Both Rick Warren and Thomas Merton are spiritual writers whose books have reached far beyond their denominations. I had purchased Warren's The Purpose Driven Life because some of the people in my parish were reading it in their small groups. However, I never got around to reading it. When I opened it the other day and began to read it, I was struck both by how similar and how very different its first chapter was to the introductory chapter of Merton's Seeds of Contemplation.
Below I have summarized each chapter sticking very closely to their words.
The Purpose Driven Life
Chapter 1. It all starts from God.
Point to Ponder: Is not about you.
Contrary to what many popular books, movies and seminars tell you, you won’t discover life’s meaning by looking within yourself. You have probably tried that already.
I have read many books that suggest ways to discover the purpose of my life. All of them could be classified as “self-help” books because they approach the subject from a self-centered viewpoint. They usually offer the same predictable steps to finding life’s purpose. Consider your dreams. Clarify your values. Set some goals. Figure out what you are good at. Aim high! Go for it! Be disciplined! Believe you can achieve your goals Involve others! Never give up!
This is not a self-help book It is not about finding the right career, achieving your dreams, or planning your life. It is about becoming what God created you to be.
Fortunately, there is an alternative to speculation about the meaning of life. It’s revelation. God has not left us in the dark to wonder and guess. He has clearly revealed his five purposes for our lives in the Bible. It is our owner’s manual, explaining why we are alive, how life works, what to avoid, and what to expect in the future.
This (preceding bible) verse gives us three insights into your purpose.
1. You discover your identity and purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you don’t have such a relationship, I will explain how to begin one.
2. God was thinking of you long before you ever thought about him. His purpose for your life predates your conception. You get to choose your career, your spouse, your hobbies, and many other parts of your life but you don’t get to choose your purpose.
3. The purpose of your life fits into a much larger cosmic purpose that God has designed for eternity. That is what this book is about.
Question to consider: In spite of all the advertising about me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself.
Seeds of Contemplation
Every moment and every event of everyone’s life on earth plants something in their souls.
For just as the wind carries thousands of invisible and visible winged seeds, so the stream of time brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in our minds and wills. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because we are not prepared to receive them: for such seeds as these cannot spring up anywhere except in the good soil of liberty and desire.
The mind that is prisoner of its own pleasure and the will that is captive of its own desire cannot accept the seeds of a higher pleasure and a supernatural desire.
For how can I receive the seeds of freedom if I am in love with slavery, and how can I cherish the desire of God if I am filled with another and opposite desire. God cannot plant his liberty in me because I am a prisoner and do not even desire to be free. I love my captivity and lock myself up in the desire for the things that I hate, and I have hardened my heart against true love.
If I were looking for God, every event and every moment would sow, in my will, grains of God’s life, that would spring up one day in a tremendous harvest.
For it is God’s love that warms me in the sun and God’s love that sends the cold rain. It is God’s love that feeds me the bread that I eat and God that feeds me also by hunger and fasting. It is the love of God that sends the winter days when I am cold and sick, and the hot summer when I labor and my clothes are full of sweat, but it is God Who breathes on me with light winds off the river and in the breezes out of the wood….
If they would take root in my liberty, and if God’s will would grow from my freedom, I would become the love that God is, and my harvest would be his glory and my own joy.
And I would grow together with thousands and millions of other freedoms in the gold of one huge field praising God, loaded with increase, loaded with corn.
If in all things I consider only the heat and the cold, the food or the hunger, the sickness or the labor, the beauty or the pleasure, the success or the failure, or the material good or evil my works have won for my own will, I will find only emptiness and not happiness.
But in all that happens, my one desire and my one joy should be to know: Here is the thing that God has willed for me:" In this God’s love is found, and in accepting this I can give back God’s love to God and give myself to God, and grow up in God’s will to contemplation, which is life everlasting.”
My Comments
1. Although both Warren and Merton do not see themselves as writing self-help books, the large audiences which have consumed their books likely consist of many people who are interested in reading books that will help them in their personal development.
Merton saw himself as sharing thoughts that developed out of his life as a monk that might be useful for anyone who had an interior life of reflection. In his second edition of Seeds of Contemplation he makes clear he is not writing a manual on how to be a contemplative.
Yet when I read the original book as an adolescent, I recognized by the first page that I was a contemplative. It has provided a guide to what to expect as my contemplative life has developed over time.
2. God is the central protagonist in both books but in vastly different ways. For Warren, God is out there creating the world, mankind, and giving the Bible as the owner’s guide.
For Merton, God is creating every moment and event, gifting opportunities for spiritual growth deep in each person’s being, in their minds, hearts and souls.
3. Warren proclaims the centrality of the Bible and Jesus Christ as savior.
Without even mentioning the Bible or Christ, Merton presents a beautiful interpretation of the parable of the Sower and the seed. The Word of God is indeed present in all creation, and also in the spiritual depths of the human person.
