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Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander
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.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1966
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About the author
Thomas Merton
552 books1,888 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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May 5, 2025
I picked up this convicting and dense paperback in the summer of 1969, while working at the Carleton University Library and taking a course for credit toward my B.A. in the evening.
It was highly problematic - a warning in that ideally warm weather of the deep underground seismic tremors that would soon soon shake up my very credibility.
Those tremors were in essence moral.
In our age, if a young man chooses spiritual over corporeal health he will be labelled a nut case. Our age is only sunny on the surface.
55 years later my neuroleptic meds have succeeded in skewing the foundations of my originally Barthian ethics to such an extent that their cracks are a mere lingering discomfort to the superstructure of my consciousness.
I hardly notice them when I'm busy!
But Merton's freedoms, too, were now threatened as the 1960's aged into the duplicity and misinformation of the Nixon era.
His superiors clamped down, hard, on his impulsiveness. The result is this book.
Merton soon afterwards realized he was no longer a blindly obedient monk, no longer fit to joyfully join in the mandatory daily liturgy of the Abbey of Gethsemane.
He was becoming a Guilty Bystander, a misfit like me with my moral objections to America's 24/7 non-stop partying.
The serpent of angst had poisoned our apples!
The poison, as I said, has cracked my ethics as I approach eighty. I'm now almost totally dispassionate! Not so Merton.
He died with his boots on, electrocuted in a Bangkok hotel room, still trying to liberalize Catholicism -
While attending a conference aimed at uniting Eastern and Western Mysticism:
Et in semper, frater, Ave atque Vale!
You would be so happy with Pope Francis' reforms.
It was highly problematic - a warning in that ideally warm weather of the deep underground seismic tremors that would soon soon shake up my very credibility.
Those tremors were in essence moral.
In our age, if a young man chooses spiritual over corporeal health he will be labelled a nut case. Our age is only sunny on the surface.
55 years later my neuroleptic meds have succeeded in skewing the foundations of my originally Barthian ethics to such an extent that their cracks are a mere lingering discomfort to the superstructure of my consciousness.
I hardly notice them when I'm busy!
But Merton's freedoms, too, were now threatened as the 1960's aged into the duplicity and misinformation of the Nixon era.
His superiors clamped down, hard, on his impulsiveness. The result is this book.
Merton soon afterwards realized he was no longer a blindly obedient monk, no longer fit to joyfully join in the mandatory daily liturgy of the Abbey of Gethsemane.
He was becoming a Guilty Bystander, a misfit like me with my moral objections to America's 24/7 non-stop partying.
The serpent of angst had poisoned our apples!
The poison, as I said, has cracked my ethics as I approach eighty. I'm now almost totally dispassionate! Not so Merton.
He died with his boots on, electrocuted in a Bangkok hotel room, still trying to liberalize Catholicism -
While attending a conference aimed at uniting Eastern and Western Mysticism:
Et in semper, frater, Ave atque Vale!
You would be so happy with Pope Francis' reforms.
January 21, 2012
Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander is a dated but profound view of the 1960s from a contemplative monk. Certainly, Thomas Merton was one of the most famous of monastic writers during my lifetime and this book was both disturbing and encouraging as it resonated with some of my memories as a young boy. Merton takes on jingoism, materialism, and religiosity in powerful and effective ways. He even touches base with some of the great hurts in many people’s lives that are tied to religion. Yet, since the writings in this book are excerpts from Merton’s journals, they are not a full-blown theology. Rather, they are observations based on the author’s personal spiritual experiences, encounters with nature, encounters with civilization, and reactions to world events.
Although Merton is obviously Catholic and very in tune with the, particularly, Medieval fathers, it is interesting to note that he is familiar with Eastern mystics and European Protestant theologians (Barth, Bonhoeffer, and John A. T. Robinson most regularly), as well. Even when reacting to rather intricate theological arguments, Merton has a way of cutting to the chase.
I very much enjoyed his observations on grace (though he alternated the use of this term with that of “mercy”) such as: “How much sin is kept hidden from us by God Himself, in His mercy? After which, He hides it from Himself.” (p. 23) This idea of God transforming sin while not letting us see the full extent of its ugliness (like a corpse being shielded from tender, innocent eyes) would truly be removing our sin from us as far as the East from the West (as the Psalmist says). Yet, it isn’t something we think of very often. “God is asking of me, the unworthy, to forget my unworthiness and that of all my brothers, and dare to advance in the love which has redeemed and renewed us all in God’s likeness. And to laugh, after all, at all the preposterous ideas of unworthiness.” (p. 174)
But the book isn’t all about theological notions, per se. Merton recounts the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and makes the astute observation that Khrushchev probably failed to camouflage those missiles in Cuba in order to gauge how JFK would react. On the basis of that reaction, he would determine whether to raise the nuclear ante. (p. 272) Fortunately for the world, the Soviet premier opted not to try that. There was one ironic anecdote where a group of Oxford academicians opted to drink all of the best wine in their cellar, just in case this was to be the end of the world (p. 273) and Merton seemed amused to think that they would have to settle for second-best when real nuclear Armageddon might occur.
