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Disputed Questions
Philosophy, Sprituality
312 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1965
28 people are currently reading
176 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Merton
557 books1,903 followersThomas Merton, religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. In December 1941 he entered the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani and in May 1949 he was ordained to priesthood. He was a member of the convent of the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, near Bardstown, Kentucky, living there from 1941 to his death.
Merton wrote more than 50 books in a period of 27 years, mostly on spirituality, social justice and a quiet pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews. Among Merton's most enduring works is his bestselling autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948). His account of his spiritual journey inspired scores of World War II veterans, students, and teenagers to explore offerings of monasteries across the US. It is on National Review's list of the 100 best nonfiction books of the century.
Merton became a keen proponent of interfaith understanding, exploring Eastern religions through his study of mystic practice. His interfaith conversation, which preserved both Protestant and Catholic theological positions, helped to build mutual respect via their shared experiences at a period of heightened hostility. He is particularly known for having pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures, including the Dalai Lama XIV; Japanese writer D.T. Suzuki; Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, and Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. He traveled extensively in the course of meeting with them and attending international conferences on religion. In addition, he wrote books on Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, and how Christianity is related to them. This was highly unusual at the time in the United States, particularly within the religious orders.
Merton wrote more than 50 books in a period of 27 years, mostly on spirituality, social justice and a quiet pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews. Among Merton's most enduring works is his bestselling autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948). His account of his spiritual journey inspired scores of World War II veterans, students, and teenagers to explore offerings of monasteries across the US. It is on National Review's list of the 100 best nonfiction books of the century.
Merton became a keen proponent of interfaith understanding, exploring Eastern religions through his study of mystic practice. His interfaith conversation, which preserved both Protestant and Catholic theological positions, helped to build mutual respect via their shared experiences at a period of heightened hostility. He is particularly known for having pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures, including the Dalai Lama XIV; Japanese writer D.T. Suzuki; Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, and Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. He traveled extensively in the course of meeting with them and attending international conferences on religion. In addition, he wrote books on Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, and how Christianity is related to them. This was highly unusual at the time in the United States, particularly within the religious orders.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 13, 2018
Interesting read from writer and monk Merton, he discusses different kinds of contemplative and spiritual life styles, as well a societal barriers to living this kind of life. Merton has much to say about society molding people into creatures, that while claiming to work for the greater good, commit atrocities in the name of that good. He wrote this with WWII only a decade or so old and the Cold War in full swing, the threat of nuclear war ever present. It's funny that 50 plus years later, only the names have changed. Check it out.
October 30, 2020
The Pasternak Affair, The Power and Meaning of Love, and especially Christianity and Totalitarianism are good reads.
March 3, 2025
The title of this book is slightly misleading, as it deals with relatively few subjects that are “disputed” in any strong argumentative sense. While there may be disagreements with some of his opinions, Merton writes in the preface that he is not engaging in controversy with anyone in particular, only thinking out loud in an attempt to stimulate some thinking about spiritual matters. He emphasizes he is not writing an inspirational guide book, as some readers might expect.
The book is made up of three sections. The first is primarily concerned with the Russian spirituality of Boris Pasternak and his novel, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, still read but certainly not as much as when it was a best seller, in part because of its anti-Soviet stance. The second part is made up of two long sections, “The Power and Meaning of Love,” and “Christianity and Totalitarianism..” The third is primarily a history of solitude and some of its advocates such as St. John of the Cross, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and an account of the Carmelite Order, concentrating on its reforms through the centuries. Of the three sections, this one is the driest and least interesting..
A common theme tof all of these pats is the relationship of the individual to the social organization in which he or she lives. In the case of Pasternak and ZHIVAGO it is the clash between the oppressive rules of communism and what Merton calls a “liberty of spirit” that is exhibited in his novel. But it’s not just communism that kills this liberty; it is the materialistic capitalism of the West as well. For Pasternak, this spirit was mostly expressed in nature and the love between individuals, not so much in religious structures.
In he second section, love is discussed in terms of relationships. One danger is for people to seek the “perfect” partner or companion. The same mistake is made in thinking of God as a object of perfection. God can only be found in personal relationships as demonstrated by Christ’s life.
Sin can be seen as a misdirection of love toward such things as money, power, technology, organization, One of the beatitudes, blessed are the poor in spirit, speaks to this concern as suggesting that humans must stand alone, “poor” in lacking these misdirected o objects, but free in their personal integrity. The “kingdom of God” is based on such freedom and love.
