Theocracies are not new, of course. They spring up all throughout history (and literature), sometimes as a result of a group that sees itself as a “remnant” and splits off from a larger religious culture, and sometimes they come about as a result of a reactive or pro-active stance against the wider “secular city.” In a world that many describe as “post Christendom” a Christian “city of God” seems newsworthy:
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The Ave Maria community website.
You can read a Newsweek story here.
What do you think? Would you buy a home and rear children in such a place? Is this what “discipleship” means? What questions or issues does this type of community raise in your mind?
No, this sort of separatism has never appealed to me, and I’m pretty sure it’s not the best way to raise thoughtful mature adults. There was a big article about Monaghan in the New Yorker this winter: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/02/19/070219fa_fact_boyer. Interesting guy.