Merton laments the treatment of the Negro (yes, that was the correct term in those days) and admires MLK. He recounts the Kennedy assassination (JFK, not RFK) and laments the rush to judgment of the Warren Commission: “Everyone wants it to be settled and ‘settled’ it is. All have agreed on the answer, and the question no longer is seriously asked, except by a few. The general desire for justice is ‘satisfied.’ One feels that all have wanted a solution at any price and have taken the first one at hand.” (p. 344)
Using Himmler, Hitler, and Eichmann as case studies, Merton surgically cuts through the idea of propaganda and points out its dehumanizing capacity for paving the way for violence and injustice (pp. 235-237). Then, he turns the discussion on its ear and talks about the religious using propaganda as he writes about mangy mutts, part bloodhounds, on the trail of something very old (p. 246). He sees those dogs as a metaphor for the self-righteous hunting down heretics.
My favorite line in the book is a gentle reminder that “mere stopping is not arriving.” (p. 282), as well as the assertion that naïve optimism accelerates decay (p. 283). These are the kinds of statements that kept me reading this fascinating book. I plan to keep it on my shelf and pull it out to read the marked ideas and discussions for years and years.
Although Merton is obviously Catholic and very in tune with the, particularly, Medieval fathers, it is interesting to note that he is familiar with Eastern mystics and European Protestant theologians (Barth, Bonhoeffer, and John A. T. Robinson most regularly), as well. Even when reacting to rather intricate theological arguments, Merton has a way of cutting to the chase.
I very much enjoyed his observations on grace (though he alternated the use of this term with that of “mercy”) such as: “How much sin is kept hidden from us by God Himself, in His mercy? After which, He hides it from Himself.” (p. 23) This idea of God transforming sin while not letting us see the full extent of its ugliness (like a corpse being shielded from tender, innocent eyes) would truly be removing our sin from us as far as the East from the West (as the Psalmist says). Yet, it isn’t something we think of very often. “God is asking of me, the unworthy, to forget my unworthiness and that of all my brothers, and dare to advance in the love which has redeemed and renewed us all in God’s likeness. And to laugh, after all, at all the preposterous ideas of unworthiness.” (p. 174)
But the book isn’t all about theological notions, per se. Merton recounts the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and makes the astute observation that Khrushchev probably failed to camouflage those missiles in Cuba in order to gauge how JFK would react. On the basis of that reaction, he would determine whether to raise the nuclear ante. (p. 272) Fortunately for the world, the Soviet premier opted not to try that. There was one ironic anecdote where a group of Oxford academicians opted to drink all of the best wine in their cellar, just in case this was to be the end of the world (p. 273) and Merton seemed amused to think that they would have to settle for second-best when real nuclear Armageddon might occur.
Merton laments the treatment of the Negro (yes, that was the correct term in those days) and admires MLK. He recounts the Kennedy assassination (JFK, not RFK) and laments the rush to judgment of the Warren Commission: “Everyone wants it to be settled and ‘settled’ it is. All have agreed on the answer, and the question no longer is seriously asked, except by a few. The general desire for justice is ‘satisfied.’ One feels that all have wanted a solution at any price and have taken the first one at hand.” (p. 344)
Using Himmler, Hitler, and Eichmann as case studies, Merton surgically cuts through the idea of propaganda and points out its dehumanizing capacity for paving the way for violence and injustice (pp. 235-237). Then, he turns the discussion on its ear and talks about the religious using propaganda as he writes about mangy mutts, part bloodhounds, on the trail of something very old (p. 246). He sees those dogs as a metaphor for the self-righteous hunting down heretics.
My favorite line in the book is a gentle reminder that “mere stopping is not arriving.” (p. 282), as well as the assertion that naïve optimism accelerates decay (p. 283). These are the kinds of statements that kept me reading this fascinating book. I plan to keep it on my shelf and pull it out to read the marked ideas and discussions for years and years.
August 9, 2025
i started this last fall and have been reading small pieces at a time for nearly a year, either before i go to bed or when i wake up. this book is imperfect but it’s literally merton’s journal entries, and having a companion like that for a full year has been one of the best ways i’ve ever gotten to know an author/theologian/artist/etc. i most appreciated the sections about war. so much of what he wrote about war and technology in the 50s-60s has helped me better understand the Current State of Affairs and be more christian about it. a year later with this book i’m a better writer and a more thoughtful, observant person.
April 16, 2018
"In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world, the world of renunciation and supposed holiness. The whole illusion of a separate holy existence is a dream. Not that I question the reality of my vocation, or of my monastic life: but the conception of “separation from world” that we have in the monastery too easily presents itself as a complete illusion: the illusion that by making vows we become a different species of being, pseudoangels, “spiritual men,” men of interior life, what have you.
Certainly these traditional values are very real, but their reality is not of an order outside everyday existence in a contingent world, nor does it entitle one to despise the secular: though “out of the world” we are in the same world as everybody else, the world of the bomb, the world of race hatred, the world of technology, the world of mass media, big business, revolution, and all the rest. We take a different attitude to all these things, for we belong to God. Yet so does everybody else belong to God. We just happen to be conscious of it, and to make a profession out of this consciousness. But does that entitle us to consider ourselves different, or even better, than others? The whole idea is preposterous."
