What is this blog?
My interest in Substack started with the technology writings of
. It developed when my friend started to write about how Christians can learn from historical traditions how to live in our modern culture.I don’t have the philosophy groundings of Sacasas nor the historical groundings of Hunneshagen. But I try my best to read broadly, and my writing is often inspired by anthropology and, of course, by the Catholic faith.
So the Dominic Option, inspired by these sources, provides a weekly essay on how Christians should relate to culture, technology, and the world.
What is the Dominic option?
Three of the greatest religious founders in the Catholic Church were Saints Benedict, Ignatius, and Dominic.
Saint Benedict counselled a withdrawal from the world to live in enclosed monasteries. His followers would never get stained by culture, technology, or other people - but they would also miss out on good aspects of the world.
Saint Ignatius counselled his followers to engage with the world fully. They would do all that they had to do in the world - but they would also struggle greatly with the hard choices the world gave them.
Saint Dominic proposed a vita mixta. “He gave his days to man and his nights to God.” His followers would stay in the monasteries to grow in virtue, but would also use their virtue by working in the world.
We live in a world that provides us lots of challenges. How should we relate to our culture, to our technology, and to our world, in an environment that has advanced so rapidly it’s hard to keep up?
A few years ago, there was a lot of chatter about taking “the Benedict option.” Build our own culture, ignore technology, and retreat from the world. This is a good path for men like Benedict. But we can’t all retreat from the world.
I propose that we engage with the world when it is right to do so, but also take time to retreat and reflect. I propose that we take the Dominic option.
The goal of this blog is to help us do this. It’s an exploration for me, and can hopefully be an exploration for others, of how to engage with the culture, with technology, and with others in the world, while also leaving enough room to retreat. The goal of this blog is to help its readers (and its writer) live out The Dominic Option.
Please join us!
I’d love to hear what you think about the blog. Please feel free to leave comments or to shoot me an e-mail. And if you’d like to start your own blog, visit substack.com and let me know so I can check it out.
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