This unique reflection was prompted by an invitation Matthew Fox received to speak on the centennial of Thomas Merton’s birth. Fox says that much of the trouble he’s gotten into — such as being excommunicated in 1993 from the Dominican Order by Cardinal Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict) — was because of Thomas Merton, who sent Fox to Paris to complete a doctoral program in philosophy. Fox found that Merton’s journals, poetry, and religious writings revealed a deeply ecumenical philosophy and a contemplative life experience similar to that of Meister Eckhart, the fourteenth-century mystic/theologian who inspired Fox’s own “creation spirituality.” It is little surprise to find Fox and Merton to be kindred spirits, but the intersections Fox finds with Eckhart are intellectually profound, spiritually enlightening, and delightfully engaging.
 

Reviews

“This wise and marvelous book will profoundly inspire all those who love Merton and want to know him more deeply.” — Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism

“A Way to God inscribes a profound intersection of lives — Merton, Fox, and more — in the history of Christianity, Catholicism, and the emerging Creation Spirituality so relevant to our globe’s current cultural evolution. Perhaps Merton’s lament on the ‘lost art of listening’ can be assuaged significantly by the profound potential impacts of this new book.” — Kurt Johnson, PhD, coauthor of The Coming Interspiritual Age

“The future of Christianity itself will depend upon its ability to reinvent its forms and practices so that it might become a mutually enhancing presence within the dynamics of life. Among current spiritual theologians, no one has a more comprehensive vision of the necessary changes that must take place than Matthew Fox. In A Way to God he shows how Thomas Merton’s work can be understood as a powerful current within the Creation Spirituality tradition that is so essential for this reimagining of Western religion.” — Brian Thomas Swimme, professor of cosmology, California Institute of Integral Studies

“Fox is a prophet of our own times…. His writing really sparkles and is frequently reminiscent of the early works of Thomas Merton.” — Alan Jose, The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly

“Matthew Fox might well be the most creative, the most comprehensive, surely the most challenging religious-spiritual teacher in America.” — Thomas Berry, author of The Great Work