Rule Of St. Benedict

One thousand years of intense change took place as two documents came to rule, The Constitution of Medina and The Rule of St. Benedict. The Constitution of Medina was powerful document that started the religion of Islam. Composed of a set on mostly lenient rules the Constitution spoke of a Muslims connection with Allah and the people of society, whether or not they were Muslim. The Rule of St. Benedict was a highly structured list of rules and chapters that define the lives of Monks and Nuns for centuries to come. These two societies shared various ideas to assert their power and bring control to their individual communities. These include: a key concept that sets an idea of how and why the documents are in charge, how the hierarchies of the

The Rule of St. Benedict established order and provide a cause for followers to give their life to. By taking them out of the societal norms the rule gave a strict guideline to live by. For if they had to follow rules and submit every part of their being to God there were no crimes that they could commit. From speaking to withholding pride, Monks and Nuns were to only focus on the power of God. This was a primary factor in the beginning of Monasticism. The Constitution of Medina was quite clement when it came to influencing society. It allowed for the new followers of Allah to create communities of peace between different religions. They set up policies that allowed all people to be treated fairly, but not equally. This allowed for a hierarchy to be created so that people would stop fighting. It prevented community members from believing that they could fight for their own rights. If people believed that they had their own social justice or that their religious beliefs were then others it would create controversies and lead to fighting. The idea presented in the Constitution of Medina is that is society determines who is the most righteous and that those below them will not fight, for it will be a sin. These two rules provide guidelines so society and

Many times, this means one leader taking control over others. This can occur in a hierarchical sense. In the Rule of St. Benedict an Abbot is placed below the power of God but above the status of the Monks. It is this head of power that keeps Gods followers in line. During the day Monks are to follow a strict schedule known as the Ora et Cabora. This strict schedule was put in place to prevent disruption or acts of distraction from occurring in the Monks lives. The Abbot’s job was to keep this schedule fluid and essentially reform those who did not follow the guidelines. It was believed that everything should be done to please God and not the individual. This makes the hierarchy as follow, God on top, the Abbot following and the Monks on the bottom. Even though some of the time Abbots considered their monks brothers they still contained the authority in the relationship. Hierarchy is not as clearly seen in the Constitution of Medina yet it still takes place. In this case it is broken down more. On the top of the spectrum is Allah but the followers are divided into a hierarchy. At the top is the devout followers of Allah, the Muslims. They are the most highly respected and are given the most power. With this they still must respect the second class as one of their own, the Jewish. The Jewish are a respected group of immigrants that are treated as almost equal. They are to