Certainly these traditional values are very real, but their reality is not of an order outside everyday existence in a contingent world, nor does it entitle one to despise the secular: though “out of the world” we are in the same world as everybody else, the world of the bomb, the world of race hatred, the world of technology, the world of mass media, big business, revolution, and all the rest. We take a different attitude to all these things, for we belong to God. Yet so does everybody else belong to God. We just happen to be conscious of it, and to make a profession out of this consciousness. But does that entitle us to consider ourselves different, or even better, than others? The whole idea is preposterous."
February 11, 2010
I won this book from GoodReads.
This book is a collection of short stories, reflections on life, essays, and quotes. It reads like a reference book, and it even has an index.
I read this book realizing that I wasn't grasping every concept, but I do have enough intelligence to know that this collection from a Trappist Monk is a work of wonder, with a keen incite of the world around him. The troubles that he wrote about are from the sixties, and are the same or similar troubles we face today.
Do yourself a favor and read this book.
This book is a collection of short stories, reflections on life, essays, and quotes. It reads like a reference book, and it even has an index.
I read this book realizing that I wasn't grasping every concept, but I do have enough intelligence to know that this collection from a Trappist Monk is a work of wonder, with a keen incite of the world around him. The troubles that he wrote about are from the sixties, and are the same or similar troubles we face today.
Do yourself a favor and read this book.
April 15, 2018
A wonderful collection of thoughts and essays and cogent rambling gleaned by Merton from his journals. Fascinating and thought-provoking reading.
I was born in 1950; I grew up in the 1960s, the years Merton writes about. It could have been been written last week.
Highly recommended.
I was born in 1950; I grew up in the 1960s, the years Merton writes about. It could have been been written last week.
Highly recommended.
March 3, 2024
Thomas Merton, from his vantage point as a Trappist monk, kept a continuing journal, from which these “conjectures” are taken. In Merton’s questioning mind, nothing is taken for granted, and in the preface, he says the book consists of personal observations and reflections, metaphors, and judgments on readings and events. Many have to do with American society, both spiritual and material, although the end they may well coincide Merton still seems relevant, even though his last entries were written over 50 years ago.
Merton stresses that all life should embrace openness, growth ,and development, and that a monk such as himself should not be limited to narrow and esoteric matters. Rather as a member of society , he should have a free range of interests in searching for the truth, a truth, though that should always be tempered by humility and love.
A key concept in his thinking was that Christians need to work with those who are not explicitly Christian in a largely secular world. The Church has nothing to lose in engaging in dialogue with her adversaries, in seeing them as equals and brothers. Too often in the past, Christian sects, particularly Catholicism, have become defensive and inward-looking. He comments, “God help the person who thinks he knows all about himself.” Or others.
He quotes Kierkegaard in pointing out that when a religion is full of itself as possessing a self-satisfied “goodness” then that religion (and society) is a disaster. Implications of this kind of thinking can certainly be applied to America, especially to exalted notions of exceptionalism, ultimately a folly as it denies compassion and sympathy to most of humanity.
Merton takes a dim view of many aspects of American capitalism. The relentless acquisition of goods, as though they would make a human being happy, is found in advertising. It is in a sense a sacrilege, an inversion of the Christian notion of sacraments, practices originally designed to demonstrate to people how to go about achieving a good life. With advertising, the “sacraments” become shallow inducements to ever increasing empty desires for a meaningless good life. Lasting virtues of charity and love of one’s neighbor are lost.
For example, Merton comments, “Never before has there been such a distance between the abject misery of the poor (still the great majority of mankind) and the absurd affluence of the rich. . .” He was speaking in general terms of the world, but consider what he would say today about the growing gap between the rich and the poor in the United States, the richest country on earth. Social justice was never far from Merton’s mind.
Technology was on Merton’s mind as well. He didn’t oppose technology as such, but lamented that an increasing reliance on it meant that humans were too often escaping from values like solitude, a closeness with nature, and what he felt was the atmosphere for contemplation. Losing those means a loss of genuine freedom.
These are only some of Merton’s ideas, of course. In the end, I think what Merton is seeking is meaning. How do we find in our industrial society the events and practices that give our lives meaning? Artists and poets, as well as critics, are needed, and among these, I think you can place Merton who straddles many categories.
Merton stresses that all life should embrace openness, growth ,and development, and that a monk such as himself should not be limited to narrow and esoteric matters. Rather as a member of society , he should have a free range of interests in searching for the truth, a truth, though that should always be tempered by humility and love.
A key concept in his thinking was that Christians need to work with those who are not explicitly Christian in a largely secular world. The Church has nothing to lose in engaging in dialogue with her adversaries, in seeing them as equals and brothers. Too often in the past, Christian sects, particularly Catholicism, have become defensive and inward-looking. He comments, “God help the person who thinks he knows all about himself.” Or others.
He quotes Kierkegaard in pointing out that when a religion is full of itself as possessing a self-satisfied “goodness” then that religion (and society) is a disaster. Implications of this kind of thinking can certainly be applied to America, especially to exalted notions of exceptionalism, ultimately a folly as it denies compassion and sympathy to most of humanity.