I thought some of Merton’s most interesting comments were on the nature of fanaticism, of particular danger to the church. It puts all its emphasis on the difference between evil and righteous men. It becomes a war against evil , completely alien to a ethos of love and inclusion. At their best, orders of the church, such as the Carmelites, withdrew from society in order to perfect individuals’ need for God’s love, but even here, if the emphasis was shifted to to evils of society, fanaticism could develop.
Sometimes, an uneven book, but at its best, Merton is insightful, and his insights are as valid today as they were when written in the mid-20th century.
The book is made up of three sections. The first is primarily concerned with the Russian spirituality of Boris Pasternak and his novel, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, still read but certainly not as much as when it was a best seller, in part because of its anti-Soviet stance. The second part is made up of two long sections, “The Power and Meaning of Love,” and “Christianity and Totalitarianism..” The third is primarily a history of solitude and some of its advocates such as St. John of the Cross, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and an account of the Carmelite Order, concentrating on its reforms through the centuries. Of the three sections, this one is the driest and least interesting..
A common theme tof all of these pats is the relationship of the individual to the social organization in which he or she lives. In the case of Pasternak and ZHIVAGO it is the clash between the oppressive rules of communism and what Merton calls a “liberty of spirit” that is exhibited in his novel. But it’s not just communism that kills this liberty; it is the materialistic capitalism of the West as well. For Pasternak, this spirit was mostly expressed in nature and the love between individuals, not so much in religious structures.
In he second section, love is discussed in terms of relationships. One danger is for people to seek the “perfect” partner or companion. The same mistake is made in thinking of God as a object of perfection. God can only be found in personal relationships as demonstrated by Christ’s life.
Sin can be seen as a misdirection of love toward such things as money, power, technology, organization, One of the beatitudes, blessed are the poor in spirit, speaks to this concern as suggesting that humans must stand alone, “poor” in lacking these misdirected o objects, but free in their personal integrity. The “kingdom of God” is based on such freedom and love.
I thought some of Merton’s most interesting comments were on the nature of fanaticism, of particular danger to the church. It puts all its emphasis on the difference between evil and righteous men. It becomes a war against evil , completely alien to a ethos of love and inclusion. At their best, orders of the church, such as the Carmelites, withdrew from society in order to perfect individuals’ need for God’s love, but even here, if the emphasis was shifted to to evils of society, fanaticism could develop.
Sometimes, an uneven book, but at its best, Merton is insightful, and his insights are as valid today as they were when written in the mid-20th century.
October 4, 2025
I did not begin this book enthusiastically. The first chapter, “The Pasternak Affair” is a review of the 1957 Russian novel Doctor Zhivago and an account of the political fervor following its publication and reception. I haven’t read it and had little interest in reading a long account of why it’s good and what the Communists thought. Yet eventually Merton said this: “It is characteristic singular logic of Stalinist-Marxism, that when it incorrectly diagnosis some phenomenon as ‘political’, it corrects the error by forcing the thing to become political”. I was struck. There it was, that idea I think about all the time but haven’t been able to put into words. Within a topic I thought had no relevancy to me, Merton was discussing specifically relevant ideas. This is characteristic of the whole book. None of these topics are obviously relatable. Merton does not attempt to get into any perspective other than that of a very well-read hermitical monk, but his wisdom shines through into my own life. That, I think, is how you identify true wisdom. Here are some more quotes I noted:
“It is always a romantic evasion to turn from the life of people to the love of love itself; to love mankind more than individual men, to love ‘brotherhood’ and ‘unity’ more than one’s brother, neighbors, and associates.”
“The temptation to legalism arises precisely when the apparent holiness of a cause and even its manifest rightness blinds us to the holiness of individuals and persons.”
“In order to seek true joy, the joy of God in all things, renounce joy in all things. This is, do not trouble and distract your soul with a concern that yearns for this and that limited joy, seeking happiness now here and now there, restlessly passing from one to the other, Renounce the vain quest, give your whole heart to God, and He Himself in return will give you joy in all things.”
“But there are not a few who are beginning to feel the futility of adding more words to the constant flood of language that pours meaninglessly over everybody, everywhere, from morning to night. For language to have meaning, there must be intervals of silence somewhere, to divide word from word and utterance from utterance. He who writes into silence does not necessarily hate language. Perhaps it is love and respect for language which impose silence upon him. For the mercy of God is not heard in words unless it is heard, both before and after the words are spoken, in silence.”
Merton is mostly writing to his fellow monks. But it often felt like he was writing to me.
“It is always a romantic evasion to turn from the life of people to the love of love itself; to love mankind more than individual men, to love ‘brotherhood’ and ‘unity’ more than one’s brother, neighbors, and associates.”
