Returning to Reality
Thomas Merton's Wisdom for a Technological Age
by Phillip M. Thompson
Paperback (No longer our product)
(January 2013)
ISBN: 9780718892951
5.98 x 9.02 inches
Price: $29.00
In stock
We are becoming a nation of superficial and distracted consumers of instant messages and images, a state of being which does not aid engagement in religious and other deep commitments that require a sustained level of reflection and contemplation. In his thought-provoking work, Phillip M. Thompson analyses the shadow elements of technology – nuclear armaments, the bio-engineering of humans, and the distancing of humanity from the natural world – through the fascinating insights of the spiritual writer and monk Thomas Merton (1915-1968). Merton’s work offers an important critique and healing resource for contemporary, technology-saturated culture through constructive recommendations which include a balanced approach to work, the careful management of technology, and an appreciation of the recuperative aspects of nature. While understanding the positive influences of technology, Merton urges us not be naively optimistic about its benefits, but to consider the threat it poses toa life of humanity and spiritual connection. A consideration of the profound issues discussed in this book will interest any reader concerned with the intersection between spirituality and technology, and how to maintain spiritual integrity in a technological world.
- By (author) Phillip M Thompson
"...a thought-provoking and engaging critique of our contemporary technology-saturated culture, based on the insights of the monk Thomas Merton. [...] This book is an interesting contribution to our contemporary state of technological materialism and deserves a wide readership." Fiona Gardner, Modern Believing, Vol. 54.3, July 2013 "What Thompson provides is a contemplative way of reframing the questions posed by technology based on the rehumanization of society. It will be of interest to those interested in the place of technology in society and also to Merton scholars interested in a fresh angle in looking at him". Richard A. Davis, in "The Expository Times", vol. 126, issue 5, February 2015Professor Phillip M. Thompson proposes a critique of technique, targeting three topics: the risks of a nuclear war, the excessive amount of information, and overall the obsessive omnipresence of technology in our everyday life, from work to leisure, with direct consequences for our ways of thinking.Yves Laberge, Theological Book Review, volume 26, no 1, 2014Thompson's familiarity with and deep understanding of Merton's work enables him to convey Merton's insight and wisdom through a deft and intelligence use of his lucid and elegant prose. And this prose resonates with the reader, for even those unfamiliar with Merton become rapidly aware that this was a contemplative who lived apart from the world and yet was able to engage fully with it.[...] There is much more , of wisdom, warning and consolation, to be found in this rich and necessary book, and I would urge all of you who are reading this to take it up, to absorb its message and to give it out to the world.The Christian Parapsychologist Vol. 1 (No.11), 2014
—
Similar Books
‘For You I Study, For You I Work, For You I Live, For You I Am Ready To Even Give My Life’
Essays in Honour of Francis (Frank) J Moloney, SDB
A Late Antique Harrowing of Hell and Its Medieval Reception
Eusebius of Alexandria's Sermons 15 and 17 (CPG 5524; 5526) and their Latin Rewritings
Volume 99
Ars Prophetica
Theology in the Poetry of Twentieth-Century Hebrew Poets Avraham Halfi, Shin Shalom, Amir Gilboa, and T. Carmi
Drunk the Potion, No Whit Charmed
The Doctrine of Pure and Perfect Souls from Iamblichus to Damascius
Extracanonical Traditions and the Holy Land
Texts, Rituals, and Material Culture in Late Antique Palestine
Fear, Fear of God, God-Fearers
Philological and Historical Perspectives on the World of Ancient Judaism and Christianity
Legal Visuality
Exegesis, Ambiguity, and Dissimulation of the Donation of Constantine in the Early Modern Period
Liturgia semper reformanda
Adaptations and accommodations in the liturgy in light of canon 838 of the Code of Canon Law
Pre-Christian Religions, Rituals, and Beliefs in Central and Northern Europe
Interdisciplinary Investigations
Volume 5
The Therapeutae as the Best Paradigm for the Contemplative Life
A Contextual Reading of Philo of Alexandria's De Vita Contemplativa
