In this series of notes, opinions, experiences, and reflections, Thomas Merton examines some of the most urgent questions of our age. With his characteristic forcefulness and candor, he brings the reader face-to-face with such provocative and controversial issues as the “death of God,” politics, modern life and values, and racial strife–issues that are as relevant today as they were fifty years ago. Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander is Merton at his best–detached but not unpassionate, humorous yet sensitive, at all times alive and searching, with a gift for language which has made him one of the most widely read and influential spiritual writers of our time.

Thomas Merton first published "Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander" in 1968. Later that year on December 10, 1968, Thomas Merton died in a tragic accidental electrocution.His words live on 50 years later, and along with his other writings over the years have provided his readers with much thought provoking commentary on spiritual matters and religious concerns.In the original Preface to his book Merton sets the reader's expectation, pointing out that his writing is not meant to be a Spiritual Journal or a teaching guide. It is merely a composition of his observations over the years on matters of contemporary concerns. Merton was highly regarded by Scholars of his day and his untimely death left a terrible void in a world struggling to deal with issues that were not of concern to prior generations. War and technology, and their impact on the human condition were among his greatest concerns. We struggle with these issues yet today. In fact both war and technology complicate each other today and present us with even greater challenges than in Merton's time.Merton accomplished much to advance the discussion of moral and decent solutions to real human problems. And he did so against the backdrop of pressure from his Superiors in the Religious Community. Merton was a Trappist Monk and had taken a vow of silence when he professed his vows. Those of us who have not taken such a vow are free to speak. Indeed we have an obligation to do so, for without any effort on the part of the good and decent people of our society, each generation risks the loss of its moral compass, and the world population sinks into chaos and anarchy.What is written here, and what the reader will hopefully take away, is simply a demonstration of how to align the wisdom of the ages, presented to us in the form of many authoritative sources, with the challenges of the world today. Nothing more, nothing less, it is just a guide: hopefully a guide that draws on wisdom of the past and presents future generations with a moral guide to problem solving in times to come.

What if we truly belong to each other? What if we are all walking around shining like the sun? Mystic, monk, and activist Thomas Merton asked those questions in the twentieth century. Writer Sophfronia Scott is asking them today. In The Seeker and the Monk, Scott mines the extensive private journals of one of the most influential contemplative thinkers of the past for guidance on how to live in these fraught times. As a Black woman who is not Catholic, Scott both learns from and pushes back against Merton, holding spirited, and intimate conversations on race, ambition, faith, activism, nature, prayer, friendship, and love. She asks: What is the connection between contemplation and action? Is there ever such a thing as a wrong answer to a spiritual question? How do we care about the brutality in the world while not becoming overwhelmed by it? By engaging in this lively discourse, readers will gain a steady sense of how to dwell more deeply within--and even to love--this despairing and radiant world.

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) is one of the foremost spiritual thinkers of the twentieth century. Though he lived a mostly solitary existence as a Trappist monk, he had a dynamic impact on world affairs through his writing. An outspoken proponent of the antiwar and civil rights movements, he was both hailed as a prophet and castigated for his social criticism. He was also unique among religious leaders in his embrace of Eastern mysticism, positing it as complementary to the Western sacred tradition. Merton is the author of over forty books of poetry, essays, and religious writing, including Mystics and Zen Masters, and The Seven Story Mountain, for which he is best known. His work continues to be widely read to this day.

This paperbook collection of his prose writings reveals the extent to which Thomas Merton moved from the other-worldly devotion of his earlier work to a direct, deeply engaged, often militant concern with the critical situation of man in the world.

In Faith and Violence, Thomas Merton offers concrete and pungent social criticisms grounded in prophetic faith about such issues as Vietnam, racism, violence, and war.

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) is the most admired of all American Catholic writers. His journals have recently been published to wide acclaim. The collection of Merton's letters in The Hidden Ground of Love were selected and edited by William H. Shannon.