Thomas Merton & C.S. Lewis:
Book Reviews
I think that Thomas Merton could easily be called the greatest
spiritual writer and spiritual master of the twentieth century in
English speaking America….The only contender would be the
enormous popularity of C.S. Lewis. Lawrence Cunningham
Soul Searching: The Journey of Thomas Merton pgs. 183-4
C.S. Lewis & Philosophy as a Way of Life:
A Comprehensive Historical Examination of his Philosophical Thoughts
Adam Barkman (2009)
Soul Searching:
The Journey of Thomas Merton
Morgan Atkinson (edited)
(2008)
We read, study and meditate upon the writings and lives of those fuller than ourselves so that we mature into the large and demanding issues of the soul and society. Our lives are raised to a higher level by heeding and hearing those who have gone further and deeper than ourselves. There is no doubt that C.S. Lewis and Thomas Merton dared to plumb the depths and ascend to heights that few do, hence the fact they are held so high as icons of the 20th and 21st centuries. The publication of C.S. Lewis & Philosophy as a Way of Life and Soul Searching ably and amply illustrate why Lewis and Merton have such an ongoing and perennial appeal for those who souls are searching for deeper waters to slake their philosophical and spiritual thirsts.
C.S. Lewis & Philosophy as a Way of Life is a weighty tome that demands much of the reader and reaches more than 600 pages. It’s no bed time reading or a missive for the sluggish of heart and head. Barkman has done his homework well, and he has convincingly demonstrated that Lewis was a philosopher of worth and note, and in his philosophical ponderings, Lewis engaged most of the important philosophical traditions of the past and in his time. Lewis never flinched from entering the lion’s den of the modern world, and he did so with flair and insight. It was in the tensions and pressures that Lewis faced that made him the convincing apologist he was. Those with lesser commitments and discipline shrink from the challenges that Lewis dared to encounter as a way of life.
C.S. Lewis & Philosophy as a Way of Life is divided into two large sections: ‘Philosophical Definition, Journey and Identity’ and ‘The Branches of Philosophy’. Each section probes and probes, in a relentless manner, the meticulous issues that Lewis lived and thought about in his rigorous philosophical journey and life. Lewis lives on when others falter and fall for the simple reason that he confronted the hard and fearful challenges that came his way. There are those that flee into a pietistic cocoon when the demands on mind and soul become too trying. Lewis never indulged in such a form of spiritual narcissism.
There are those who mostly know Lewis through his more popular science fiction, classics of literature for children and some of his more accessible missives and articles on Christian apologetics. Lewis has become, in some ways, a plaything and poster boy for the evangelical tribe, but when the life and thinking of Lewis is understood in its fullness, he would certainly question the evangelical ethos that has come to call him one of their own. A read through C.S. Lewis & Philosophy as a Way of Life is a must read and keeper for those that are interested in knowing Lewis at a much deeper and more philosophical level. The brilliance of this tome is the way that Barkman has proved, again and again, that Lewis was a philosopher who thought and lived the demanding issues of his time, and if we ever hope to seriously know Lewis, this is the path each of us must walk to grow into the fullness of faith in a world in which faith has turned to other gods.
Lewis thought that Thomas Merton was one of the finest writers in the area of spirituality in the 20th century. Merton had an immense respect for the older Lewis. There are no books on Lewis and Merton, and rare is the course that is taught on Merton and Lewis. This is too bad, since both men were most supportive of each other.
Soul Searching: The Journey of Thomas Merton is one of the finest introductory missives on the life, impact and many friendships of Merton.
The book also comes with a DVD that makes for an excellent companion to the many interviews in Soul Searching. Morgan Atkinson walks the reader through the life of Merton in a most appealing and evocative manner. The fact that Merton had such a profound influence on the life of Atkinson is noted often. The ‘choir’ of those interviewed covers a broad terrain and the sights seen are worthy of the journey taken into Merton’s complex and insightful life.
Soul Searching unfolds in a chronological manner, and does such in 4 parts: 1) The Young Man in New York, 2) Gethsemani, 3) Opening to the World and 4) Points West….and East. Each of these parts is told by those that either knew Merton or who have an affinity with his many incisive and searching insights into the soul and the world that we live within. Merton’s longing for greater depth in the Western and Eastern contemplative traditions is placed in the context of Merton honest struggles as a monk, a Roman Catholic priest and his passion for peace and justice in the world.
Merton was ever critical but ever loyal to the catholic tradition that was his home, but he had generous ecumenical and interfaith leanings that brought him into meaningful contact with the wisest and most insightful sages and prophets of the 20th century. Soul Searching is a gem and fine entrée into a searching soul that searched and sought out the deeper wells until his journey ended in 1968.
The fact that the life and reputations of Lewis and Merton continue to thrive and flourish speaks volumes about the peaks they climbed, the demands made on them in reaching such summits and the wisdom and insights they bring back to us from going to places that few dare go. Do read C.S. Lewis & Philosophy as a Way of Life and Soul Searching. The faith pilgrimage will be much richer because of the journey taken with Lewis and Merton.
Ron Dart