The spirit and origin of Christian monasticism

The spirit and origin of Christian monasticism

Author: Birmingham, George A., 1865-1950

Year: 1903

CONTENTS Preface page xiii List of Authorities and Authors cited page xvii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY - PROTESTANTISM AND THE ASCETIC SPIRIT Divergence between Catholics and Protestants in their conception of the Christian life - The Catholic ideal — the ascetic life — The Protestant ideal — the life of good citizenship — Protestant opposition to the Catholic ideal — The ascetic ideal unrepresented in English literature — objections to the ascetic ideal easily understood in the case of philosophic historians — men of science — liberal thinkers of the nineteenth century — Harder to understand in the case of Protestantism, a religion — Probable reasons — degeneracy of monks at the time of the Reformation — Luther's assertion of "justification by faith alone" — the humanist spirit which found for itself a home in Protestantism — Protestantism has never succeeded in expelling the ascetic ideal — Ascetic spirit of the German and Dutch Anabaptists — the Quakers — John Wesley and the Methodists — the Shakers — the Plymouth Brethren — Tolstoi and his followers — Study of the ascetic spirit in Christianity to be approached from the historic standpoint page 3 CHAPTER II ASCETICISM IN THE APOSTOL