One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths (Hardcover)

by Matthew Fox (Author) "If humanity is to draw wisdom from all its wisdom traditions, then our relation to Creation will form the basis of this interchange..." (more)
Key Phrases: spiritual warriorhood, deep ecumenism, techno cosmic masses, Thich Nhat Hanh, Meister Eckhart, Thomas Aquinas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Who but Matthew Fox--former Dominican priest, author of countless influential books such as Original Blessing and The Reinvention of Work, silenced by the Vatican for his controversial statements about creation spirituality, and now an Episcopal priest--would combine rave dances with a religious mass? And who else would now attempt such a distillation of the world's religions as this book brings us? Combining writings from a multitude of spiritual traditions, Fox here puts into practice the idea of deep ecumenism that he has been exploring in a series of books going back to The Coming of the Cosmic Christ in 1989. To accomplish this task, Fox focuses on four categories of spiritual inquiry that he sees running like a river through all spiritual traditions: how we relate to creation, to divinity, to ourselves (this includes topics such as meditation, art, ritual, sexuality), and, finally, how we relate to the future, a section that explores issues of service and compassion, justice and spiritual warriorhood. He then concludes with "18 New Myths and Visions" that summarize his central message.

Simplicity and clarity are the goals of this book. To achieve this Fox weaves his own brief commentary through a series of quotations drawn from a myriad of traditions. While it may be faulted by some for this method of making easy connections between traditions, the book serves its purpose as a kind of primer for deep ecumenism. It will be especially useful for those new to such ideas, and to those who might otherwise never meet Hildegard of Bingen and Julian of Norwich, Hafiz, and the Sufi Ibn Arabi--not to mention Thomas Aquinas, physicist Werner Heisenberg, and geologian Thomas Berry--all sharing each other's company. --Doug Thorpe

From Publishers Weekly
Fox, who broke from his Roman Catholic roots with his earlier books The Coming of the Cosmic Christ and Creation Spirituality, presents quotations from various faith traditions to introduce what he believes are the universals of every faith. The title comes from Fox's metaphor that every religious tradition is a different well that descends to a single subterranean river of spirituality. This is scarcely an original idea, but Fox has been one of its greatest popularizers, in the company of such illuminati as John Dominic Crossan and the scholars of the Jesus Seminar. Using the approach he has named "Deep Ecumenism," Fox writes about four universal areas of spirituality (relating to creation, relating to the divine, relating to ourselves and relating to the future), integrating quotations from the sacred writings and stories of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, folk religions and other traditions. Many of the selected quotations are set off by special margins, while others occur in boldface type in Fox's own running text. Concluding with "Eighteen Myths for Remythologizing our Species"Aranging from the unsurprising insight that all traditions can learn from each other to the intriguing idea that sexuality is sacredAFox continues to be an articulate presenter of the trends that he helped put in motion. If his ideas no longer seem innovative, that only credit his success as an apostle of self-made spirituality. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher; 1 edition (September 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585420476
• ISBN-13: 978-1585420476
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #747,136 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As complete a tome of spiritual knowledge possible, December 12, 2000

By	M. B. Tankersley "MB Tankersley" (Waco, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Matthew Fox has outdone himself with this work, taking similar themes from the works of mystics spanning diverse traditions. To those who are regular consumers of Fox's writings, this compellation provides a "Bible" for his idea of "Deep Ecumenism". It is as complete a tome of humanity's spiritual knowledge that I have seen on the bookshelf. The best part- Fox has included sources not just from typical religious sources, but from science and literature as well.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diverse Paths but One Experience, December 31, 2005

By	Erika Borsos "pepper flower" (Gulf Coast of FL, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: One River, Many Wells (Paperback)

This book by Matthew Fox is a wealth of information derived from many sources, the Old and New Testaments (Bible), the Koran, the Vedas, African religious traditions, Native American, Celtic sources, and Buddhism. Writing it must have been a huge undertaking but amazingly, the information flows *naturally* as it reveals the outpouring of Spirit in the lives of mankind throughout the world and over the millenia. Many of the experiences described are words which attempt to capture Divinity at work through particular individuals, societies, and their outcomes. The book is an *essential* exploration of mankind's relationship to each other, community, the earth, and the cosmos. It is an exploration of the meaning of Life itself. Like a previous reviewer, I had difficulty getting started. Initially, I tried reading it straight through but could not. Gradually, at different times, glancing at the chapters, I felt a surge of energy. The ideas and concepts explored by the author set my emotions and mind at ease. Eventually, I was able to "plunge in" and "swim" through the material with relative ease.

The book is divided into five sections, "Relating to Creation", "Relating to Divinity", "Relating to Ourselves: Paths to Encounter and Enlightenment", "Relating to the Future: What the Divine is Asking of Us", and "Where Do We Go from Here? How Deep Ecumenism Explodes our Imaginations with Eighteen New Myths and Visions". Each section has further subdivisions where the author expands on specific themes, such as, Creation, Light, Community, the Names of God, Form, Formlessness, Nothingness, the Divine Feminine, Meditation, Mindfulness, Art and Ritual, Joy, Suffering, and Dying, Resurrection and Reincarnation, the Spiritual Warrior and other topics. Each theme is given a thorough examination connecting many different cultural viewpoints and providing unique insights. The author's vast experience in the realm or religion and personal enlightenment, along with his courage to tackle controversial subjects is greatly appreciated and admired.

The author's vision for mankind is very broad and inclusive ... he sees beyond the barriers of dogmatic belief, ritual, and any other differences that separate people. He gets down to *personal* experiences as expressed by the Great Spirit of Life in the vast expanse of time both from the past, in the present and future. The subject is spiritual expression in the lives of humanity and how the many different ideas and experiences have only One source. This is a very highly recommended book for anyone who is interested in comparative religions and spirituality. Also recommended is "One Heart" by Bonnie Louise Kuchler. Her book is an excellent source of quotations and meditations from different religions and spiritual practices. It is a less complex but similar work. Many readers who find Matthew Fox too deep would benefit from her book. Erika Borsos (erikab93)

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FINDING IT ALL IN ONE PLACE, September 3, 2001

By A Customer

I had a difficult time getting started in this book. I'd picked it up and put it down several times. But once into it, it was a pleasant surprise. I read about spiritual matters and paths of every religion and each reading talks of it's own spicific area of knowledge and experience. But Matthew Fox picks a subject and covers it from all angles, Jewish, Catholic, Islamic, Hindu, Buddist, Native American, African American, even the Celtic and the Goddess. It's a great book and a great read. And then you know why you like to study them all.