Merton takes a dim view of many aspects of American capitalism. The relentless acquisition of goods, as though they would make a human being happy, is found in advertising. It is in a sense a sacrilege, an inversion of the Christian notion of sacraments, practices originally designed to demonstrate to people how to go about achieving a good life. With advertising, the “sacraments” become shallow inducements to ever increasing empty desires for a meaningless good life. Lasting virtues of charity and love of one’s neighbor are lost.
For example, Merton comments, “Never before has there been such a distance between the abject misery of the poor (still the great majority of mankind) and the absurd affluence of the rich. . .” He was speaking in general terms of the world, but consider what he would say today about the growing gap between the rich and the poor in the United States, the richest country on earth. Social justice was never far from Merton’s mind.
Technology was on Merton’s mind as well. He didn’t oppose technology as such, but lamented that an increasing reliance on it meant that humans were too often escaping from values like solitude, a closeness with nature, and what he felt was the atmosphere for contemplation. Losing those means a loss of genuine freedom.
These are only some of Merton’s ideas, of course. In the end, I think what Merton is seeking is meaning. How do we find in our industrial society the events and practices that give our lives meaning? Artists and poets, as well as critics, are needed, and among these, I think you can place Merton who straddles many categories.
June 9, 2022
I liked but did not love this. Sure, my e-book is full of highlights, and in a book of this size and depth, that shows my interest in Thomas Merton's thoughts from, mainly, the late Fifties into the Sixties. Before this, I found in Michael Mott's biography contexts which helped me gain a wider perspective on Merton's involvement with "the world" that as much younger, and somewhat idealistic or naive novice, he'd entered twenty-odd years earlier. Some of this holds together, some drifts, and too much repeats. By now, Gethesmani Abbey's up to its chicken coops and tents to house the masses of young American men attracted, of course, by Seven Story Mountain. But that, and the aspirations of these recently admitted men depart somewhat from each other's perspective.
Merton's ticked off by the felling of the trees, the tractors, the cheese factory, and the lookeloos who want to chat with The World's Most Famous Monk. (Today, they'd demand selfies, complain about the limited coffee flavors in the gift shop's pods, and the poor wi-fi in the Kentucky hollows.) He hates being their cash-cow, but his fame via his royalties presumably funded and fueled that expansion that, for a while, changed the remote tranquility and isolated austerity of the Trappists when he entered in late 1941. (If you see the site today, it appears about the same number as when he entered; the crowds of eager recruits had dwindled, as with most Orders, rapidly after Vatican II.
Yes, he's the Trappists' "influencer" within the America of The Bomb, JFK, and MLK. Vatican II's upending tradition, and I was intrigued by Merton's mixed reaction, when I expected a whole-hearted embrace of the "renewal." He's wise enough by middle age to reflect on the losses ahead.
Again comparing Merton's image to that of Mott's observers and companions, you see both sides. Merton may complain about intrusions, but he invites (or sneaks in) an awful lot of influential and intelligent visitors himself. And friends, and, well, read Mott to find out who else in particular. Contrasting what transpired in real life with what Merton records deepens insight into self-images and self-promotion vs monastic humility and enforced obedience. He's miffed by the Abbot, impatient with the novices or scholastics in formation that he directs, and tired of being the headline maker. Still, Merton didn't have it bad by the end of this duration in this collection.
Hermitage, record player, leisure: apparently (Mott again) not as much of an austere recluse as he let on, and this human frailty makes me relate to his difficulty dealing with his public image. But he does seem caught between sounding petulant against the Cistercian system which he's championed, now that they want to rein him in given controversial times. Tension between vowed obedience and the mantra of free spirited solidarity with the performance of upheaval through backing (trendy) causes outside monastery walls leaves Merton between rock and hard place. Like many in this time, he's trapped within a System that he recognizes as far more flawed than when he entered it and committed his life and soul to it. And this helps me connect with him, as billions share his anguish.
I do wonder if his sudden death exactly 27 years after he entered the monastery at 27 weighs an eerie balance of the secular and the spirit-seeking Merton? And, I have the nagging feeling that if he'd have returned to Gethsemani after his Asian tour, he might be very well too tempted to break his vows, to seek the Eastern methods of contemplation and rally to Western "sign on to the righteous cause of the moment" mentality. Both systems of their own, idealized by the new, jaded to the old. He's nearly to the act, certainly, in his "Asian Journal," of changing horses midstream.
Maybe his God was keeping him to his vocation by mysteriously ending his life, to ensure that Merton stuck to his promises, powered through his difficulties through his maturation as a monk.
Merton's ticked off by the felling of the trees, the tractors, the cheese factory, and the lookeloos who want to chat with The World's Most Famous Monk. (Today, they'd demand selfies, complain about the limited coffee flavors in the gift shop's pods, and the poor wi-fi in the Kentucky hollows.) He hates being their cash-cow, but his fame via his royalties presumably funded and fueled that expansion that, for a while, changed the remote tranquility and isolated austerity of the Trappists when he entered in late 1941. (If you see the site today, it appears about the same number as when he entered; the crowds of eager recruits had dwindled, as with most Orders, rapidly after Vatican II.
Yes, he's the Trappists' "influencer" within the America of The Bomb, JFK, and MLK. Vatican II's upending tradition, and I was intrigued by Merton's mixed reaction, when I expected a whole-hearted embrace of the "renewal." He's wise enough by middle age to reflect on the losses ahead.
