Benedict Rule Essay

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The Rule of Benedict spoke about the strict rules and regulations that are to be followed by monks living in a communal place. It was meant to bring about discipline and obedience to conduct themselves in a respectful and appropriate manner as was implied by their title. They were to be obedient to the abbott who was the superior person in the monasteries and follow all the rules accordingly for they were vivid testimonies of righteous living to others (Benedict 11). Also by obeying their abbotts, it was as if they were obeying God directly which also showed the love that they had for God and therefore, they were guaranteed eternal life with God because of their obedience to him. Even though it was not easy to keep all of these rules, they …show more content…

To act in a righteous way without speaking nonsense, disruption, since “the tongue has the power of death and life” (Benedict 31). In other words, whatever came from one’s mouth had to be righteous and thought through. Other forms that one showed humility was through their clothing and daily meals. They were only to eat and dress in an appropriate way where they weren't overindulging themselves in these materialistic manners (Benedict 36). Part of this could have been to serve as a reminder that one must remain humble and not become attached to the things of this world since one was going to die and live eternally in heaven with God. Other rules involved the idea of how to pray, perform rituals, and work. These actions were meant to be done in a orderly way where every action had its own time and place. There could be no form of abrupt behavior or disruption because there was the need to show reverence to God. This is a concept that is also further backed up in “ On Discipline and Humility in Medieval Christian Monasticism” where he says, that anything spontaneous is condemned because there is a certain order for everything (Asad 137). One’s actions also had to be done genuinely without complaint or else it would be displeasing to God. If one did not follow these, they could become

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