My Argument with the Gestapo: Autobiographical novel

My Argument with the Gestapo: Autobiographical novel PDF Author: Thomas Merton
Publisher: New Directions Publishing
ISBN: 0811223930
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Of the full-length prose works that Thomas Merton wrote before he entered the Cistercian Order in 1941, only My Argument with the Gestapo has survived––perhaps in part because it was a book that Merton never ceased wanting to see in print. Although it first appeared after his death in 1968, he had arranged for its publication, written a foreword for it, and was delighted with the prospect of its at last becoming a part of his published works. My Argument with the Gestapo tells of the adventures of a young man, clearly identified by the name Thomas Merton, who travels from America to Europe to report on the war with Germany from the viewpoint of a poet. He hates the war, yet is driven to come to terms with it. There is a pervading sense of dreamworld or hallucination, heightened by the device of passages written in a macaronic language, invented from multilingual roots, to satirize and parody political propaganda speeches dealing with the war. A work of imagination (Merton did not in fact return to England after the start of World War II in Europe), it nevertheless contains much that is autobiographical and revealing of the young Merton. Most clearly visible are the seeds of his never-forsaken concern with peace and nonviolence and his abhorrence of war. Indeed, his outspoken criticism of Britain at a time when all the emphasis was on 'the brave little island standing alone' foreshadows his devotion to truth as he saw it, no matter what the cost. And students of Merton will find scenes in the book that are straight autobiography, amplifying and perhaps filling in gaps in what later was to be the beginning of Merton's great literary success, The Seven Storey Mountain (1948).

My Argument with the Gestapo: Autobiographical novel

My Argument with the Gestapo: Autobiographical novel PDF Author: Thomas Merton
Publisher: New Directions Publishing
ISBN: 0811223930
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Get Book Here

Book Description
Of the full-length prose works that Thomas Merton wrote before he entered the Cistercian Order in 1941, only My Argument with the Gestapo has survived––perhaps in part because it was a book that Merton never ceased wanting to see in print. Although it first appeared after his death in 1968, he had arranged for its publication, written a foreword for it, and was delighted with the prospect of its at last becoming a part of his published works. My Argument with the Gestapo tells of the adventures of a young man, clearly identified by the name Thomas Merton, who travels from America to Europe to report on the war with Germany from the viewpoint of a poet. He hates the war, yet is driven to come to terms with it. There is a pervading sense of dreamworld or hallucination, heightened by the device of passages written in a macaronic language, invented from multilingual roots, to satirize and parody political propaganda speeches dealing with the war. A work of imagination (Merton did not in fact return to England after the start of World War II in Europe), it nevertheless contains much that is autobiographical and revealing of the young Merton. Most clearly visible are the seeds of his never-forsaken concern with peace and nonviolence and his abhorrence of war. Indeed, his outspoken criticism of Britain at a time when all the emphasis was on 'the brave little island standing alone' foreshadows his devotion to truth as he saw it, no matter what the cost. And students of Merton will find scenes in the book that are straight autobiography, amplifying and perhaps filling in gaps in what later was to be the beginning of Merton's great literary success, The Seven Storey Mountain (1948).

My Argument with the Gestapo

My Argument with the Gestapo PDF Author: Thomas Merton
Publisher: New Directions Publishing
ISBN: 9780811205863
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Of the full-length prose works that Thomas Merton wrote before he entered the Cistercian Order in 1941, only My Argument with the Gestapo has survived--perhaps in part because it was a book that Merton never ceased wanting to see in print.