Again comparing Merton's image to that of Mott's observers and companions, you see both sides. Merton may complain about intrusions, but he invites (or sneaks in) an awful lot of influential and intelligent visitors himself. And friends, and, well, read Mott to find out who else in particular. Contrasting what transpired in real life with what Merton records deepens insight into self-images and self-promotion vs monastic humility and enforced obedience. He's miffed by the Abbot, impatient with the novices or scholastics in formation that he directs, and tired of being the headline maker. Still, Merton didn't have it bad by the end of this duration in this collection.
Hermitage, record player, leisure: apparently (Mott again) not as much of an austere recluse as he let on, and this human frailty makes me relate to his difficulty dealing with his public image. But he does seem caught between sounding petulant against the Cistercian system which he's championed, now that they want to rein him in given controversial times. Tension between vowed obedience and the mantra of free spirited solidarity with the performance of upheaval through backing (trendy) causes outside monastery walls leaves Merton between rock and hard place. Like many in this time, he's trapped within a System that he recognizes as far more flawed than when he entered it and committed his life and soul to it. And this helps me connect with him, as billions share his anguish.
I do wonder if his sudden death exactly 27 years after he entered the monastery at 27 weighs an eerie balance of the secular and the spirit-seeking Merton? And, I have the nagging feeling that if he'd have returned to Gethsemani after his Asian tour, he might be very well too tempted to break his vows, to seek the Eastern methods of contemplation and rally to Western "sign on to the righteous cause of the moment" mentality. Both systems of their own, idealized by the new, jaded to the old. He's nearly to the act, certainly, in his "Asian Journal," of changing horses midstream.
Maybe his God was keeping him to his vocation by mysteriously ending his life, to ensure that Merton stuck to his promises, powered through his difficulties through his maturation as a monk.
Read
April 20, 2011Trying to read this but might not make it. Merton's an insider talking to his particular issue/vocabulary/concern-defining group and I'm not sure I'm curious enough to keep peering through the murky windows as an outsider. Guess I'm more interested in the idea of him than in all his writings writings writings (of which there are quite a lot!) Really like the title tho - it's what drew me in.
I've decided to buy my own copy of this book, which has many wonderful gems tucked into the matrix of his Christian thinking. It's not a book for reading cover to cover for me, but one to browse in - so I can skip the sections in which he's pondering points of theology that escape me or arguing with/reviewing a theologian whose work and ideas I don't know. Found a lovely bit today about how "serious" and "busy" he observes people to be: "In our society, a society of business rooted in puritanism, based on a pseudo-ethic of industriousness and thrift, to be rewarded by comfort, pleasure and a good bank account, the myth of work is thought to justify an existence that is especially meaningless and futile. There is, then a great deal of busy-ness as people invent things to do when in fact there is very little to be done."
I've decided to buy my own copy of this book, which has many wonderful gems tucked into the matrix of his Christian thinking. It's not a book for reading cover to cover for me, but one to browse in - so I can skip the sections in which he's pondering points of theology that escape me or arguing with/reviewing a theologian whose work and ideas I don't know. Found a lovely bit today about how "serious" and "busy" he observes people to be: "In our society, a society of business rooted in puritanism, based on a pseudo-ethic of industriousness and thrift, to be rewarded by comfort, pleasure and a good bank account, the myth of work is thought to justify an existence that is especially meaningless and futile. There is, then a great deal of busy-ness as people invent things to do when in fact there is very little to be done."
May 6, 2013
This is a collection of Merton's more public journal entries from the early 60s. Some of them are dated and wordy, but there is always the next page and mostly the entries reveal wonderful insights for the time and for today. I picked it up to reread it thinking about it historically - for an insight into the events of the sixties, civil rights, the Cold War, religious thought of the time. And Merton provides that, but his thought requires more than just historical engagement, it really is existential and spiritually penetrating. It remains deeply relevant to and even disturbing of life today. He ponders the life of the scholar/writer, life in community, and our modern life of technology and consumerism. His frustration with Cold War rhetoric seems an apt criticism of our current (lack of) political discourse. His openness to other religious thought, whether Eastern or Protestant (especially Barth and Bonhoeffer), while retaining a deep connection to his historical Catholic orthodoxy, is refreshing and, at times challenging (as least to this Protestant). So are the too brief pictures he provides of monastic life, its deep spirituality and its interpersonal and institutional annoyances. It really is a pleasure to spend time with him.
November 14, 2023
I have seen reviews of this book that say it is dated. The sad truth is that it really isn't. While we still aren't fighting in Vietnam, we haven't learned it's lessons and so Merton's Vietnam comments can equally be applied to our wars in the Middle East today. We still have not resolved civil rights in America, and though we aren't on the brink of a hot war with the Soviet Union today, there are hundreds of nuclear weapons unaccounted for which makes that issue timely as well. This book stands the test of time, and that is as much a sad commentary on America as it is praise of Thomas Merton!
June 13, 2016
In this book, Merton writes random bits of wisdom and then loosely connects those bits, mixed in with slightly more tactile observations, and then because he is so brilliant, we are expected to be so in awe that we don't mind that the book is nothing more than a journal. Nope. Not gonna work for this reader.
