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.
movements including Anarchism, Nihilism and Marxism that gave Punk it’s revolutionary zeal. Punk Music though was more than a political statement, it was
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.
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.
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.
Shelley, Mary. “Frankenstein.” In A Norton Critical Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1996.
From the Catholic observation point, the Church presents two parts: One representing its divine nature as the untarnished body of Christ, and one direc...
In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein’s monster is judged by his physical characteristics, his sensitive emotional personality is overlooked representing the depthlessness of society.
“I am alone and miserable: man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me” (Shelley 127). A monster with bad intentions generates a bad reputation in society. However, does a monster whose sole purpose is to achieve and excel treated wrongly because of the way he looks? According to John Bugg’s “Master of their language: Education and Exile” The creature’s narrative of education unfolds from a personal realization of alterity. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein portrays the creature’s motivation to broaden his education in order to be accepted by society. Despite the creature’s good intentions to broaden his education, his physical appearance disallows him to obtain an education, and therefore the only residual is to seek revenge on his creator.
And yet, it should also be noted that the entire story is told through the ill-fated eyes of a self-pitying creator that years later is recalling the misfortune that has befallen him and his ruined family because he birthed this "abhorred devil." Despite Frankenstein’s filtering of the story, any reader can easily notice that the most riveting and entertaining chapters of the novel are in the middle section where the Creature’s narration dominates the story. The readers learn that despite the Creature’s physical features that are described as a monstrosity, he is far from being an abomination. Instead, he speaks and reasons with the highest elegance, logic, and persuasiveness. As a verbal creation, he is the very opposite of being monstrous: he is sympathetic and compelling. He is benevolent and shows that he is capable of identifying with another’s pain and misfortune. Through most Creature’s of the existence, he tries to find companionship many times, but he is only met with fear and hostility. He says that he “admired virtue and good feelings and loved the gentle manners and amiable qualities of [the] cottagers, but [he] was shut out from intercourse with them.” Quotations such as this demonstrate that, though he is also capable of being kind in mankind’s character, he is unable to be a part of human society and thus unable to receive such kindness in return. It is only after when he is rejected by villagers and anyone who sets eyes on him that he starts exhibiting a capacity for unspeakable, inhumane rage and envy. These events teach the Creature that there is no point in being good since he is always being judged by his hideous appearance no matter how kindly he acts. Embittered, the creature determines he can never be accepted by the human race and vows vengeance by killing Frankenstein's family members and
Punk rock, what is it? Is it rebellion? Anarchism? What makes rock truly punk? Being rooted from garage rock and getting away from the excess mainstream rock, comes punk. A rock genre that spoke often of anti-establishment, anarchism, and rebellion to the norm and society. Genre that was started in a garage and becoming a major cultural phenomenon.
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.
...le. This sovereignty emphasises an essential notion that differed the Cluniac rule to that of previous monasteries incorporating the Rule of St. Benedict with the alterations of Duke William I. The Cluniac monks became renowned for their prayers for the dead, which attracted more and more attention throughout the lay people gaining the monastery popularity and subsequently wealth. In the monasteries attempt at the monks living an isolated life with uncompromising respect for monastic purity, the attraction of lay people forced the monks to interact and become involved with temporal matters consequently contradicting entirely the Foundation Charter. The Cluniac Monastery attracted a lot of attention across the Kingdom of France and other European Kingdom’s, which greatly influenced the Foundation Charter’s expanding influence and therefore significance historically.
The American rock band Nirvana impacted American culture and society by paving the way for the punk rock subculture into mainstream corporate America. Punk rock music stems from the rock genre but has its own agenda. The crux of punk rock is that it is a movement of the counterculture against the norms of society. Punk rock in itself is made up of a subculture of people who rejected the tameness of rock and roll music during the 1970s. (Masar, 2006, p. 8). The music stresses anti-establishment and anti-authoritarian ideas in its lyrics as well as scorns political idealism in American society. Before Nirvana unintentionally made punk rock a multi-million dollar commercialized genre of music, underground rock paved the way for the punk rock genre by creating core values that punk rockers drew upon.
The creature in "Frankenstein" is first wrongly judged by his own creator which sparks the hatred he has of all humans by the end of the novel. He is abandoned by the one who made him and is left confused and clueless. The creature quickly learns many things, most definite though, the unjust prejudice people have towards him because of his unfortunate ugliness. His hopelessness and hatred of humans is solidified when he learns of his creator's feelings of disgust towards him. When speaking to his creator he explains, "instead of threatening, I am content to reason with you. I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind,"(Shelley 170). The society in the novel "categorized him as being a danger to society just because of his monstrous appearance," (www.studymode.com). Eventually he meets one character who he believes may not run from or misjudge him. He befriends DeLacey, a blind man, and has a glimmer of hope that he will not be alone forever. However, all his hope is stripped away when he is immediately rejected by DeLacey's children who, like everyone else, judge the creature unfairly. The prejudice and discrimination the...
Frankenstein shows that what looks like a monster in appearance my not be and what looks normal on appearance may be a monster. While a scary ugly creature may look like a monster a true monster is formed from within and is scene through actions. Along with this knowledge is power and power has the ability to make monsters. The pursuit to know more is a never ending road that leads to lies, secretes, and monstrosity. “How much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow,” while knowledge is boundless and beautiful an excess of anything can create a monster.