Late in the fifth century the son of a well-off family in Italy left for isolation on his mission to truly seek god. This man was St. Benedict, who is credited with the first establishment of the concept of withdrawing from all temptation for Christian beliefs in the west. St. Benedict left his home and went to the top of a mountain, where he established a monastic community. In this community the individuals who resided there, constantly reiterated their faith. They sacrificed whatever they may have had to prove their true commitment to God. This became an early ideal of Christianity, that one must suffer loss and sacrifice to prove their loyalty to the faith. It was believed in this time period that if one is content with only what they truly need one is freer to think about other people and to think about God . These individuals were called Regular Clergies (monks) and were considered heroes of the faith.
St. Benedict created three main characteristics that a Christian who truly seeks God should do. The first is live in peace with others, not always wanting his own way, or having an exaggerated idea of himself. The second is to live simply, not wanting to own many things in order to feel important and secure. The third and final main theme of St. Benedict is to pray often and read the bible. These characteristics were added upon, but the main three were the basis of the belief. From these original three the foundation of the monastery was built.
Another saint who played a major influence on the church was St. Augistine. St. Augistine held the idea that Christianity gave ones life meaning and purpose. He believed that “Christians are not born but made. ” St. Augistine was the author of a very influential book in the history of the church. This book was “The City of God.” This book told the history of the church and proved it to be a historically valid one. He believed that there was no use to civilization, and as faith increases civilization should decrease. The “City of the World” is the opposite of the “City of God”, and brings temptation and must be resisted. This reference to civilization was aimed towards Rome.
St. Cuthbert also added to the monastic tradition. He also took himself into isolation to assert his faith. Following his death, after many years of loyalty to the faith, it was fo...
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...he centuries following them, they did not work nearly as hard, or did they suffer the same sacrifice and separation from materialistic possessions and luxuries. The church and congregation itself also underwent a dramatic change. The church progressed with the times to be not only a powerful institution religiously, but also politically, economically and also socially. With this rise in power in many different areas besides religion came the involvement in many different areas in society. These ties in society created involvement in the “City of the World” which took away from aspects of the “City of God.”
In closing, the decline of the monasteries and ultimately the “City of God” was due to the rise in the “City of the World.” The “City of the World” was the anti thesis of the “City of God.” They can be seen otherwise as church and state. When one was strong and powerful, the other could not be. The two could not exist in equilibrium. So therefore the stronger survived, and with the change of the times, this was the “City of the World.” The king, who at one time in history was strongly influenced by the church, took control of the Durham Priory, and all its worldly possessions.
When Jesus walked the earth his twelve disciples put aside all of their worldly possessions and worldly pursuits to fully and faithfully follow him. After the fall of Rome, Europe slipped into what has been referred to as the “dark ages.” However, even in these dark ages men and women put aside their secular desires and devoted themselves to a life of celibacy and simplicity. This similar desire between many people drew them together and this pursuit became know as monasticism. No one had a bigger influence on this way of life and on these people who chose this calling than Saint Benedict of Nursia. His teachings and life would have an impact on monasticism all throughout Europe helping to form its spirituality and culture.
Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.
Benedict lived in the 16th century from 480 – 547 in Italy (Nursia) at the time when the great Roman Empire was crumbling. This period was stuffed with wars and paganism. Benedict left his native land to the city of Rome to pursue his education, but paganism in the city disgusted him and he desist from the world to embrace a life of solitude. His life style came to the noticed of many people. Some monks joined him, and he then established twelve monasteries with twelve monks each. He later abandon his monastery due to jealousy and went up the mountain of Cassino where he lived till his death in 547 AD. Benedict thought that establishing rules will act as a guide for the monks to advance in holiness and for the smooth running of the monastery.
Through the years from the medieval ages up until now, the Roman Catholic Church has always had a major influential presence in all walks of life for European people, whether it was for taxation, the establishing of laws, the rise and fall of monarchs, and even daily social life. Furthermore, the Catholic Church held such power that they could even appoint and dispose of great kings with just the writing of the pen. However, their power started to wane once human curiosity overcome ignorance and blind obedience. For example, the Enlightenment Age brought a series of shocking blows to the Church’s power such as disproving the Church’s theory of geocentricism and presented an age of questioning and secularism. In essence, by looking at the Church’s
St. Boniface, originally named Winfrith, was an extremely studious man, a converted monk, priest, missionary and finally martyr. Born in 672, near Exeter, England, St. Boniface at an early age developed a desire to follow the path of God and live a monastic life. Through non-stop prayer and religious practices, he tuned his mind and body to reach beyond the obstacles and enticements of everyday life at his young adult age. He was a major influence on society during his life and affected the lives and history of Germany permanently. Often called the “Apostle of Germany”, St. Boniface was a strong believer in the principles of the Church and truly wanted to open any pagan believers minds to the knowledgeable and rewarding path of the Christian life.