October 6, 2017
I read this book with my friend Jamie and I absolutely loved it! I loved our discussions! There is so much in this book to ponder and discuss-- so many topics to think about. I don't think I can adequately review such a volume properly.
January 1, 2023
What I’d give for someone with half of Merton’s wisdom, wit, depth of feeling and depth of reflection to comment on contemporary issues the way he does on the 50’s-60’s here.
Can feel a bit repetitive/the Pascal-esque vignette style wears thin after a time, but it’s so well-worth reading.
Can feel a bit repetitive/the Pascal-esque vignette style wears thin after a time, but it’s so well-worth reading.
January 2, 2021
Since I grew up in the 60s and 70s, the historical musings of Merton are very interesting. Much of the theology is over my head, but the Merton group helps parse it out. He is an excellent writer.
February 28, 2010
Though not a Catholic, I've always retained an interest in the Mass. Usually at least once a year, on no particular Sunday, I'll go to a Roman Catholic service. More generally, I enjoy the exercise of exploring different faith perspectives. Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, by the late writer and monk Thomas Merton, has been a worthwhile opportunity to do that.
Merton's book, a collection of notes, reflections, and arguments, charts a thoughtful course through the early 60s. From his cloistered residence in a Kentucky monastery, Merton finds himself a tentative enthusiast of President Kennedy, an ardent voice against an increasingly inevitable war, and a soul echoing the worldwide fears of nuclear holocaust. As a contemplative, Merton seems to enjoy uncovering nuggets of paradox and irony, both in his native faith, and the broader national and world cultures. His observations are generally balanced and astute, often bold, and rarely dry or monotone.
The book has its limitations though. My reading experience, not coincidentally, felt like leafing through a long lost diary, sometimes struggling to grasp various passages without adequate background on the writer's life and learning. Merton also spends many pages musing on the writings of a range of philosophers. Not being well-versed in those works, several of Merton's more nuanced assertions were lost on me. Likely, this book is best enjoyed by people who have already read other works by Thomas Merton such as The Seven Storey Mountain .
Still, I found Merton's voice overwhelmingly engaging. For me the greatest treasures of this work were the interspersed vignettes of daily monastic life. In these, Merton steps away from philosophical discourse and simply focuses on recreating precious moments of his secluded existence in the Kentucky countryside. He captures the mystical ambiance of the rising sun, the call of nearby birds and the starry night sky. He reveals the monastery to be a place with a good deal of intellectual diversity, debate, and humor. To his credit, Merton strikes a decidedly ecumenical tone most of the time.
As far as recommending this work, I do so with a caveat: this book is probably not a good point at which to start a survey of monastic thought; however, it is a wonderful place to stop by. I wish I'd met this man. And I can certainly see myself picking up more of Thomas Merton's writing in the future.
As a sample, here were two of my favorite excerpts:
"Today men are looking for Antichrists: for if the enemy is AntiChrist that makes everything much simpler....One can hate with a good conscience."
"The rooms which I hardly notice during the day seem, when they are empty, to have something very urgent to say, so that I want to linger in them and listen."
DISCLAIMER: For purposes of reviewing, a complimentary copy of this book was provided to the reader as part of the Goodreads Giveaway program.
Merton's book, a collection of notes, reflections, and arguments, charts a thoughtful course through the early 60s. From his cloistered residence in a Kentucky monastery, Merton finds himself a tentative enthusiast of President Kennedy, an ardent voice against an increasingly inevitable war, and a soul echoing the worldwide fears of nuclear holocaust. As a contemplative, Merton seems to enjoy uncovering nuggets of paradox and irony, both in his native faith, and the broader national and world cultures. His observations are generally balanced and astute, often bold, and rarely dry or monotone.
The book has its limitations though. My reading experience, not coincidentally, felt like leafing through a long lost diary, sometimes struggling to grasp various passages without adequate background on the writer's life and learning. Merton also spends many pages musing on the writings of a range of philosophers. Not being well-versed in those works, several of Merton's more nuanced assertions were lost on me. Likely, this book is best enjoyed by people who have already read other works by Thomas Merton such as The Seven Storey Mountain .
Still, I found Merton's voice overwhelmingly engaging. For me the greatest treasures of this work were the interspersed vignettes of daily monastic life. In these, Merton steps away from philosophical discourse and simply focuses on recreating precious moments of his secluded existence in the Kentucky countryside. He captures the mystical ambiance of the rising sun, the call of nearby birds and the starry night sky. He reveals the monastery to be a place with a good deal of intellectual diversity, debate, and humor. To his credit, Merton strikes a decidedly ecumenical tone most of the time.
As far as recommending this work, I do so with a caveat: this book is probably not a good point at which to start a survey of monastic thought; however, it is a wonderful place to stop by. I wish I'd met this man. And I can certainly see myself picking up more of Thomas Merton's writing in the future.
As a sample, here were two of my favorite excerpts:
"Today men are looking for Antichrists: for if the enemy is AntiChrist that makes everything much simpler....One can hate with a good conscience."
"The rooms which I hardly notice during the day seem, when they are empty, to have something very urgent to say, so that I want to linger in them and listen."
