Thomas Merton

Paul R. Dekar is Professor Emeritus of Evangelism and Mission, Memphis Theological Seminary, member of a new monastic community in Australia, and a prolific author, including Community of the Transfiguration: Journey of a New Monastic Community (2008). After thirty-four years of full-time teaching, he continues to teach, write, and work with communities of hope in Dundas, Ontario, Canada.

Paul Dekar presents us in this book with a manifesto for the future of the Christian community, which he sees being renewed by intentional, contemplative, essentially lay communities that know how to connect classic monastic wisdom with the challenges of our addicted-conflicted culture. He tells us with real passion that we don't need to fight old battles, but instead need to focus on God's future. The chapter on Merton and technology is alone worth the price of the book. Warmly recommended, especially to Christians discouraged with the institutional church.

• Foreword by Paul M. PearsonAcknowledgmentsAbbreviations1. Stirrings of a New Monasticism2. Introducing Thomas Merton3. Thomas Merton on Monastic Renewal4. Thomas Merton on Simplification of Life5. Thomas Merton, Guide to the Right Use of Technology 6. Thomas Merton on Care of Earth 7. The Root of War Is Fear8. Twentieth-Century Wisdom for Twenty-First-Century Communities 9. Building Communities of LoveAppendix 1: Conference on The Christian in a Technological World by Thomas MertonAppendix 2: Conference on Marxism and Technology by Thomas MertonBibliography