In this third and final volume of the Religious Life in a New Millennium series, Sandra Schneiders continues her rethinking of the traditional religious vows in the context of postmodernism. She reaches back into the gospels for the meaning of “world” in order to discern the meaning of renunciation of the “world” by religious, and how that tradition needs to be rethought for our times while keeping in mind the prophetic character of religious life that enables witness and ministry. The vow of poverty is examined, both in its economic and spiritual sense (that is, religious life as an alternate economy and the poverty of spirit needed in the quest for God). Finally—and this is the part that made this so difficult to write, Sandra examines the vow of obedience, taking into account the role that blind obedience played in the Holocaust and other wrongs committed by misuse of power and authority. She concludes by synthesizing all three volumes.
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