The Christian Art of Forgiveness

The Christian Art of Forgiveness PDF Author: Jake Morrill LMFT
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1647395704
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
Master the art of forgiveness—practical strategies for opening your heart and living faithfully Cultivate a forgiving mindset and learn how to be truly compassionate to others. This thoughtful guide offers you easy-to-use tools that will help you let go of negativity and grow into the best version of yourself. By focusing on various types of relationships, you will be able to better understand why and when you should forgive, as well as how you can persevere through what can be a challenging journey. Filled with inspiring Scripture, stories, and exercises, you'll discover everything you need to become more forgiving in your everyday life. The Christian Art of Forgiveness includes: Actionable prompts—Learn fundamental forgiveness skills through simple exercises like meditating on how you've hurt others or reflecting on your personal values. Supportive scripture and stories—Better understand what it means to forgive through the Lord's wisdom, as well as illustrative sample stories that show forgiveness in action. Focused guidance—Explore how the unique challenges of forgiveness can change depending on who you're working to forgive—including family, friends, colleagues, community, and even yourself. Learn how to love like Jesus with The Christian Art of Forgiveness.

The Road to Joy

The Road to Joy PDF Author: Kevin P. McClone
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725263602
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 107

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Book Description
In The Road to Joy, Kevin McClone invites us to join him in a personal and professional journey exploring eight core psychospiritual pathways that lay the foundation for more joyful living. Inspired by the death of his beloved wife, Grace Chen-McClone, this book seeks to integrate core pathways of psychospiritual transformation. Each chapter explores one pathway in depth, utilizing psychological and spiritual sources, and ends with concrete practical action plans. McClone draws heavily from psychology research and spirituality embedded in various spiritual and mystical traditions including the wisdom rooted in the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Thomas Merton's Art of Denial

Thomas Merton's Art of Denial PDF Author: David D. Cooper
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
ISBN: 082033216X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
Trappist monk and best-selling author, Thomas Merton battled constantly within himself as he attempted to reconcile two seemingly incompatible roles in life. As a devout Catholic, he took vows of silence and stability, longing for the security and closure of the monastic life. But as a writer he felt compelled to seek friendships in literary circles and success in the secular world. In Thomas Merton's Art of Denial, David D. Cooper traces Merton's attempts to reach an accommodation with himself, to find a way in which "the silence of the monk could live compatibly with the racket of the writer." From the roots of this painful division in the unsettled early years of Merton's life, to the turmoil of his directionless early adult years in which he first attempted to write, he was besieged with self-doubts. Turning to life in a monastery in Kentucky in 1941, Merton believed he would find the solitude and peace lacking in the quotidian world. But, as Merton once wrote, "An author in a Trappist monastery is like a duck in a chicken coop. And he would give anything in the world to be a chicken instead of a duck." Merton felt compelled to choose between life as either a less than perfect priest or a less prolific writer. Discovering in his middle years that the ideal monastic life he had envisioned was an impossibility, Merton turned his energies to abolishing war. It was in this pursuit that he finally succeeded in fusing the two sides of his life, converting his frustrated idealism into a radical humanism placed in the service of world peace. Here is a portrait of a man torn between the influence of the twentieth century and the serenity of the religious ideal, a man who used his own personal crises to guide his youthful ideals to a higher purpose.

The Wounded Heart of Thomas Merton

The Wounded Heart of Thomas Merton PDF Author: Robert G. Waldron
Publisher: Paulist Press
ISBN: 189375796X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 219

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Book Description
Robert Waldron's brief biography of Thomas Merton examines and exposes a man who lived a deeply spiritual life, yes, but also a deeply conflicted one as well. By the use of Jungian theory and archetypes, Waldron explores all of the major Merton works (e.g., Seven Storey Mountain, The Sign of Jonas, The Collected Poems, Zen and the Birds of Appetite), but especially all of the many volumes of Merton's private diaries, and discovers a man, a soul struggling to live "la vita nuova" in the monastery while being drawn by various sirens out of it. Edgy, chancy, and at times speculative, Waldron penetrates Merton's sometimes dense poetry and prose to discover or uncover what was wanting in Merton's soul his desire for his own hermitage; his longing for the nurse he fell in love with; his desire perhaps to establish an entirely new monastic foundation. Merton emerges less a saint than a sinner who never stopped trying to become a saint by "becoming who he really was."