“The temptation to legalism arises precisely when the apparent holiness of a cause and even its manifest rightness blinds us to the holiness of individuals and persons.”
“In order to seek true joy, the joy of God in all things, renounce joy in all things. This is, do not trouble and distract your soul with a concern that yearns for this and that limited joy, seeking happiness now here and now there, restlessly passing from one to the other, Renounce the vain quest, give your whole heart to God, and He Himself in return will give you joy in all things.”
“But there are not a few who are beginning to feel the futility of adding more words to the constant flood of language that pours meaninglessly over everybody, everywhere, from morning to night. For language to have meaning, there must be intervals of silence somewhere, to divide word from word and utterance from utterance. He who writes into silence does not necessarily hate language. Perhaps it is love and respect for language which impose silence upon him. For the mercy of God is not heard in words unless it is heard, both before and after the words are spoken, in silence.”
Merton is mostly writing to his fellow monks. But it often felt like he was writing to me.
July 31, 2015
A 1960 collection of occasional essays on quite varied topics. There is no sense of unifying purpose to the book. There is no indication of the source of the essays, but some seemed to be perhaps commissioned introductions to books by or about Catholic saints.
I most enjoyed the opening essays about Pasternak's Nobel Prize fiasco in 1958. Merton knew him well enough to have corresponded with him. I learned a lot about the novel "Dr Zhivago" which makes me want to read it again (I read it in college)--it's quite different from the movie, which takes a rather small story line in the book and blows it into a movie about a love story. (It was interesting to read this in light of the recent revelations about the CIA's involvement in the publication of the novel.)
I also enjoyed reading about Mount Athos, which is a peninsula in Greece devoted to monasteries and hermitages. Merton feared the monastic culture was disappearing there in 1960, but reading about it on Wikipedia it seems to have made a recovery since the 1960's and to be doing pretty well. A strange and unique place.
The low-points of the book were Merton's finger-wagging about religious art and decoration. On p. 201 he criticizes chasubles (robes) for having pictures of lit candles on them, and criticized communion cloths for having pictures of a chalice and host on it. I suppose these criticisms make theological sense, but it is unfathomable why he felt the need to stoop to that level of discussion.
Most of the rest was about saints and hermits and the ins and outs of the contemplative life. This is potentially interesting to me, but he managed to make his commentary generally uninteresting.
I most enjoyed the opening essays about Pasternak's Nobel Prize fiasco in 1958. Merton knew him well enough to have corresponded with him. I learned a lot about the novel "Dr Zhivago" which makes me want to read it again (I read it in college)--it's quite different from the movie, which takes a rather small story line in the book and blows it into a movie about a love story. (It was interesting to read this in light of the recent revelations about the CIA's involvement in the publication of the novel.)
I also enjoyed reading about Mount Athos, which is a peninsula in Greece devoted to monasteries and hermitages. Merton feared the monastic culture was disappearing there in 1960, but reading about it on Wikipedia it seems to have made a recovery since the 1960's and to be doing pretty well. A strange and unique place.
The low-points of the book were Merton's finger-wagging about religious art and decoration. On p. 201 he criticizes chasubles (robes) for having pictures of lit candles on them, and criticized communion cloths for having pictures of a chalice and host on it. I suppose these criticisms make theological sense, but it is unfathomable why he felt the need to stoop to that level of discussion.
Most of the rest was about saints and hermits and the ins and outs of the contemplative life. This is potentially interesting to me, but he managed to make his commentary generally uninteresting.
August 21, 2018
I only read two essays out of this collection, but the two I read were really helpful, and basically distill my love for Merton's work into its basic form. That is, the way love was at the center of his faith, and a real engagement with political thought and ideas of his time.
"The Power and Meaning of Love" and "Christianity and Totalitarianism" are worth the price of admission.
"The Power and Meaning of Love" and "Christianity and Totalitarianism" are worth the price of admission.
October 3, 2018
I've recently attended a conference in honor of Merton's journey to Alaska in which one speaker elaborated on the significance of Merton's relationship to Boris Pasternak and also to Russian Orthodoxy. Without some help like that, the first chapter in the book was hard to get any grasp of.
February 19, 2021
Terrific book by a great mind.
August 19, 2025
MERTON "THINKING OUT LOUD" ABOUT VARIOUS MATTERS
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was a Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, as well as a best-selling writer, poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion. He wrote many books, including 'The Seven Storey Mountain,' 'The Silent Life,' 'Mystics and Zen Masters,' etc. Tragically, he was accidentally electrocuted while in Thailand at a conference of Christian and non-Christian monks. (Note: page numbers refer to the 297-page, 1985 Harvest/HBJ edition.)
