Lay people can apply Christ’s teachings to the problems at hand, for example they can speak out about problems such as violence or drugs. They can also help by aiding the problems at hand by donating money to charities or by going on missions to poor, underdeveloped countries. They can also defend through prayer or teach the faith through reading at church or doing missionary work.
A.2. Explain why some Christians join communities and take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
When Christians take on religious orders they make a ‘vow’ to God to express their love for God. The word ‘vow’ means a promise made to God, it is an act of faith and a statement that they will always love God through the good and bad times.
There are two types of religious order- Contemplative and Apostolic. Members of Contemplative orders live an enclosed life, away from society. Their life is dedicated to prayer and even though they don’t physically help the outside world, they do it pray for it. Where as members of Apostolic orders are active in the world. Unlike members of Contemplative orders they physically help others through missions to underdeveloped, poor countries, where they nurse the ill or sick and generally serve the peoples needs. Many members do work social work in parishes and so on in their own countries.
There are 3 vows a person takes when entering a religious order, they are poverty, chastity and obedience. Each vow taken is considered to make you closer to God; they believe God will provide you with the strength to obey each vow.
The vow poverty means that members of a religious order have no personal possessions. Material possessions like a big house and car can distract you from God, therefore not being bound down by these possessions means you can totally focus on the work God wants you to do such as helping others and so on.
The vow chastity means that any member of a religious order will not be married or have a sexual partner. Similarly to the vow of poverty having a partner or family may take your focus off God and affect you work for God. For example it would be unfair to take a family abroad to help people living poverty, therefore you can’t do the work God wants you to do.
The vow obedience basically means to be dedicated to God and the work you do for God. Members of a religious order must be committed to their work and must obey the authority of the leaders of their order.
A.3. Explain the purpose and practice of ONE particular religious community.
In the 6th century St. Columba used the small Scottish island of Iona for his base to pass on the Christian message to the pagans of northern England. The community eventually died out, but in 1983 Rev. George Macleod decided to rectify the monastery built there in the 6th century and its community, he did so with a group unemployed people from Glasgow. He wanted them to experience living in such a community and hope the experience would increase their quality of life when they returned to Glasgow. Presently Iona has over 200 full members and over 800 associate members in its community, none of which live on the island, but they all visit for week each year.
The men and women, living through Britain with a few overseas are all committed to a rule involving daily devotional discipline, sharing and accounting for their use of time and money, and regular meeting with other members. They are all committed to spend time each day reading the bible, praying and working for peace and justice in their own community at home. The community seeks new ways of living the gospel in today’s society. The community is committed to ‘rebuilding the common life’ through working for social and political change and each member gives 10% of their money to the church.
I suppose it means a lot to the members, as they are so committed and enthusiastic in their own communities. The community Iona must be enjoyable when visiting the island, which involves weeklong programmes, to extend horizons and forge relationships through sharing an experience of the common life of worship, work and relaxation. A previous member Sheila Lyall, says ‘I’ve had a long connection with Iona and am delighted to be on the Island for the next three years. I have lived and worked in Scotland most of my life, nowadays, I describe myself as a ‘recovering’ social worker having taken early retirement four years ago. Being apart of Iona as changed my life immensely and hopefully through the social work I am doing, I can help others in my own community.’
B. Give you response to the view that:
“Christians should lead active rather than contemplative lives.” Give reasons for you answer, showing that you have considered different points if view.
I agree with the statement “Christians should lead active rather than contemplative lives.” I agree because it is a lot more practical and helpful to those in need physically. I believe prayer cant save the dieing in ‘the South’, or change the selfishness of ‘the North’ because Christianity has been round for thousands of years and the situation of poverty has only got worse. I believe praying to God cant fix the evil in the world because God gave us freewill, therefore any moral evil in our world is our fault and only we can rectify it. We see in the bible that Jesus was constantly active, helping others and preaching the word of God, and the fact that Christians should follow in the footsteps of Jesus shows that modern day Christians should be active in the world. At the Pentecost we see God’s will for Christians to be active in the world, the coming of the Holy Spirit is symbolic of this, because it provided the apostles with strength and courage to preach the word of God.
I can see why people would disagree with the statement because the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience taken ethicise the importance of focusing on God, therefore being enclosed away from society could be what God intended because you would be totally focused on God and your work for God. Though no one knows for sure what Christians work for God should be, whether active in the world or not, praying for the world can be helpful, as prayer is ethicised as a powerful thing in the bible. Jesus often prayed in times of need, for example Jesus prayed to God in Gethsemane, and Jesus often prayed for others so they could be saved. Therefore praying for others who don’t pray could be very beneficial and necessary for them, as God can save them when the end comes. Also there is a risk of being involved in material possessions or finding a partner when you are active in the world. This is shown in the parable of ‘the young rich man’, were the man asked Jesus what else he needed to do to gain eternal life, when Jesus said he had to give away all his possessions the man went away sad ‘for he was a man of great wealth’ (Mark 10:17-22). Therefore being enclosed away from the world prevents the risk of defying God.
I conclude after looking at both points of view that I still agree with the statement. I believe it is better for Christians to be active in the world because physical help in poor, underdeveloped countries can prevent suffering and can help improve people’s quality of life. I believe it is more necessary than an enclosed life dedicated to prayer because it is more effective and useful. I do not think praying and worshipping God for a living is wrong because no one knows for sure what God wants us to do in his own convoluted creation.