Plough Quarterly No. 33 - The Vows That Bind

In a culture that values keeping options open, making commitments offers something more valuable. The decline of three forms of commitment—marriage, military service, and monastic life—has led to a dissatisfaction with an atomized way of life that undermines ties of solidarity and mutuality. The American Founders were right that the Creator endowed us with an unalienable right of liberty, but he has also endowed us with a desire for unreserved commitment of all we have and are. To take a leap of commitment, even without knowing where one will land, is the way to a happiness worth everything.

Format: Paperback
Length: 120 pages
Publication date: 30 August 2022
Publisher: Plough Publishing House

In a culture that values keeping one's options open, making commitments holds greater significance. The consumerism and instant gratification of "liquid modernity" contribute to a general reluctance to commit, a hesitance to be tied down for the long term. Consider the decline of three forms of commitment that involve giving up options: marriage, military service, and monastic life.

Yet, an increasing number of individuals are questioning whether unprecedented freedom might lead to less flourishing, rather than more. They are dissatisfied with an atomized way of life that presents endless choices of goods, services, and experiences but undermines ties of solidarity and mutuality. They yearn for more heroic virtues, more sacrificial commitments, and more comprehensive visions of the individual and common good.

It turns out that the American Founders were right: the Creator did endow us with an unalienable right of liberty. But he has endowed us with something else as well, a gift that is equally unalienable: a desire for unreserved commitment of all we have and are. Our liberty is given to us so that we, in turn, can freely dedicate ourselves to something greater. Ultimately, to take a leap of commitment, even without knowing where one will land, is the path to a happiness worth everything.

On this theme:
- Lydia S. Dugdale explores what happened to the Hippocratic Oath in modern medicine.
- Caitrin Keiper examines competing vows in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables.
- Kelsey Osgood, an Orthodox Jew, asks why lifestyle discipline is admired in sports but not religion.
- Wendell Berry argues that being on the side of love does not allow one to have enemies.
- Phil Christman spoofs the New York Times Vows column.
- Andreas Knapp shares why he chose poverty.
- Norann Voll recounts the places a vow of obedience took her.
- Carino Ho.

Dimension: 260 x 191 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781636080642