He wrote in the Preface to this 1960 book, "The book is meant to stimulate thought and to awaken some degree of spiritual awareness. But it is not supposed to make anyone break out with a sudden attack of spiritual happiness, still less with pious enthusiasm and the conviction that all's right with the world as long as we make up our minds to concentrate on the bright side of things. For this, as I understand it, is what an 'inspirational' book is supposed to do. If that is true, then I should like to lay claim to the honor of never having written one... I am simply thinking out loud about certain events and ideas which seem to me to be significant... for the spiritual and intellectual life of modern man."
He observes, "we cannot know man until we find him in ourselves. This is the beginning of true humanism, because we cannot know man until we find him in ourselves." (Pg. xi) All true love is associated with three fundamental human strivings: creative work, sacrifice, and contemplation. "Where these three are present there is reliable evidence of spiritual life, at least in some inchoate form... And the most important of these is sacrifice." (Pg. 100)
He asserts that the prevalence of "bad so-called sacred art everywhere" is "a really grave spiritual problem, comparable, for example, to the analogous problem of polluted air in some of our big industrial centers." (Pg. 155) He urges, "let us be broad-minded---for that is one of the meanings of the word 'Catholic.'" (Pg. 160)
He suggests, "Every man is a solitary, held firmly by the inexorable limitations of his own aloneness. Death makes this very clear, for when a man dies, he dies alone... the Church is at the same time community and solitude. The dying Christian is one with the Church, but he also suffers the loneliness of Christ's agony at Gethsemani." (Pg. 180-181) He later adds, "He who retires into silence does not necessarily hate language. Perhaps it is love and respect for language which imposes silence upon him. For the mercy of God is not heard in words unless it is heard... in silence." (Pg. 195)
This very diverse collection (ranging from Boris Pasternak to St. John of the Ladder) of Merton's thoughts has literally "something for everyone," for every one of his fans.
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was a Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, as well as a best-selling writer, poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion. He wrote many books, including 'The Seven Storey Mountain,' 'The Silent Life,' 'Mystics and Zen Masters,' etc. Tragically, he was accidentally electrocuted while in Thailand at a conference of Christian and non-Christian monks. (Note: page numbers refer to the 297-page, 1985 Harvest/HBJ edition.)
He wrote in the Preface to this 1960 book, "The book is meant to stimulate thought and to awaken some degree of spiritual awareness. But it is not supposed to make anyone break out with a sudden attack of spiritual happiness, still less with pious enthusiasm and the conviction that all's right with the world as long as we make up our minds to concentrate on the bright side of things. For this, as I understand it, is what an 'inspirational' book is supposed to do. If that is true, then I should like to lay claim to the honor of never having written one... I am simply thinking out loud about certain events and ideas which seem to me to be significant... for the spiritual and intellectual life of modern man."
He observes, "we cannot know man until we find him in ourselves. This is the beginning of true humanism, because we cannot know man until we find him in ourselves." (Pg. xi) All true love is associated with three fundamental human strivings: creative work, sacrifice, and contemplation. "Where these three are present there is reliable evidence of spiritual life, at least in some inchoate form... And the most important of these is sacrifice." (Pg. 100)
He asserts that the prevalence of "bad so-called sacred art everywhere" is "a really grave spiritual problem, comparable, for example, to the analogous problem of polluted air in some of our big industrial centers." (Pg. 155) He urges, "let us be broad-minded---for that is one of the meanings of the word 'Catholic.'" (Pg. 160)
He suggests, "Every man is a solitary, held firmly by the inexorable limitations of his own aloneness. Death makes this very clear, for when a man dies, he dies alone... the Church is at the same time community and solitude. The dying Christian is one with the Church, but he also suffers the loneliness of Christ's agony at Gethsemani." (Pg. 180-181) He later adds, "He who retires into silence does not necessarily hate language. Perhaps it is love and respect for language which imposes silence upon him. For the mercy of God is not heard in words unless it is heard... in silence." (Pg. 195)
This very diverse collection (ranging from Boris Pasternak to St. John of the Ladder) of Merton's thoughts has literally "something for everyone," for every one of his fans.
November 24, 2015
Merton was once my passion. Now he often feels a bit dated. But I still like him enough to finish this collection of essays.
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December 31, 2016I'm staying that this is done so it will show up in the challenge even though I'm doing it not in the calendar year but my birth year.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews