The universal brotherhood of man is our most precious possession.
–Mark Twain
Eberhard Arnold writes that God created the earth in such a way that calls for communal order. He suggests that we have been created to live in community. Community is simply a reflection of nature.
Thomas Merton writes that we must allow God to reside at the foundation of our communities, rather than ourselves. He reminds us of the life of Ghandi, and that while love takes more effort and creativity than its alternative, it accomplishes much good.
Steven Brint defines community as “aggregates of people who share common activities and or beliefs and who are bound together principally by relations of affect, loyalty, common values and or personal concern (i.e. interest in the personalities and life events of one another) (8).”
Crispin Sartwell: “Communities are where people come face to face, were people can actually know each other and find a way of life together. Second, communities are made by exclusions: by excluding others or by being excluded by others: usually bother” (48).
Jean Vanier, founder of the L’Arche communities, writes of community as belonging, community as openness and community as caring. According to Vanier, community is where people can find their identity. Where there is acceptance and love, there is peace and belonging; there is openness. Community allows for belonging. While good and true community should bring freedom, Vanier does comment on the possible exclusivity that can accompany community. When a community becomes cut off from others, that community can develop fear and discomfort with those not in the community. To shy from this, communities should be open and loving and thus, they will be liberating.
As Vanier writes of community as openness, he says that communities should not form on the basis of similarity but rather; they should form by reasons to love and show compassion to others. When a community is open, there is freedom and accountability.
Community as caring is a community that truly cares for one another, and one another’s personal growth. It need not be committed to itself, but rather, to the inner part of each member. Vanier puts it well when he writes; “Community as such is never an end in itself. It is people and love and communion with God that are the goal” (22).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer is quoted by author Esther de Waal: “He who loves community, destroys community; he who love the brethren, builds community” (139).
Henri Nouwen writes that community is "That place where the person you least want to live with always lives" (found quoted by author Peter Marty).
Henri Nouwen writes that community is "That place where the person you least want to live with always lives" (found quoted by author Peter Marty).
Sources:
Arnold, Eberhard. "Why We Live in Community, a Free Ebook to Download by Eberhard Arnold." Plough Publishing - Resources for Christian Living - Articles and Free Christian Books to Download - .pdf, .epub(Nook), and .prc(Kindle) Ebooks. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. <http://www.plough.com/ebooks/whycommunity.html>.
Brint, Steven. "Gemeinschaft Revisited: A Critique and Reconstruction of the Community." <http://www.asanet.org/images/members/docs/pdf/featured/soth125.pdf>
De Waal, Esther. Seeking God: the way of the St. Benedict. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2001. Print.
Marty, Peter W.. "Community as a Way Of Life." religion online. Religion-Online , n.d. Web. 4 May 2011. <http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=3265>
Vanier, Jean. Community and growth . London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1979. Print.