Complicity and Monasticism

Posted on 3.01.2008

A few weeks ago I wrote a post expanding on a comment I left on the blog Inhabitatio Dei regarding how Christian pacifism and simplicity struggle with arguing from a compromised moral position.

Since that post, Halden has written some more on the issue of complicity, see his posts here and here. I don't think Halden was reacting to my comment or posts as I don't think he reads here, but his reflections are welcome as they struggle with the issues I was concerned/commented/posted about.

In his most recent post, Halden floats the "monastic move" that I had suggested in my earlier post.

All and all, it's an interesting conversation. How can Christians be in the world but still witness to a life not of the world?

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3 thoughts on “Complicity and Monasticism”

  1. myself, monk, interested in many aspects of monasticism, such as sociological and social psychological aspects, spirituality

    Have a Yahoo group, 372 members

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/monasterion

  2. I read your other post on Pacifism, and I also read Halden's blog on occasion (he posts so often that I often do not get a chance to read all of his posts). I did, however, get a chance to read some of his thoughts our complicity in capitalism.

    It seems to me that you have a different definition of pacifism than I do. It seems that your definition includes an active movement for the pacifist to actively seek peace in the world in the midst of violence. As an American, this seems difficult because most Americans who have time to think about things like pacifism are only able to do so because they live in a relatively upper-class area that is not constantly rocked by violence. It seems to me that violence breeds violence and suburbia breeds suburbia. Even if those from the suburbs enter into the violent urban areas, they are confused by the vast culture change that takes place as a result. In other words, the suburb mindset goes with them to the urban areas.

    If we really want to combat violence I believe the answer is studying the cultures that produce such violence and then attempting to end the systematic reasons for such violence.

    I don't know if that made any sense, but that is my two cents (no pun intended).

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