Punishment
   1. Any society or culture should have punishment. It just needs to be justified and match the crime. Physical punishment should only be used to the most severe crimes. And “God” should decide what they punishment should be. I am a firm believer in karma and therefore each person will get their due in life by the decisions they make.
6. Working
   1. Every person should have to work. It may not be a lot of physical labor, but as long as they are contributing to society in some way then they are doing their part to make a better life for themselves and others
   2. Working teaches a lot of valuable things: work ethic, integrity, responsibility, perseverance
7. Common Belief/Values
   1. If people can agree on values and what is important then nothing can stop them from working together to achieve happiness.
      
      
      

Now, I am not an atheist – I just do not know my religious beliefs or if I even do believe, I have to many questions that have to be answered that have yet to be. However, I feel that there is more to life than a deity...and that life should be lived for other reasons than loving and fearing God.

Mentioned in Plato's The Republic, he says that their should not be an excess of happiness and in the monastery there is no excess of anything. However, I think happiness should be one of the main goals in life and that some of the physical aspects of life help us find this happiness. Such as love of a partner, family, friendship, humor, laughter, identity, etc...(maybe I watch to many Disney movies) None of this is found in the document we read because they removed themselves from society or temptations...(if we can conquer our temptations, could we not conquer most anything?)

While a monastery may not be considered a utopia from a non-religious point of view, there are aspects or practices that I believe can lead to a better society. It is up to the people to put them into practice and follow them.

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