The Original Benedict Option Guidebook: Benedict of Nursia's Own Rules for Living Christian Community in a Post-Christian Society (Resources for the Benedict Option)

The writings of St. Benedict newly translated and topically organized with commentary for practical application. When Rod Dreher published his book The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation in 2017, he had already been speaking about the concept of the Benedict Option (or BenOp, for short) for a number of years. Dreher's original articulation of the Benedict Option took its inspiration not only from a 6th century holy monk from Nursia, Italy, but also in part from the highly influential work of Alisdair MacIntyre, After Virtue. Both MacIntyre and Dreher (and many others in between and since) call out the fact that modern society in the secular global West is no longer conducive to the Christian way of life in any meaningful sense of the term-and that this has been the case for in fact quite some time.The Benedict Option was proposed by Rod Dreher as a strategy for Christians living in a post-Christian world, but that strategy has been around for over 1,500 years, and this book you right now hold in your hands is the original guidebook (the OG, if you will) from Benedict himself for how to do it. Let us be bold and follow where Christ our Master is leading us and, following this way, we will come to the wellsprings of new and everlasting life. This book contains the most important wisdom in Benedict's own words, organized topically in a fresh and accessible modern translation, along with commentary on Benedict's own advice on putting the Benedict Option into practice. Additionally included are two essays: On Christian Culture & What We Can Learn from the Monastery.