Luke Burgis: belief

Transcript context

…The original Cluny was also a pioneer of accounting techniques. Is that correct? I know that a Franciscan invented double-entry accounting. I know that, but he wasn’t associated with Cluny. There were all kinds of innovations, architectural innovations, agricultural, winemaking innovations that happened. It was really the largest church in the world for 300 years, the most important institution in Europe, in my opinion. It was the center of innovation in Europe, out of the liturgical renewal that it instituted, and it welcomed people in. Monasteries, the Benedictine tradition, has always been known for hospitality. No matter who you were, if you’re sick, if you’re poor, if you’re traveling, if you’re a pilgrim, you could knock on the door, and you would be let in, and you could stay for a day or two or longer, and then you would be sent on your way. Cluny actually popularized the Camino de Santiago. They’re the first ones that would send people on the Camino de Santiago. I could go on and on about all the things that Cluny did, but the people that came into contact with it—it was worldly in the sense that it interacted with politicians, with builders, with the Romanesque, the masons in Italy. It was incredibly worldly in that it opened its door to all of those people and interacted with them, and then somehow shaped them. Is there a lay version of that? I’m obviously not trying to build a monastery. I’m not a monk, but I’m inspired by the way that it existed in the world as a sign of something completely different. Before the last two questions, just another plug for your book. The title is The One and the Ninety-Nine: Forging Identity in the Age of Social Contagion. Last two questions. First, I’m sure you’ve been following the case of Ben Sasse as of late. How do you think you will deal with your pending death?…

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