School(s) for Conversion: 12 Marks of a New Monasticism

'At the end of his book, After Virtue, Alistair MacIntyre hints at a new kind of monasticism: ''What matters.is the construction of local forms of community within which civility and the intellectual and moral life can be sustained through the new dark ages which are already upon us.'' The editors of this book--members of an intentional Christian community in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Durham, North Carolina--have compiled twelve essays in an attempt to discern the marks of a new monasticism that will guide these burgeoning communities in faithful, consistent witness. Taking the Rule of St. Benedict as their primary monastic model, these new monastics likewise seek, above all, the kingdom of God, and they understand the vivifying effect monasticism has had, and continues to have, on the church throughout history. The contributors are Catholics and Baptists, Methodists and Mennonites. They write about humility, hospitality, formation, community, contemplation, economics, peaceful resistance, and common rule. They represent at least five laboring and devoted communities across the United States. Each of these communities has sought ''relocation to abandoned places of empire'' in the belief that a consistent direction will turn the heart away from distortion and towards God and the new Jerusalem. Their vision of spiritual transformation is (to quote Stanley Hauerwas) ''full of good sense,'' reminding us that only God ''makes it possible for us to live patiently and nonviolently in a world of impatience and violence.''. …