DISCLAIMER: For purposes of reviewing, a complimentary copy of this book was provided to the reader as part of the Goodreads Giveaway program.
September 13, 2010
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1506013.html
I have long had a vague interest in Thomas Merton, who became a Trappist monk after a dissolute youth (part of which was spent studying at my own later stamping ground, Clare College, Cambridge), and so was looking forward to reading this collection of his writings from the early 1960s - not least because I have been uncomfortably aware that I have enjoyed reading atheist tracts (Lucretius, Russell) more than Christian apologetics in the last few years.
I wasn't disappointed. A lot of this has dated - Merton's historical experience is of the Second World War and he writes in the context of the Cuban missile crisis and the Civil Rights movement - but basically he has a sane, humane, liberal take on Christianity and belief which I find comfortably close to my own prejudices and instincts. I winced a little at his initial naïve enthusiasm for Vatican II, knowing now how badly the Church has failed to follow through on the spirit of those times, but then a later piece in the collection accurately predicts the problems of the enterprise, in outline if not in detail.
The presentation of the material is not perfect. On the one hand, we are given to understand that this is a kind of commonplace book for occasional jottings; on the other hand, the text has been revised and expanded for publication. It would have been better to have a more thematic treatment, and better yet to have an index. As it is, it reads a bit more like random ramblings of a middle-aged monk than it really deserves to.
I have long had a vague interest in Thomas Merton, who became a Trappist monk after a dissolute youth (part of which was spent studying at my own later stamping ground, Clare College, Cambridge), and so was looking forward to reading this collection of his writings from the early 1960s - not least because I have been uncomfortably aware that I have enjoyed reading atheist tracts (Lucretius, Russell) more than Christian apologetics in the last few years.
I wasn't disappointed. A lot of this has dated - Merton's historical experience is of the Second World War and he writes in the context of the Cuban missile crisis and the Civil Rights movement - but basically he has a sane, humane, liberal take on Christianity and belief which I find comfortably close to my own prejudices and instincts. I winced a little at his initial naïve enthusiasm for Vatican II, knowing now how badly the Church has failed to follow through on the spirit of those times, but then a later piece in the collection accurately predicts the problems of the enterprise, in outline if not in detail.
The presentation of the material is not perfect. On the one hand, we are given to understand that this is a kind of commonplace book for occasional jottings; on the other hand, the text has been revised and expanded for publication. It would have been better to have a more thematic treatment, and better yet to have an index. As it is, it reads a bit more like random ramblings of a middle-aged monk than it really deserves to.
September 16, 2019
Current again in 2019! I read this book for the first time 25 years ago, and I could see then that much of Merton's insight was still applicable to us today. But now, in the era of Trumpism, with white supremacy rising as an "acceptable attitude" in certain circles, Merton's observations about the sickness at the heart of Western society are current and compelling all over again.
Perhaps I am inclined to too much time in contemplation, and Merton's observations and conjectures take me further down that dark pathway. But I find that his hope and his faith help to encourage me to trust in my own faith, and so it gives me hope.
If you are a person who is seeking justice and trying to work for peace for strictly secular reasons, then this is not the book for you. You will be frustrated by how all the questions lead ultimately back to one answer, which is faith. But if you feel some faith stirring in you, even if it is only a thin and tiny light, then Merton's work will encourage you, and you may find that that tiny light grows to warm you and encourage you in dark times.
Perhaps I am inclined to too much time in contemplation, and Merton's observations and conjectures take me further down that dark pathway. But I find that his hope and his faith help to encourage me to trust in my own faith, and so it gives me hope.
If you are a person who is seeking justice and trying to work for peace for strictly secular reasons, then this is not the book for you. You will be frustrated by how all the questions lead ultimately back to one answer, which is faith. But if you feel some faith stirring in you, even if it is only a thin and tiny light, then Merton's work will encourage you, and you may find that that tiny light grows to warm you and encourage you in dark times.
November 24, 2020
Perhaps everyone, in her or his heart of hearts, has imagined intimately tracing - from the inside, as it were - the intellectual wanderings of a brilliant, well-regarded thinker and writer. And if the author demonstrates fluency in an enormous range of topics, from JFK to race relations to the works of obscure theologians, one can guess the reader is in for an intriguing, albeit sometimes curious, ride. Yet amidst all of Merton's erudition, supple intellect and Renaissance-like breadth, perhaps what most endeared me to this book were his quaint, off hand remarks. Moments when he conveyed simple nature observations worthy of Thoreau; or poetic images akin to Frost or Basho; and yes, hints of anguish at our human condition circa 1965. His notions, however diverse, are generally suffused with grace and wisdom - announcing him as, at bottom, a humane and still relevant monk-for-the-world. Enjoy it slowly, like a radiant, shifting sunset.
March 7, 2021
I read this book slowly over a long time ago. I could not keep up with Merton's verbiage, though I wanted to.
I write this now having connected with a Thomas Merton group on Facebook. I read Seven Storey Mountain in high school and remembered it in 1968 when he died by electrocution in Thailand, dividing his life precisely in half between entering the monastery and death.