In Dr. Osman’s lecture and in Life and Miracles of St. Benedict, monasteries were portrayed as places for people to escape the harsh times and live together worshipping God. In The Dark Ages, the narrator discusses how many nuns and monks would try to escape because they were forced to go there, some even going as far as scaling the walls of their convent or monastery. These holy places offered many people the escape and religious freedom that they craved, but not everyone loved the strict life that monks and nuns lived. (The Dark Ages, “Marriage of Monks and
The Foundation Charter of Cluny outlines the rulings set by Duke William and established what would come to be known as the ‘cluniac reforms’. The charter focuses on spiritual salvation and is dedicated to honouring the Apostles Peter and Paul presenting them as the patrons of the monastery. It highlights the monastery’s freedom from lay authority and specifies the ownership of the monastery and that the abbot could not be subject to external influence. Duke William also stipulates that the monks and all their possessions come under the named abbot Berno. The Foundation Charter of Cluny was hugely influential affecting not only the original abbey of Cluny but also the several later establishments, which adhered to the charter set by Duke William I in 910. Duke William I focuses great...
Roles of the Catholic Church in Western civilization has been scrambled with the times past and development of Western society. Regardless of the fact that the West is no longer entirely Catholic, the Catholic tradition is still strong in Western countries. The church has been a very important foundation of public facilities like schooling, Western art, culture and philosophy; and influential player in religion. In many ways it has wanted to have an impact on Western approaches to pros and cons in numerous areas. It has over many periods of time, spread the teachings of Jesus within the Western World and remains a foundation of continuousness connecting recent Western culture to old Western culture.-
The poet Victor Hugo once stated that “music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot be silent.” This quote seems to represent punk music in a way that isn’t immediately apparent. Punk is considered to be an “underground” genre and style that is popular with teens and young adults that feel oppressed. The expression that "cannot be put into words" and "cannot be silent" describes the ideals of punk perfectly.
The generation of punks was influenced from many different kind of modern art and writers. The word punk was used in a defamatory manner, which has been considered with punk bechaviour of personal disrespect or has been used as a form of expression of feeling of hatred. It started by the youth people who were criticizing the economy, the rising unemploymend and they were seeking a reform of the goverment system. The punk culture is a subculture which defines the freedom, the liberty and the revolution against the stereotype society and the casual culture. They were anarchist or marxist. Their ideas were anti authoritarianism, the movement of DIY (Do It Yourself) and there only request was not to sell out. Ten years after the emerge of the punk subculture many currents imitatived from the first, the celticpunk, the hardcore punk, the anarcho-punk, skate punk, garage punk the street punk and many others. So the punk subculture went through a laboratory which affect its DNA which created new forms of the initial subculture which had their own
income for the Church came to it in the shape of power and prestige, when the
As we have looked into the causes of monasticism, the development of monasticism and the history behind some of its practices. We can start to understand whom these hooded little men really are and what they stood for. We can see that this movement was truly needed. Monasticism aided in the rapid development of a hierarchical, centralized organization in the church because the monks were bound to obedience to superiors who in turn owed their allegiance to the pope. We do admire the fine contributions the monks made to medieval life. This was not only a movement in the history of Christianity, but it is still practiced today. One author defined monasticism as such: "Monasticism did not begin by being passed one to another but arose like spontaneous eruptions, or like a spring gushing forth in different places from a source underground."
Punk rock is one of the music genres, it is a famous and a pop music started with the early 1960s. Especially in the late 1970s, along with the rock music movement, punk rock became the peak of the rock music genre. Because of its popular and expansion, Punk Rock achieved the great influence and importance at that moment.
A monster can be characterized by an extreme deviation from the normal standards of society including an internal or external wickedness. In the case of Mary Shelley’s Creature, his appearance overwhelms those who lay eyes upon him. A mere glance can send a villager running for the hills. It was not until the Creature caught a glance of his own reflection that he understood why villagers were so afraid of him. The realization of his ghastly appearance began the monster’s journey into hopelessness. In Peter Brooks’ article he writes, “Self recognition as the ‘filthy type’ completes the mirror stage of the Monsters development.” (Brooks 377). Seeing oneself as ugly and slovenly can cast shadows on even the most compassionate of hearts.
From the Middle ages, the church faced many problems such as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism that hurt the prestige of the church. Most of the clergy lived in great luxury while most people were poor and they set an immoral example. The clergy had low education and many of them didn’t attend their offices. Martin Luther had witnessed this himself, “In 1510 he visited Rome and was shocked to find corruption on high ecclesiastical places”