Counter formation

Every rule of life in church history exhibits counter-formation by intentionally contrasting the cultural currents of their time. For instance, Saint Francis founded his order as a response to the shift from a trade economy to a money economy, introducing vows of poverty to combat the idolization of wealth. This phenomenon reflects G.K. Chesterton's notion that each generation is converted by saints who contradict prevailing norms, emphasizing the need for rules of life to shape individuals into holy contradictions to the contemporary idols.

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