Conversatio Morum!

I love history. Several times I have read or listened to Shelby Foote’s The Civil War: A Narrative – his 3-volume, ~3000-page narrative of the war between the states. I have also worked through Flavious Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews, the first-century, 20-volume historiographical account of the Jewish people from creation to the 70 AD siege and fall of Jerusalem. You might say I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to history.

I am also drawn to Church history. I have read Justo Gonzalez’s 2-volume work, The Story of Christianity (a very good read, by the way). I have read it twice and listened to it a couple of times (while working in my wood shop)!

Historically, early Christian thought and behavior were influenced by the desert fathers, the monastics who literally stole away to the Egyptian wilderness area to learn spiritual formation. You might be familiar with The Rule of Benedict (circa AD 530) which has become popular in recent years thanks to people like John Mark Comer. The Rule is a basic plan to follow Jesus, to hold true to a commitment to be a disciple. “Rule” was Benedict’s term. It described the way of life of the serious Christ-follower. Remember that the early Christian movement was initially described as The Way.

While reading about Benedict, the term conversatio morum surfaced.

Conversatio morum is a term that is difficult to translate into English. Scholars debate Benedict’s intent as they study and interpret his Rule. Some of the various translations include conversion of life, reformation of life, and constant conversion. Benedict appears to have used conversatio morum to describe fidelity to a “monastic way of life” signifying a life-long commitment to spiritual growth and transformation. In non-monastic terms, it represents a life-long commitment to be a disciple of Jesus with the associated transformation.

Of the translated phrases, the related terms conversion of life and constant conversion, piqued my interest. In Western thinking, conversion tends to be viewed as a one-time, transactional event. An example is the accepted view that the Apostle Paul was “converted” on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Paul was not converted from unbelief to belief. He was a believer in God who started thinking differently after meeting Jesus. (See also Here I Am).

Conversatio is the root of the English word conversation. At its core, conversation has more to do with listening than speaking – listening with the understanding that conversation can lead to a change of thought and mind (not how we tend to view conversation today!).

Change of mind? The word repent comes to mind.

The English word repent used throughout the New Testament is a translation of the Greek word metanoeō, which simply means “think differently.” When we bring these aspects together, our focus will be on maintaining a constant state of conversion, remaining open to reevaluating our beliefs. And remaining in continuous conversation with God, the one who can change our minds if we have ears to hear.

However, the concept of constant conversion is a bit unnerving, especially for us Western thinkers. We want things neat and tidy. We want to discover and nail down “the truth.” We want certainty. God doesn’t often provide the certainty we desire. If he did, we wouldn’t need him anymore. We wouldn’t need to be in constant conversation with him. We wouldn’t need to continue in his word. We wouldn’t have to risk a change of mind.

The concept of constant conversion should keep us humble. It should help us to listen to one another. It should keep us curious and asking questions. Once we convince ourselves that we know all we need to about God, we are further away from the truth than when we started.

“We are closer to God when we are asking questions than when we think we have the answers.” (Abraham Joshua Heschel)¹

I remember a New Testament scholar,* in speaking of the concept of constant conversion, saying that we must be born again, again. Until we truly get comfortable with not knowing, we’ll have a hard time seeing/entering the Kingdom that demands us to be constantly rethinking, constantly converting, and declaring death to our personal status quo. Maybe that’s what Jesus was intimating when he told the Pharisee, Nicodemus…

Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. (John 3:3)

A ministry colleague of mine has a standard question he includes during job interviews: “Tell me about something you used to believe but then you changed your mind” or the corollary, “Tell me about something you believe today that you didn’t use to.” He wants people on his team who are still searching, learning, and open to change. Constant conversion.

The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news! (Jesus, Mark 1:15)

¹Heschel, A. J. (2005). Who is man? Stanford University Press.

* I don’t remember who said this and have been unable to find the source in my notes on my laptop or hard drives. 🫤