One might even conclude that the development of all creation takes place in the depths of human persons. Merton makes it very clear that each and every person’s development is also the development of a communion of persons.
4. Warren and Merton are both wary of the dangers of modern culture. Warren appears headed in the direction of advocating a biblical based church culture in opposition to modern worldly culture.
Merton recognizes that the problem of the world is in our hearts more than out there. Merton was very concerned about spiritual pride (what Pope Francis is calling spiritual worldliness) i.e. the pursuit of fame, fortune, and power in the name of religion. Somehow, I doubt we will find that in Warren. Merton’s second chapter proclaims that everything is holy.
5. Warren sees himself as articulating what the Bible says. The book is replete with quotes from the Bible. He deliberately varies the translations and even makes his own translations to provide fresh stimulation for his readers. Some of his critics have noted that he makes it difficult for his readers to bypass him and check it out in their Bibles. I found I could easily eliminate all the bible quotes from Warren yet still retain the essence of the first chapter.
Merton offers his reflections as thoughts that are common among monks that might prove helpful to people who are not monks. Merton states that all his writing presumes the Gospels, the Monastic Rule, and is very indebted to Saint Bernard and John of the Cross. In other words, Merton is writing from deep within the Catholic tradition. He says that little is original and nothing contrary to church teaching. The last was tongue in cheek. Merton famously had difficulties with the many censors in dioceses and the order that had to approve his writings.
Interesting comparison of The Purpose Driven Life and Thomas Merton.
ReplyDeleteA number of years ago a series of sessions on The Purpose Driven Life was offered to the deacons (and wives) as continuing ed. We took part. It was kind of interesting. I wouldn't say life changing though. I think there was a quiz to take to determine what your strengths were. Most of us had already sort of figured that out. I'll have to see if the book is still around, I should re-read it. But I might have given it to the library sale.
Random thoughts and speaking only from my own experience: I think people raised without any clear religious direction and in search of making sense of an inchoate awareness of God, find these types of narratives helpful for these reasons:
ReplyDelete1. Readers don't always have the language to express what they are experiencing. I could not have explained what was happening to me had I not read Merton's book a few years before I sought baptism.
2. The books provide a gauge against which readers can measure their attitudes and experiences. A lot of what Merton wrote resonated with me. I also felt that he was arrogant and quite judgmental. But all those responses helped me get a sense of what kind of believer I might make.
3. Religious narratives help readers develop a plan of action. In my case, Merton's book eventually helped me see I needed to sound out Christian clergy to see whether they might be helpful in continuing on.
I'm pretty sure I could have read any religious narrative and got something from it. It was entirely what I made of Merton as a sounding board that was important.
Cradle Christians might experience a refinement of their identity from reading these types of books. As Jack said, Merton helped him understand he was a contemplative.
I might get insights from Rick Warren's book, but generally I don't like to put my limited time and treasure into the coffers of evangelicals.
Good observations, Jean. About 20 years ago I read some Merton, including New Seeds of Contemplation. I have several of his books on my shelves, but haven’t read them for quite a while. His meditations were helpful to me then in starting to really “refine” my beliefs, as you mentioned. I have carried a tiny book version of Merton’s “Thoughts in Solitude” in my purse for years. It was one of several mini- sized books for sale next to the cash register at Barnes & Noble to entice impulse buyers. I also bought a mini- book version of one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s books. Both have been in my purse ever since. I would read one of the short chapters and meditate. I often read it while waiting for someone - in a dr. Office waiting room, or picking up one of my kids. Whenever there were a few minutes to kill.
DeleteAn evangelical friend gave me Warren’s book after he had found, and read, or at least skimmed, a book by Richard Rohr that I had accidentally left behind after staying with them for a few days in their retirement home in Florida. I guess he feared for my soul. I read a few chapters, skimmed the rest. I don’t think I still have it, but I will look. The evangelical approach to Christianity simply doesn’t resonate with me. I have read a number of books by well known evangelicals, but no longer bother. My bookcase has many books by mystics and contemplatives, both the traditional big names (John of the Cross etc) and contemporary.
There are paths for everyone, but since I have come to believe that the evangelical Christians have become a threat to our country’s traditional freedoms, I no longer spend money to read their books.
