The Desert Fathers of Egypt were the first hermits. They withdrew from society at the very time that society was being Christianized. As the church became popular, it compromised its standards. Those hungry for God flew into the desert to find a real encounter with the living God.
The Desert Fathers
As Thomas Merton writes about the Desert Fathers:
“These were men who believed that to let oneself drift along, passively accepting the tenants and values of what they knew as society, was purely and simply a disaster…. These men seem to have thought… that there is really no such thing as a ‘Christian state.’ They seem to have doubted that Christianity and politics could ever be mixed to such an extent as to produce a fully Christian society.”
Politics
People think politics is the answer, it is not. A country is only as good as it’s individual citizens. If what a better society, make better citizens. Changing the politicians doesn’t change people’s hearts.
Sick Society
A wise man once said, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a sick society.” Our society is sick, because its citizens are sick. They have a fallen nature that twists all they think, say, or do. Sin is selfishness, and selfishness is the root of all moral evil.