The Benedict Option

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In a radical new vision for the future of Christianity, NYT bestselling author and conservative columnist Rod Dreher calls on American Christians to prepare for the coming Dark Age by embracing an ancient Christian way of life The light of the Christian faith is flickering out all over the West, and only the willfully blind refuse to see it From the outside, American churches are beset by challenges to religious liberty in a rapidly secularizing culture From the inside, they are being hollowed out by the departure of young people and a watered down pseudo spirituality Political solutions have failed, as the triumph of gay marriage and the self destruction of the Republican Party indicate, and the future of religious freedom has never been in greater doubt The center is not holding The West, cut off from its Christian roots, is falling into a new Dark Age.The bad news is that the roots of religious decline run deeper than most Americans realize The good news is that the blueprint for a time tested Christian response to this decline is older still In The Benedict Option, Dreher calls on traditional Christians to learn from the example of St Benedict of Nursia, a sixth century monk who turned from the chaos and decadence of the collapsing Roman Empire, and found a new way to live out the faith in community For five difficult centuries, Benedict s monks kept the faith alive through the Dark Ages, and prepared the way for the rebirth of civilization What do ordinary 21st century Christians Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox have to learn from the teaching and example of this great spiritual father That they must read the signs of the times, abandon hope for a political solution to our civilization s problems, and turn their attention to creating resilient spiritual centers that can survive the coming storm Whatever their Christian tradition, they must draw on the secrets of Benedictine wisdom to build up the local church, create countercultural schools based on the classical tradition, rebuild family life, thicken communal bonds, and develop survival strategies for doctors, teachers, and others on the front lines of persecution.Now is a time of testing, when believers will learn the difference between shallow optimism and Christian hope However dark the shadow falling over the West, the light of Christianity need not flicker out It will not be easy, but Christians who are brave enough to face the religious decline, reject trendy solutions, and return to ancient traditions will find the strength not only to survive, but to thrive joyfully in the post Christian West The Benedict Option shows believers how to build the resistance and resilience to face a hostile modern world with the confidence and fervor of the early church Christians face a time of choosing, with the fate of Christianity in Western civilization hanging in the balance In this powerful challenge to the complacency of contemporary Christianity, Dreher shows why those in all churches who fail to take the Benedict Option aren t going to make it. Best Read The Benedict Option By Rod Dreher For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr In the interests of transparency I was a Benedictine monk for nearly four years, have spent my working life 43 years at the college run by the Benedictine monks of my former abbey So I have some experience in living as part of an intentional community, and not only as a monk The ethos of Benedict is supposed to permeate our larger academic community, as well as have an impact upon the surrounding area which it does, and has done since the abbey s inception in 1876, both with the Catholic p In the interests of transparency I was a Benedictine monk for nearly four ...Strong on diagnosis Strong on exhortation and commitment Weak on strategic response A worthwhile book overall. Summary A proposal that in the face of pervasive cultural decline that has led to political, theological, and moral compromise within the church, it is time for Christians to consider a kind of strategic withdrawal patterned on the monastic movement founded by St Benedict.The idea of the Benedict Option first came to my attention last summer when I was writing decrying the poisonous discourse, and what I felt was the lack of real choices in our presidential and some other races A friend pos Summary A proposal that in the face of pervasive cultural decline that has led to political, theological, and moral compromise w...This book was quite thought provoking It s one of those books everyone needs to read I don t agree with everything he says, but I agree with waythan I thought I would Some may see this book as extremely alarmist, but I don t think those people hav...no one needsopinions on this book i will endeavor to live my answer to itThe Benedict Option is, as I expected, an outstanding book Rod Dreher has definitively shown that he is the Pope Urban of a new and dynamic movement, and this book has occasioned much commentary in the mainstream press Unfortunately, the main point of Dreher s book to make a countercultural call for individual and group Christian renewal focused on communities of believers has been somewhat lost in a subsidiary point, the real and growing persecution of Christian believers in mainstream soci The Benedict Option is, as I expected, an outstanding book Rod Dreher has definitively shown that he is the Pope Urban of a new and dynamic movement, and this book has occasioned much commentary in the mainstream press Unfortunately, the main point of Dreher s book to make a countercultural call for individual and group Christian renewal focused on communities of believers has been somewhat lost in a subsidiary point, the real and growing persecution of Christian believers in mainstream society This was inevitable, I suppose, because persecution isinteresting to outsiders than a call to holiness, but unfortunate, because it caricatures Dreher and tends to erode receptivity to his message.On the other hand, I also think that Dreher tries to wholly separate those two things, when they are necessarily intertwined If I were forced to produce a criticism of this book, it is that Dreher is too optimistic about the continued existence of a private religious sphere in the world of, and oppose...If you are present in the right circles of the blogosphere or Christian cultural commentary, The Benedict Option is a hot topic if not an outright controversial one Having read Dreher s Crunchy Cons along with probably too many of his blog posts on The American Conservative, I knew exactly what I was in for with The Benedict Option Whether you completely agree with Dreher s premise or not is not reason to dismiss this book There is a copious amount of material that he puts forth that is worth If you are present in the right circles of the blogosphere or Christian cultural commentary, The Benedict Option is a hot topic if not an outright controversial one Having read Dreher s Crunchy Cons along with probably too many of his blog posts on The American Conservative, I knew exactly what I was in for with The Benedict Option Whether you completely agree with Dreher s premise or not is not reason to dismiss this book There is a copious amount of material that he puts forth that is worthy of contemplation and discussion Dreher has an alarmist tone throughout several parts of the book, and he makes a number of absolute statements Don t give your young teenage kids smartphones Period type statements I was never offended by these but some reviewers seems to be sensitive to wisdom from a stranger This book is a go...Dreher is Eastern Orthodox, so I differ with him on several theological points, but his analysis of our cultural situation is spot on, his forecast of what s coming is realistic, and his strategic proposal for how to face it though it perhaps embraces too much of a fortress mentality is com...Katelyn Beaty s review at The Washington Post James K A Smith reviews it in Comment, lasering in on Dreher s alleged alarmism and comparing Dreher s solution to a submarine rather than an ark Smith says something similar, and harsher, at WaPo, and Dreher didn t like it although the pun is irresistible Dreher and Smith have clashed over this before Negative review by a former Benedictine monk.Post publication, Smith wrote a post on the recent use of orthodoxy Dreher s use, although Smi Katelyn Beaty s review at The Washington Post James K A Smith reviews it in Comment, lasering in on Dreher s alleged alarmism and comparing Dreher s solution to a submarine rather than an ark Smith says something similar, and harsher, at WaPo, and Dreher didn t like it although the pun is irresistible Dreher and Smith have clashed over this before Negative review by a former Benedictine monk.Post publication, Smith wrote a post on the recent use of orthodoxy Dreher s use, although Smith doesn t name Dreher claiming that its meaning is tied to conciliar statements church councils, which apart from the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 do not mention sexual ethics Alastair Roberts argued that creeds do not simply provide a minimalistic list of doctrines that determine orthodoxy, but rather provide the grammar by which to articulate Christian ethics Alan Jacobs weighed in here, sidi...A fantastic idea and necessary movement, yet I found this book implemented it poorly It was filled with doom and gloom, mixed with some theologically sound advice as well as a good dose of classic American conservatism, and ultimately, didn t say much beyond, head for the hills The barbarian...

The Benedict Option
  • English
  • 16 July 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 262 pages
  • 0735213291
  • Rod Dreher
  • The Benedict Option