Do Not Judge Anyone - by Isaac Slater (Paperback)

About the Book

"In "Do Not Judge Anyone" Isaac Slater, OCSO, reflects on the desert fathers' teachings and practice of not judging with a focus on contemporary life. Interweaving sources from East and West, ancient and modern, Slater finds points of contact between the first monks and figures like Dostoevsky, Simone Weil, and in the teaching and witness of Pope Francis"--

Book Synopsis

A monastic approach to everyday living that applies Jesus's teaching of radical non-judgement as a balm for the polarized environment commonly found in the Church and the world today.

Too often Christianity has been hijacked by the superego and the good news of grace has been compromised by fear and the rationalization of violence. In "Do Not Judge Anyone" Cistercian monk Isaac Slater reflects on the desert fathers' teachings and practice of not judging with a focus on contemporary life. Interweaving sources from East and West, ancient and modern, Slater finds profound points of contact between the first monks and figures like Dostoevsky and Simone Weil, and in the teaching and witness of Pope Francis. "Do Not Judge Anyone" offers a radical, refreshing, and deeply hopeful vision of the gospel for the twenty-first century.

Following closely Jesus's injunction to "Stop judging!" the first Christian monks strongly emphasized the practice of not judging others as central to the gospel ethos. Through captivating and sometimes enigmatic sayings and stories of the desert fathers, Slater shares a monastic approach to everyday living that applies Jesus's teaching of radical non-judgement as a balm for the polarized environment commonly found in the Church and the world today.

Review Quotes

""Do Not Judge Anyone" is a jewel of a book. It puts in full display Slater's many years of disciplined study and the keen insight that has resulted from it, leading the reader toward a wiser and more compassionate way of living in the world. Read with attention, curiosity, and humility, this meditation on non-judgment becomes a kind of lectio divina, or holy reading."
Vanessa Zuisei Goddard, author of Still Running: The Art of Meditation in Motion

-- (10/28/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"A beautiful and honest reflection on what it might mean for us, personally and collectively, to refrain from judging others. And how the practice of non-judgement can help us create lives of healing love. Never have we needed this vision of inclusive love more than we do now."
Douglas E. Christie, professor emeritus of theological studies, Loyola Marymount University, and author of The Insurmountable Darkness of Love
-- (11/11/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"Navigating the complexity of human life with grace and a touch of humor, Isaac Slater moves us past the adrenaline rush of righteous indignation towards a practice of mercy. Drawing wisdom from both East and West, Slater overcomes the divide between me and you, us and them. Such an approach does not ignore sin, but rather refuses to let sin set the agenda. This is a wise and timely book in an age of division."
William T. Cavanaugh, professor of Catholic studies, DePaul University-- (11/4/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"Slater's "Do Not Judge Anyone" is a remarkable testament to just how great a gift the monastic vocation is to church and world alike. To a world and church often in thrall to phantastical images of self and others, images that distort the icon of God that lies hidden at the heart of every single one of us, Slater extends a spirituality characterized by that gentle, ruthless, peaceful, transparent, capacious, discerning, and eminently hopeful spirit that liberates us from our addiction to endless conflict. I will be using this lucid and accessible book in the classroom. Indeed, I will be returning to it again and again myself when I need to remember what it means to say: "For freedom Christ set us free" (Gal 5:1)."
Jordan Daniel Wood, Assistant Professor of Theology, Belmont University-- (10/29/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"Most books are good enough if they mirror back to the reader what is already known and provide a new version of interesting content, but this book is more than enough, it's brilliant! Monk Isaac Slater, OCSO, has done his lectio. We can read this book and learn how to do a restart of our practice."
Sister Meg Funk, Benedictine nun, Beech Grove Indiana, author of Renouncing Violence-- (10/14/2024 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Isaac Slater, OCSO, is a monk of the Abbey of the Genesee in New York, where he currently serves as novice director and infirmarian. He is the author of Beyond Measure: The Poetics of the Image in Bernard of Clairvaux (Cistercian Publications) and This and That: Selected Short Poems of Ryokan (2026 Monkfish Publishing). He has published two collections of poems, Surpassing Pleasure (Porcupine's Quill), Lean (Grey Borders), along with a co-translation, The Tangled Braid: Ninety-Nine Poems by Hafiz of Shiraz (Fons Vitae).