Upon entering the Thomas Merton group, I was presented with the knowledge of a mystical experience Fr. Louis had in in Louisville, KY. It is recorded on a state historical marker at the corner of Fourth and Walnut.
His experience probably formed the basis for a similar vision in one of Andrew Greeley's novels, in which a bunch of frontier's men appeared to Greeley's hero on the streets of Chicago.
In those years since I read Conjectures, I myself had a mystical experience as a Eucharistic minister in church, not as vivid as experienced by Merton, but very strong nonetheless.
I write this now having connected with a Thomas Merton group on Facebook. I read Seven Storey Mountain in high school and remembered it in 1968 when he died by electrocution in Thailand, dividing his life precisely in half between entering the monastery and death.
Upon entering the Thomas Merton group, I was presented with the knowledge of a mystical experience Fr. Louis had in in Louisville, KY. It is recorded on a state historical marker at the corner of Fourth and Walnut.
His experience probably formed the basis for a similar vision in one of Andrew Greeley's novels, in which a bunch of frontier's men appeared to Greeley's hero on the streets of Chicago.
In those years since I read Conjectures, I myself had a mystical experience as a Eucharistic minister in church, not as vivid as experienced by Merton, but very strong nonetheless.
January 25, 2020
For better or worse, I'm a sucker for a book of trenchant maxims. I see essay collections coming out all the time these days, and I love em, but I wonder sometimes if it lures me away from art where there's no quick and easy lesson to be had.
On the plus side, I get to tuck away a little extra wisdom, and there was plenty of wisdom to be had here, along with commentary on an eclectic selection of writers, from Jung to St. Irenaeus (haven't got a clue who that is, but I liked what he had to say!). And, of course, lovely portraits of Merton's corner of Kentucky.
A nice maxim from Merton, as an example:
"Why can we not be content with an ordinary, secret, personal happiness that does not need to be explained or justified? We feel guilty if we are not happy in some publicly approved way, if we do not imagine that we are meeting some standard of happiness that is approved by all."
On the plus side, I get to tuck away a little extra wisdom, and there was plenty of wisdom to be had here, along with commentary on an eclectic selection of writers, from Jung to St. Irenaeus (haven't got a clue who that is, but I liked what he had to say!). And, of course, lovely portraits of Merton's corner of Kentucky.
A nice maxim from Merton, as an example:
"Why can we not be content with an ordinary, secret, personal happiness that does not need to be explained or justified? We feel guilty if we are not happy in some publicly approved way, if we do not imagine that we are meeting some standard of happiness that is approved by all."
August 1, 2022
Conjectures is a mosaic of short reflections (the "conjectures" of the title) from a decade's worth of his journals, gathered into five loosely-themed sections. The nonlinear presentation challenges the reader to make of these thoughts what they will. He writes on contemporary problems from the clear if distant perspective of his monastery (hence "bystander") but without claiming exemption from what ails humanity. Six decades on it's instructive to remember this isn't the first time America has faced such political and social chaos, but worrisome to reflect we don't seem to have learned much from earlier experiences.
February 9, 2009
Although Merton prefaces the book by saying that this book is a random assortment of his journal entries and should be read as such, I was not expecting it to lack as much cohesion as it did. Many of his books seem to have this format, which I've grown accustomed to, but I just could not reconcile it as much in this. This made it hard to enjoy, and while there certainly are wonderful Merton nuggets in this work, it falls short because there also seems to be "filler"(for lack of a better word) which spread out the goodness within.
January 2, 2013
The themes are varied - but most of the entries (probably taken from his journals)are efforts of Thomas Merton to explore the relation of faith and the world. He treats (and, at times, struggles with) war, racism, Barth, Bonhoeffer, and the Catholic Church. Some passages are gems. Though it covers the late fifties and early sixties it is generally not dated. Some of his remarks would be good sources of reflections for those struggling within the Catholic Church, but he will probably not make any partisans completely happy. Thank God!
January 9, 2012
I found parts of this book entralling. It changed my mind about what monks are all about. He clearly saw himself as very much a part of this world and wrote of the troubles of the world with, I think, the hopes of bringing his faith into action. I did find though that I only absorbs a small percentage of his message because he quotes many authors unknown to me and leaves foreign phrases untranslated. His descriptions of the nature around him are really beautiful.
October 14, 2022
Merton is always insightful, and in this book he does a great job of analyzing the hypocrisy of Christians who would rather judge than love. Plus, he critiques the modern world/modern man with a sharp wit - it's amazing how relevant his observations are, even though more than half a century has passed since this book was published. Outside of the news of the time (Kennedy presidency, Cuba, etc), you would hardly know this book wasn't written today.
August 8, 2022
This is another I have read over and over throughout my life, and as you experience phase change in your life, pick this book up and read it again. As you experience political turmoil in the world, read this book again. Merton speaks to your mind and heart, but more importantly, he touches your soul.
January 3, 2016
At points this book is really revelation and epiphany - at others it is too esoteric for me. I would like to read it again someday, when I have time to savor and consider Merton's development and how he is like a prophet for us today in the post-modern world.
January 24, 2008
Written in the shadow of the cold war and the threat of nuclear war with the Soviet Union, the underlying themes are very much relevant. This book is timeless.
February 22, 2016
Everyone should read this book
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