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Book ReviewA book review on "The New Man" by Thomas MertonThomas Merton became a popular author in the 60s with his book "The Seven Storey Mountain". In "The New Man", he shares his reflections on Christ, as the new man, who saves us from the sin of pride, by his obedience to the Father. This book will be good for college and post-graduate students who want to deepen their understanding of Catholic philosophy and theology, and help in their pursuit of a college or post-graduate degree in Catholic philosophy and theology.A brief introduction The book is very deep and needs a lot of re-reading in order to fully understand it. It requires some background on Catholic philosophy and theology on the collegiate level. Also, a better understanding would be gained if the reader were to be patient and persevering in his desire to understand the mysteries of the Christian faith written about in the book. But, the fruit of reading it is enlightening and will help anyone truly determined to know the faith in its rootedness in the monastic spirit of the Cistercians. Uniqueness of the book What is unique about the book is that Thomas Merton, being well-educated, also integrates Greek mythology in his explanation of the "fall of man" from grace. He mentions Prometheus' stealing of the fire from Olympus that brought on toil and sorrow in the world. He puts this in parallel to the biblical story of Adam and Eve disobeying God and eating the forbidden fruit that brought on destruction, death and sin in our world. Thus, to gain a fuller understanding of the contents in this book, a basic understanding of Greek mythology is also needed. A good resource for understanding Greek mythology can be obtained from the books authored by Edith Hamilton. Chapters in the book There are only a few chapters in the book, but each chapter is packed with rich wisdom and insight that can be obtained through careful reading. This is a book that cannot be read in one sitting but needs to be put down for some time so that one can reflect on the content of the chapters and understand them through reflection and deeper thought. This book is good for those in studies to sharpen and hone their studying skills and thinking capabilities. For those who want to deepen their gift of understanding Christian mysteries, this is a good book to use as a starter. The following list shows the titles of the chapters of the book:
Though very deep and full of wisdom and insight, the basic flow of the book still follows the core mysteries of the Catholic faith: original sin and its being handed down to succeeding generations; Christ as the second Adam who obeyed God, compared to the first Adam who disobeyed God; our salvation is in Christ through our obedience to God; our being washed from original sin and succeeding sins through the sacraments of the Church; and our life in Christ through following his teaching through the Church. The book can be read from a very intellectual perspective and context. However, to obtain the real spiritual fruits of the book, the challenge is to read it with a more disciplined life of prayer with a semblance to the author's life of prayer and reflection as a Cistercian monk. Though it is not necessary to be monastic to understand the book, it would be to the reader's advantage to learn how to discipline his prayer life that he may also understand not only this book, but also other books that are written originally from a monastic context of living. This is certainly a good book to have also in one's personal library. It can be read and reread for spiritual development and enrichment, until one's retirement age when one has more leisure and has the acquired wisdom to understand the deeper mysteries of life.
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