Stepping Away from The Story of Monasticism

5:24 PM EDT Thursday.

We are now slightly more than halfway through Eastertide 2026, and I must confess the season has so far not proceeded quite as I originally envisioned. I finished my first reading of The Story of Monasticism by Greg Peters, but I have not written any further articles about this pivotal book. Nor have I relabeled a large batch of posts on this blog or assiduously attended to my office work from 3-4 PM every day. With God's grace, let's see if I can improve on this moving forward.

I am more than half-inclined to compile a basic chronology of monasticism, but that will have to wait until the fall of 2026. As it stands right now, I am about to begin a 120-day deep dive into the Rule of Benedict. If and when I do turn my attention to constructing said chronology, I will want to revisit The Monks of Qumran by Edmund F. Sutcliffe - and with it the question of an implicit Essene influence on the development of Christian monasticism.

On the other side of the monastic discernment coin, I've ordered Luther's Works, Volume 44: Christian in Society I. This will support my study of a second book by Greg Peters titled Reforming the Monastery: Protestant Theologies of the Religious Life. Depending on the outcome of the study, I may or may not make a five-year monastic vow on my 55th birthday.

Video link: What can Protestants learn from monasticism? Greg Peters.