The New Man

By Thomas Merton

Book Overview

The New Man shows Thomas Merton at the height of his powers and has as its theme the question of spiritual identity. What must we do to recover possession of our true selves? By way of an answer, Merton discusses how we have become strangers to ourselves by our depence on outward identity and success, while our real need is for a concern with the image of God in ourselves. At a time of retrieval of our religious traditions, Merton's voice is both intelligent and spiritually compelling.Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, is perhaps the foremost spiritual thinker of the twentiethcentury. His diaries, social commentary, and spiritual writings continue to be widely read after his untimely death in 1968.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374514445
• ISBN13: 9780374514440
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Deeply Penetrating

Thomas Merton begins with man without God and ends with man in union with God. This book provides the existential basis for man's need for a relationship of faith and love with God, our Creator. The reader finishes this book with a unique understanding, perhaps for the first time, of the purpose for which each of us was created and the destiny which can be ours if only we connect with both the God within us and with the infinitely transcendent God of the universe. This book is challenging reading, but the rewards are worth the struggle.

New Wine Revives Old Wine Skins

First I read Merton's "Mystics and Zen Masters" just out of curiosity--How does this Christian monk see the monastic tradition of Zen Buddhism? I found his writing on this subject so compelling that I wanted to find out more about the author himself and read "The Seven Storey Mountain". Then I was so moved by this guy's long and arduous spiritual journey that I just had to see what he had to say about his own tradition, Christianity...and so I read this book, "The New Man", and wasn't dissappointed. In one way this book is an extended meditation on Saint Paul's idea of Christ being the New Adam, and of what this idea really means for us. Merton has an uncanny ability to take old, familiar passages from the Bible--passages that have become dull and opaque in their very familiarity--and breath new spiritual life into them; they come alive with a significance and relevance you never really thought about before, but that seem natural and unforced after the fact. And he does all of this in ways that communicate eloquently with modern, educated people in today's world without strain or condescension. In another way this book is an extended meditation on the significance of the sacrament Baptism, and again Merton is able to take what some might see as an old, tired, silly ritual and tease out its deeper spiritual significance in compelling, convincing ways. For any adult preparing for this sacrament I would highly recommend this book for that reason alone. And in general I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to see the Christian tradition at its best.

A masterpiece of spiritual thought

This book might truly change your view of life because it leads you to examine the deepest parts of your soul. In plain language that's very easy to follow, Merton describes how we can abandon our self-absorbed lives and then discover again our true selves in Jesus Christ. It is a book about the transforming power of God, and although it is deeply spiritual in tone and theme, it is highly logical and straightforward in style and structure. Merton hopes to lead us to transformation and salvation not through fear or blind hope, but by persuasion.

Sobering

This is without question the best account of the Fall that I have ever read. Merton drops the reality of faith and the believing Christian's responsibility right in our laps. It's a sobering and challenging read.

one of the truly authoritative works regarding redemption

Thomas Merton's revelation and incite into the most profound mystery of the ages draw the heart near to hear and open the eyes to see. This is a true masterpiece for those who desire to probe the depths of redemption. His expressions are truly pearls. This book must be read dozens of times.