The New Man by Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton became a popular author in the 1960s with his book "The Seven Storey Mountain". His other book, "The New Man", are reflections on Christ, as the new man who saves all men and women from the sin of pride. Christ, the new man, saved mankind by His obedience to the Father's will. This is in contrast to Adam and Eve, who disobeyed God; for they did not do as God wanted in the garden of Eden.

The book "The New Man" is deep, but any philosophy or theology background can help in comprehending what the author intends. The book is an interesting read because Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton integrates his literary knowledge of Greek mythology within his reflections.

A brief introduction

The book is rich in insights. The reader will surely benefit and gain not only from one reading, but from re-readings of the material. A good prerequisite before reading "The New Man" is the author's popular book, "The Seven Storey Mountain". Reading the Seven Storey Mountain will give enough background to understand The New Man. It is in The New Man that the reader can find deeper truths in the Christian faith. Also, the reader will understand the life and spirituality of the Cistercians, specifically The Trappists - a stricter community of the Cistercians, to which the author belongs.

Uniqueness of the book

The book is unique, because the author integrates Greek mythology in his explanation of the "fall of man" from grace. He mentions Prometheus (a character in Greek mythology) stealing fire from Olympus, and bringing toil and sorrow into the world. Merton places the Prometheus story in parallel to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, who both disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit. It is by their sin that destruction, death and sin entered the world. To integrate Greek mythology into reflections on Christian faith is unique to Thomas Merton.

Chapters in the book

To get some idea of the contents of the book, the following list shows the chapter's titles:

• The War Within Us
• Promethean Theology
• Image and Likeness
• Free Speech [Parrhesia]
• Spirit in Bondage
• The Second Adam
• Life in Christ
• Sacramental Illumination
• Called Out of Darkness

The basic flow of the book

The book follows the core mysteries of the Catholic faith:

original sin and its inherited effects by succeeding generations;

Christ as the second Adam (the "new man") who obeyed God compared to the first Adam (the "old man") who disobeyed God;

mankind's salvation in Christ through obedience to God;

mankind's cleansing from the effects of original sin and succeeding sins through the sacraments of the Church;

and the Christian's life through following the teaching of the Church.