FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING THOMAS MERTON’S INTEREST IN KARL BARTH Ryan Scruggs Faculty of Religious Studies McGill University, Montreal November 2009 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research of McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts © Ryan Scruggs, 2009 Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l’édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-66360-8 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-66360-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L’auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l’Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n’y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 2 C O N T E N T S Abstract/Résumé ..................................................................................................................4 Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................................5 Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................6 Introduction ........................................................................................................................8 1. Barth and Revelation ..................................................................................................12 1.1 Merton, Reader of Barth: A Brief Survey ....................................................................12 1.2 An Unprincipled Reality ............................................................................................. 20 1.3 Taking God Seriously ................................................................................................ 21 1.4 Christian Humanism ....................................................................................................26 1.5 Christian Culture ....................................................................................................... 31 1.6 Natural Theology ........................................................................................................33 2. Christ as Logos .............................................................................................................37 2.1 Anselm and Reason .....................................................................................................39 2.2 The Word of Revelation ..............................................................................................45 2.2.1 Faith Seeking Understanding ...................................................................................45 2.2.2 An Intuition of Being ................................................................................................46 2.2.3 Intuition as Prayer ....................................................................................................53 2.2.4 The Faith from both Authority and Experience .......................................................56 2.2.5 The Revelation of God’s Name ...............................................................................60 2.2.6 Theology and Spirituality .........................................................................................63 2.3 Apologetics and Interreligious Dialogue .....................................................................68 2.3.1 An Obvious Objection ..............................................................................................69 2.3.2 Position .....................................................................................................................71 2.3.3 Purpose ......................................................................................................................78 3. Christ as Sophia ...........................................................................................................82 3.1 Merton’s Growing Interest in Universal Wisdom .......................................................85 3.2 Mozart and Wisdom .....................................................................................................88 3.3 The Experience of Revelation ......................................................................................95 3.3.1 Faith Seeking Experience ........................................................................................95 3.3.2 Plato, Aristotle, and Chuang Tzu ............................................................................102 3.3.3 The Word, and Wordless Experience .....................................................................110 3.3.4 The Bible, and Religion ..........................................................................................116 3.3.5 The Fear of the Lord ...............................................................................................121 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................123 3 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................125 1. Primary Sources: Writings by Thomas Merton (1915-1968) .....................................125 1.1Journals .......................................................................................................................125 1.2 Letters ........................................................................................................................125 1.3 Books, Articles, and Talks .........................................................................................125 2. Secondary Sources: Writings on Merton .....................................................................127 3. Other Sources 129 4 ABSTRACT This study evaluates Thomas Merton’s interest in Karl Barth, an interest centered on two important, though sometimes misunderstood, figures in Barth’s theology: Anselm and Mozart. Merton finds in Barth not a theology that he can entirely agree with, but a theological method he considers primary. This method is called ‘faith seeking understanding.’ Both Barth and Merton begin with Christ in their search for understanding: Barth, in the Logos of God and Merton, in the Sophia of God. The movement from revelation to theological understanding and religious experience provides Merton the freedom to engage his religious other while avoiding both apologetics and syncretism. RÉSUMÉ Cette étude analyse l’intérêt de Thomas Merton pour Karl Barth, un intérêt centré sur deux figures importantes, bien que parfois incomprises, présentes dans la théologie de Barth : Anselme et Mozart. Merton voit chez Barth non pas une théologie qu’il approuve entièrement, mais plutôt une méthode théologique qu’il considère de la plus haute importance. Cette méthode est appelée ‘la foi en quête de compréhension.’ Merton et Barth débutent tous deux avec le Christ dans leur quête de compréhension: Barth, avec le Christ en tant que Logos de Dieu, et Merton, avec le Christ en tant que Sagesse de Dieu. Le mouvement de la révélation à la compréhension théologique et à l’expérience religieuse procure à Merton la liberté de s’ouvrir religieusement à l’autre, tout en évitant autant l’apologétique que le syncrétisme. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For patience and encouragement I am grateful to none more than my wife, Jani. You are a wonderful partner and the love of my life. It was a pleasure to work under the advisory of Dr. Maurice Boutin; thank you for your time, sure guidance, and generally hopeful outlook. Also thanks to Samieun Khan for supervising the text and for preparing many final details in a tedious formatting process. To the greater Merton community who has embraced me from day one: I am particularly indebted to Bonnie Thurston for your continued interest and dialogue; to Patrick O’Connell and Christopher Pramuk for encouragement; and to Paul Pearson for all the practical help a young researcher could ask for. I am also grateful for the support of the Thomas Merton Society of Canada, including