Western views of ascetic theology

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Western views of ascetic theology

Western nations place great value on ascetic theology, which they adopted from the

Latin society. The principles of ascetic applied by western people are mostly based on Latin

culture, which developed the doctrine of spirituality. As per the Latin, teaching asceticism

involves the rejection of earthly pleasures such as marriage and social interactions to serve

God. The Roman catholic adopted ascetical theology to help catholic believers in becoming

spiritually clean. The Western ascetic theology has borrowed most of the Latin concepts that

pioneered the concept of asceticism and celibacy in the Catholic church. Western ascetic

theology mainly relies on exploring the lives of catholic saints believed to have abandoned

earthly pleasure to dedicate their lives to serving God. Western ascetic theology advocates for

people to live a holy and simple life similar to that of Jesus Christ.

Western believers view asceticism as the main qualification for becoming close to

God. According to Western believes, saints who committed their lives to serve God became

more knowledgeable about the kingdom of heaven. As per the Western ascetic believes

heaven is reserved for the holy people free from any form of sin.1 Western views about the

ascetics are primarily based on the Latin religion, which urged missionaries to adopt celibacy

to spread the Gospel. Westerners copied the Latin style of religion, which enabled most nuns

and priests to travel worldwide while preaching the Gospel. Western believers believe that

every Christian should take part in doing God’s work through self-sacrifice and dedication.

They believe that human beings can only achieve spiritual purity through asceticism. Their

belief argued that it was difficult for a man to serve God to full capacity while interacting

with earthly pleasures. World pleasures are the main root cause of evils that barred people

1
Brown, Peter. The body and society: Men, women, and sexual renunciation in early Christianity.
Columbia University Press, 2008.
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from becoming close to God. On the other hand, the Western believes that to serve God fully.

He should separate himself from social affairs in society.

Religious believes in ascetic theology by Westerners highly emphasize women's

purity than men. The Latin based faith mainly urges women to maintain their virginity and

remain focused on serving the church. Westerns argue that women's virginity highly

determines the spiritual purity of a woman.2 The theological teachings also explore the life of

Mary as the only virgin who was blessed by God. The Western teachings use the Biblical

teaching of virgin Mary to insist on females' spiritual purity in society. The Biblical teaching

about Mary argues that for one to be called by God, she must be a virgin. Westerners do not

believe that God speaks to married women simply because of the social status in society.

Married women are highly associated with evil deeds and are not allowed to participate in

religious functions. Western ascetic believes highly undermine the social lives of women

since women were barred from socializing with men. Interaction with men is stated to affect

the spiritual wealth of women in the community. Western ascetics are purely based on the

Italian principles which admired and valued virginity among women. I feel that Western

belief is highly biased since it does not talk of virginity among men.

Westerners believers that marriage is one of the social activities that threaten spiritual

wealth in the Christian faith. Western faith claims that they must choose to stay out of

marriage for one to become spiritually clean. They believe that marriage brings joy and

conflict, which threaten spiritual wealth among believers. The religion disapproves of

marriage among the clergy members. Teachings from the Western not only condemn

marriage but also disapproves of sexual interaction among the clergy members.3 Its argued

that men and women committed to the celibacy rule should not engage in sexual activities.

Westerners' beliefs highly conflict with their Biblical teachings, which encourage men and
2
Ibid……397
3
Ibid……..397
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women to multiply and fill the world. This religion seems to have denied believers their

sexual rights by basing their main argument on spiritual purity. Westerners claim that a man

can enter into the kingdom of heaven without sexual interactions. This religion is highly

flawed since it does not respect the family avenue, which is significant in society.

Additionally, the Western belief holds that marriage and childbearing minimize

people's attention on serving God. Issues such as lack of peace within the family are cited as

the primary sources of conflict between man and spirituality. On the other hand, Western

ascetic theology believes that ascetic people should refrain from wealth acquisition. Holy

people are urged to refrain from economic developments since they sway their focus on

spiritual growth. Baptism is also advocated for by the Western religion, which claims that

baptism helps wash away sins and bring man close to God. Baptized Christians are saved

from sins, and through actions of repentance, their relationship with God is restored. Baptism

and asceticism are viewed as the main qualification for heaven entry. Teachings from the

western religion advocates for the baptism of people pursuing spiritual studies. The ascetic

theology disapproves admission of people without baptism history.

Western ascetic theology does not focus on the concept of inclusivity, which is of

paramount importance in people's unification. This religion highly undermined married

couples in religious activities. Side-lining of the couples in religious functions such as

theological institutions greatly conflicted with the Biblical teachings, advocating equal

opportunities in religious activities.4 Additionally, the Westerns ascetic theology is much

dependent on celibacy as the main sign of holiness. Celibacy and religion in the Western have

encountered severe challenges due to the use of nuns' use of medical procedures to participate

in evil deeds while engaged in church activities.

4
. Ibid………..397
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This research has adequately discussed the Western views about ascetic and their

impact on the community. Critical analysis has been conducted to expose different religious

concepts that support the celibacy rule highly valued by western churches. From this paper,

it's evident that western religion encourages celibacy and virginity among women. The

ideology of virginity retention is centrally addressed to women in the community. This paper

shall help readers and researchers pursuing theology to understand asceticism and its origin in

American society. Exploring this topic has helped me connect the relationship between

Western religion and the Latin religion, which continually advocated for celibacy among the

clergy. To conclude, the Western views of ascetic theology prove that inequality is present in

the religion.
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Bibliography

Brown, Peter. The body and society: Men, women, and sexual renunciation in early

Christianity. Columbia University Press, 2008.