Seeing Into the Life of Things

Seeing Into the Life of Things PDF Author: John L. Mahoney
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
ISBN: 9780823217335
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
As the discourse of contemporary cultural studies brings questions of race, nationality, and gender to the center of critical attention nowadays, there is a strong sense that religious, or perhaps religious experience, should command the attention of the academic and wider reading community. Seeing into the Life of Things is a response to that need. By combining the theoretical and the practical, this book serves as both a pioneering scholarly contribution to a devleoping field and a valuable guide for those who read, reflect on, and discuss points of intersection of religion and literature. The contributors to this pioneering study represent a range of voices and viewpoints, some of them established leaders in their fields, others in the process of becoming new leaders. E. Dennis Taylor, Joseph Appleyard, Philip Rule, John Boyd, and Jane and Charles Rzepka work toward the development of a discourse that can take its place with discourses that have developed around a New Historicism and Feminism. Robert Kiely, Stephen Fix, Keven Van Anglen, J. Robert Barth, Richard Kearney, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Judith Wilt, John L. Mahoney, David Leigh, Melinda Ponder, John Anderson, and Michael Raiger offer more focused approaches to writers as varied as Gerard Manley Hopkins, Katherine Lee Bates, Flannery O'Connor, Wallace Stevens, T.S. Eliot, and Seamus Heaney and to special genres like spritual autobiography and film.

Divine Discontent

Divine Discontent PDF Author: John Moses
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1441126694
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Why does Thomas Merton continue to fascinate and what can he teach us today? Divine Discontent explores the paradoxes and contemporary resonances of his life and work. Thomas Merton continues to speak with a prophetic voice. The 2015 centenary of his birth provides an opportunity to reconsider both the international reputation and the relevance in today's world of a man who still intrigues, perplexes and challenges - as a Trappist monk, as a writer, as a contemplative, as a social critic, and (in the context of world faiths) as an ecumenist. Merton's extensive writings (many of which were not available until the late 1980s and 1990s) provide the basis of an examination of the various aspects of his story, permitting Merton to speak for himself whenever possible, but enabling also an analysis of his abiding fascination and the discontents - human and divine - that dominated so much of his life. In the light of all that he has to say, we are encouraged to look again at our preconceived ideas about the natural world, the prevailing culture, abuses of power, questions of war and peace, institutions and the freedom of the individual, contemplation and action - and the search for God.

Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton PDF Author: Paul R Dekar
Publisher: Lutterworth Press
ISBN: 0718840690
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Thomas Merton was arguably the twentieth century's most widely published and widely read spiritual writer. This book explores Merton's prophetic writings and experience as they offer guidance for those seeking to experience God, to simplify their lives, to live more humanly, and to shape Christian community in the face of alienation, consumerism, noise, and technology. The book includes parts of three previously unpublished conference contributions by Merton on technology. Exploring Merton's thoughts on monastic renewal, prayer, radical simplicity, ecology, technology, war, peace and interfaith dialogue, Dekar reminds us why Merton was so influential and why he continues to be so.

Hotly in Pursuit of the Real

Hotly in Pursuit of the Real PDF Author: Ron Hansen
Publisher: Slant
ISBN: 153269203X
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
In Hotly in Pursuit of the Real, the beloved bestselling novelist Ron Hansen opens the doors of his writing studio to share with us his passions for history, scandal, theology, Jesuits, the American West, and golf (which he plays even in bad weather). If Hansen's novels explore people very different from himself--from a stigmatic nun to a Victorian poet to Billy the Kid, and even Hitler's niece--the meditations in this book do the opposite, allowing us to glimpse the wellsprings of his imagination, the places and traditions and books that drive him to create made-up worlds. In that sense, the reflections in these pages truly serve as "notes toward a memoir." As each section unfolds, we gain a clearer sense of Hansen's aesthetic, the parallels he sees between writing and the sacraments, between literature's capacity to make history present to us and the Church's rich array of traditions, including the Jesuit charism that has inspired great writers, such as Gerard Manley Hopkins (and himself). Equally adept at telling a hilarious anecdote and guiding us through a complex, ambiguous episode in history, Hansen's language remains fresh and invigorating. Hotly in Pursuit of the Real takes you inside one writer's imagination, only to send you back out into the wide world with new eyes.