“Nothing Is to Be Preferred to the Work of God”: Cultivating Monastic Detachment for a Postindustrial Work Ethic

Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics 35 (1):45-61 (2015)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Traditional terms for theology of work, including co-creation and vocation, tend to overvalue work, abetting the alienating conditions of postindustrial labor. To develop a theology that can help workers make sense of work's expansion, abstractness, and precarity, this essay proposes a postindustrial ethic of selective detachment from work. The Benedictine tradition offers a model. According to the Benedictine Rule, monastic work is important as a penitential practice but is strictly circumscribed, with prescriptions to forestall overinvestment in work. By detaching themselves from work, monastics cannot place labor ahead of prayer. In the medieval economy, monastic labor demonstrated work's role in sanctification. Today, the Benedictine Rule demonstrates the need for worldly ascetical practices that will limit work so it does not inhibit someone seeking holiness.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive

    This entry is not archived by us. If you are the author and have permission from the publisher, we recommend that you archive it. Many publishers automatically grant permission to authors to archive pre-prints. By uploading a copy of your work, you will enable us to better index it, making it easier to find.

    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 102,440

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

A Kenotic Struggle for Dignity.Jonathan Malesic - 2016 - Journal of Religious Ethics 44 (3):403-424.
The Concept of Labor: Marx and His Critics.Sean Sayers - 2007 - Science and Society 71 (4):431 - 454.
A New Protestant Labor Ethic at Work.Pamela K. Brubaker - 2004 - Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics 24 (2):212-215.
Holiness in the Making.Stephan van Erp - 2017 - Journal of Religious Ethics 45 (2):278-290.
The Refusal of Work in Christian Ethics and Theology.Jeremy Posadas - 2017 - Journal of Religious Ethics 45 (2):330-361.

Analytics

Added to PP
2015-09-04

Downloads
36 (#644,964)

6 months
6 (#797,367)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Citations of this work

A Kenotic Struggle for Dignity.Jonathan Malesic - 2016 - Journal of Religious Ethics 44 (3):403-424.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references