_Monasticism and Religion_
No doctrine in theology, or practice of religion, has been free from
monastic influences. An adequate treatment of this theme would require
volumes instead of paragraphs. A few points, however, may be touched
upon by way of suggestion to those who may wish to pursue the
subject further.
The effect of the monastic ideal was to emphasize the sinfulness of man
and his need of redemption. To get rid of sin--that is the problem of
humanity. A quaint formula of monastic confession reads: "I confess all
the sins of my body, of my flesh, of my bones and sinews, of my veins
and cartilages, of my tongue and lips, of my ears, teeth and hair, of my
marrow and any other part whatsoever, whether it be soft or hard, wet or
dry." This emphasis on man's sinfulness and the need of redemption was
sadly needed in Rome and all down the ages. "It was a protest," says
Clarke, "against pleasure as the end of life ... It proved the reality
of the religious sentiment to a skeptical age.... If this long period of
self-torture has left us no other gain, let us value it as a proof that
in man religious aspiration is innate, unconquerable, and able to
triumph over all that the world hopes and over all that it fears."
Thus the monks helped to keep alive the enthusiasm of religion. There
was a fervor, a devotion, a spirit of sacrifice, in the system, which
acted as a corrective to the selfish materialism of the early and middle
ages.
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