Disputed Questions [Paperback]

Thomas Merton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 1985

These essays explore the coming together of the active and the contemplative life and the relationship of individuals to society. Merton’s writing is both lively and profound as he leads the reader through the hard questions of modern existence. “Merton was...one of the most prophetic Catholic writers of our time” (New Republic). Preface by Father M. Louis.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was born in France and came to live in the United States at the age of 24. He received several awards recognizing his contribution to religious study and contemplation, including the Pax Medal in 1963, and remained a devoted spiritualist and a tireless advocate for social justice until his death in 1968. The Sign of Jonas was originally published in 1953.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (April 26, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156261057
• ISBN-13: 978-0156261050
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #889,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) is arguably the most influential American Catholic author of the twentieth century. His autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, has millions of copies and has been translated into over fifteen languages. He wrote over sixty other books and hundreds of poems and articles on topics ranging from monastic spirituality to civil rights, nonviolence, and the nuclear arms race.

After a rambunctious youth and adolescence, Merton converted to Roman Catholicism and entered the Abbey of Gethsemani, a community of monks belonging to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists), the most ascetic Roman Catholic monastic order.

The twenty-seven years he spent in Gethsemani brought about profound changes in his self-understanding. This ongoing conversion impelled him into the political arena, where he became, according to Daniel Berrigan, the conscience of the peace movement of the 1960's. Referring to race and peace as the two most urgent issues of our time, Merton was a strong supporter of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which he called "certainly the greatest example of Christian faith in action in the social history of the United States." For his social activism Merton endured severe criticism, from Catholics and non-Catholics alike, who assailed his political writings as unbecoming of a monk.

During his last years, he became deeply interested in Asian religions, particularly Zen Buddhism, and in promoting East-West dialogue. After several meetings with Merton during the American monk's trip to the Far East in 1968, the Dali Lama praised him as having a more profound understanding of Buddhism than any other Christian he had known. It was during this trip to a conference on East-West monastic dialogue that Merton died, in Bangkok on December 10, 1968, the victim of an accidental electrocution. The date marked the twenty-seventh anniversary of his entrance to Gethsemani.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Deep Insights, February 16, 2004

By 

Brad Shorr "Brad Shorr" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Disputed Questions (Paperback)

Although this collection of essays covers a wide variety of subjects, from the roots of the Carmelite order to current (1960) political issues, it has an important connecting theme, the nature of the individual's relationship to society. My favorite selections were:

"The Pasternak Affair" is a penetrating analysis of Pasternak's work and his poetic struggle to be human in a harshly dehumanizing communist society. In addition, Merton's commentary touches on how our own "free" society is in a much more insidious way nearly as dehumanizing. Clearly, Merton, who had some correspondence with Pasternak, dearly loved the man and his work.

"The Power and Meaning of Love" is one of the most beautiful explorations of what it means to love and be loved that I have read.

"Philosophy of Solitude" boldly asserts that we are all solitaries; the only question is whether we accept it or run away from it. Society, in a sense, is nothing more than a structure of distractions that enables us to ignore our intrinsic lonliness. However, if we turn and face our solitary nature, we can discover that we are not empty at all, but full of God. Merton explains with magnificent clarity how we should pursue this discovery, and how to avoid the pitfalls that can lead us, with the best of spiritual intentions, astray.

Very hard to go wrong with this book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Departure, February 27, 2007

By 

JMack (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Disputed Questions (Paperback)

This book seems to be somewhat of a departure from Merton's other work in the sense that it lacks the focus on spritual philosophy that makes him such a valuable writer. Where other books by Merton seem to have a clear theme, this seems to be a mixed bag of disputed topics from Merton's time and other eras.

The first third of the book dwells on the "Pasternak Affair" and Pasternak's novel "Dr. Zhivago". Not being familiar with Pasternak's book, I felt as though I was reading a literary review which was not able to grab my attention. The one section that made me reflect were the sections on religious art and church decorations. At a certain point, does the art distract one from the idea behind the art, causing the art to lose meaning? Another section focuses on the evolution of the Camelite order. This is not a bad section, but it is dramatic shift in theme from the previous themes and skews the focus.

While spiritual reflections are present, they are scattered. Merton does reflect on the solitary life saying, "It is much easier ... to have the will of God filtered to us quietly through society, through the decrees of man, through the orders of others." With this being one of the more outstanding notes, this book is obviously not as well known in the scope of Merton's work for a reason.