For the Desert Fathers, the flight to the desert was a way of escaping conformity to the world. The world, including the Church, had become so dominated by secular materialism that, for them the only way to witness against it was to withdraw from it. They were seeking to revive true Christian devotion and simplicity of life by intense renunciation. Their experience has particular relevance, because modern society is uncomfortably like the world that they attacked so vigorously. Their world asked, “How can I get more?” The Desert Fathers asked, “What can I do without?” Their world asked, “How can I find myself?” The Desert Fathers asked, “How can I lose myself?” Their world asked, “How can I win friends and influence people?” The Desert Fathers asked, “How can I love God?”

—Richard Foster, Freedom of Simplicity