The Purpose Driven Life didn’t seem to be particularly extremist in its content - and now his church has ordained women, so it seems they are distancing themselves from the more extreme evangelicals. But our friends who gave me the book have become very extremist. The husband pushed hydroxychoroquine strongly, sending us a 20 page research paper he wrote ( he is a retired engineer). Later he switched to ivermectin. They refused to be vaccinated, and once they did get Covid, attributed their recovery to the ivermectin they took as a prophylactic rather than the monoclonal antibody infusions their doctor arranged for them. That treatment was mentioned in passing, an afterthought. Now they are into being prophets via a fringe movement church they have joined. She believes that the Holy Spirit speaks through her, literally, and gives interpretations of scripture that they refer to as prophecies. This is for Stanley - He has been devoting himself to researching cosmology to try to reconcile their literalist views of scripture with science, and especially to try to disprove climate change theories. ( he was SES in the government, running huge research programs). I get that people disagree on how much human actions contribute to climate change, but he is approaching it with an understanding that I have never before heard - he says that his research to fight climate change activism is spiritual warfare! This couple was among our closest friends for 30 years. We saw them every year in Florida after they moved. Now we don’t visit them anymore when we go to Florida. We usually stayed with them two or three nights on our way to Sanibel Island, devastated by Hurricane Ian. So can’t go there now anyway. We are looking for a new cold weather retreat. We had already soured a bit on the Floridians embrace of MAGA and DeSantis. Hawaii is great - way more beautiful than Florida - but so much harder to get to!
Yes, Anne, I've seen that "spiritual" approach to climate change surface in the America Magazine comments. God is in control of the climate as if He's the old guy with a beard pulling levers and pushing buttons like the Wizard of Oz. I actually agree that it IS a spiritual fight. As I've said, there's no scientific reason to mitigate climate change. If someone wants to jump off a building, telling him about gravity, wind resistance and the fragility of the human structure will do no good. He needs a reason to live and a better weltanschauung.
DeleteMy religion and branch of Christianity seems to uphold the simpler, communal, humbler spiritual life as a Christian ideal. Adhering to that would go a long way toward solving the problem. More than Teslas, that's for sure.
"I will not cease from mental fight, nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, 'til we have built Jerusalem, in England's green and pleasant land."
Anne, you would have to mention Hawaii! We were there eleven years ago, and would go back in a heartbeat, except it is a pretty expensive trip (that, and we always seem to catch something when flying).. We went in the middle of May, which is just about perfect weather there. You should go, it will lift your spirits.
DeleteThanks, Katherine. We will go again. We’ve been lucky enough to go before, combined with trips to California to see our sons, to break up the long trip. The airlines have great low season fares from LA. Cheaper then than flying to Florida - or Boston or other places from here that are much closer. We’ve seen all the islands except Molokai and Lanai. They are each amazingly beautiful in individual ways. We’ve traveled a lot in our lives, and we both think that the Hawaiian Islands are among the very most beautiful places we’ve had the privilege of visiting. I hope that you and your husband can go again. Off season is best for both plane fares and accommodations. That’s usually mid-Jan-Feb ( a bit rainier then), after Easter until mid-June when schools get out, and fall, before thanksgiving, and for a couple of weeks in early December. Your May trip was perfect planning.
DeleteKatherine, the Hawaii fare sales for April-June have started. I get email from several airlines because of the amount of travel we do. Current about $250-300RT from LA. But, getting from Nebraska to LA affordably might be more expensive than from LA to the islands.
Delete"...getting from Nebraska to LA affordably might be more expensive than from LA to the islands." LOL, probably! When we went before we went through Dallas/Fort Worth both going and coming back. It was cheaper than going through LA. Part of the time we were flying over part of Mexico.
DeleteStanley, that’s very interesting. I hadn’t realized that climate change was part of a spiritual war! Well, I tend to err on the side of caution when facing the unknown, so I tend to support the climate activist policies. After all, cleaner air is a void thing no matter what.
ReplyDeleteGood - not void.
DeleteI'm pretty sure I already mentioned Dr. Katherine Hayhoe who is an evangelical and a climate scientist. Her FB posts get their nastiest comments from evangelicals and atheists.
DeleteRegarding anti-vaxxers, my OR nurse friend's daughter just got through a bout with COVID. His ex-wife, a school nurse of all things, won't let their daughter be vaccinated. He marvels that she'll let their daughter take Paxlovid, essentially chemotherapy that interferes with the body's biochemistry, and not something that trains the natural immune system. He has offered to take her for a vaccination but the girl is afraid to cross her mother.
Stanley, her book, "Saving Us", is on my Amazon list. It's weird that she gets nasty comments from Evangelicals, since she is one. Maybe just not the right sort of MAGA evangelical.
DeleteI'm planning to read her book.
Dr. Francis Collins is an evangelical also. He was Director of NIH (National Institutes of Health) until he retired a year ago. He was Dr. Fauci’s boss. He wrote articles and gave talks practically begging evangelicals to get vaccinated, and he too was vilified by other evangelicals. Dr. Fauci (Jesuit education in high school. Holy Cross University for college)) took the brunt of the hate though.
DeleteYeah, I didn't understand why Dr. Fauci drew so much lightning.
DeleteI think it boils down to the fact that Fauci = government bureaucrat making more money than me recommending stuff I don't wanna to do = tyranny, and death to tyrants.
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