3/16/00

The Editor of the Wesleyan Christian Advocate

Greetings in Christ:

A monastery is a community of two or more people (regardless of gender) where Christ is thought of as a member. A marriage is a special-case monastery, namely one man and one woman. With the freedom given to us in Christ, and with the goal of the communalism of the first church at Jerusalem, right reason itself requires our church eagerly to bless any seriously intended monastery. The property of the monastery is, of course, owned in common, for that comes with counting Christ a member. The traditional, external proof of devotion (each member to the other) will continue, also of course, i.e., no sexual contact with anyone not a member of the monastery. [Now this is not a requirement that the members of the monastery, e.g., a husband and wife of a marriage, actually have sex with each other, but only that they not do so with anyone not belonging to their monastery.] Otherwise, with regard to the relationships within a given monastery, and since "all things are lawful" members are empowered to formulate together whatever rules they find expedient (and which [expediency] is generally determined by the experience in the monastery). The general rule is John 15:12.

Your brother in Christ

/s/ Philip McPherson Rudisill