Chan Pui Fun Doris. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-111). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgement --- p.i-iii / Abstract --- p.iv-vi / Table of Contents --- p.vii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1-10 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- An Examination of William H. Shannon's view on Merton / Chapter Section I --- The Significance of Shannon --- p.11-17 / Chapter Section II --- Shannon's Interpretation on Merton --- p.18-28 / Chapter Section III --- A Proposal --- p.29-37 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Merton's Theology ´ؤ From a Potential Christ to a Kenotic Christ / Chapter Section I --- Contemplation and Action as Identity-Searching --- p.38-41 / Chapter Section II --- A Child of God: The Original Identity when a Human Being was Created --- p.42-58 / Chapter Section III --- A Potential Christ: The Present Identity when a Human Being is Born --- p.59-67 / Chapter Section IV --- A Kenotic Christ: The Present Identity when a Human Being Wills to Choose to Be --- p.68-91 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- A Re-interpretation of Merton's life --- p.92-102 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Conclusion --- p.103-104 / Bibliography --- p.105-111

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Thomas Merton (1915-1968), the American Cistercian, wrote numerous books and essays on spirituality, including both Christian and Eastern forms of mysticism, and such social concerns as racial injustice, the war in Vietnam, and the depersonalizing tendencies within a technical society. From his position of contemplative withdrawal he spoke a prophetic word to the world in which he lived, recognizing that his monastic, and eventually his eremitic life, was not so much a withdrawal from the world as it was his own place in the world. He provides, therefore, a living example of the close interrelationship between contemplation and action. Morton understood withdrawal to be movement away from the superficial and false attitudes one has of the world and of one's own self, Withdrawal is, for him, a movement away from the sharp distinction between subject and object, and a movement toward the understanding that God is the ground of all being and that all contingent beings, rooted in Him, are united. Withdrawal is the necessary prelude to effective social action, since withdrawal opens one to the truth of man's solidarity in God, who is ultimate Reality, and therefore provides the true basis for moral action. For Morton, moral theology is dependent upon ascetical theology. The closer one is to God, the closer one is to all of God's creation. Paul Tillich, too, saw the necessity for withdrawal, for an immediate apprehension of God, and for social action. Hence, it is not surprising that Tillich and Merton have numerous points of affinity. In fact, Tillich's theology can be interpreted as a theoretical statement of Merton's experience. Tillich's use of ontological language, especially his distinction between essence and existence, provides a methodical approach to the theology behind Merton's mysticism and social ethic. The purpose for withdrawal is to allow essence to become known under the conditions of existence, and one essence is know - how ever fragmentarily - it enriches existence for all, not only for the one who has experienced essentialization. Hence, even the mysticism of a hermit has an indirect effect on the entire world, and, in the case of Marton himself, a direct and explicit effect. Tillich, therefore, helps to explain Merton, and Merton's life-long attempt to balance the poles of individuality and participation provides an experiential example of Tillich's system.

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'Direct experience of God' is a term frequently used by theologians without adequate clarification regarding its meaning. The understanding thereof has become increasingly complicated by the process of secularization. In the 1960's, it was repeatedly asserted that modern people could not have direct experiences of God, albeit that one could still live by faith and by commitment to the way of Jesus in a world in which, it was asserted, "God is dead". This claim, although long predominant, has been challenged by the upsurge of interest in mysticism, both Eastern and Western, and the burgeoning of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement, in which circles direct experience of God was frequently claimed. If direct experience of God is something natural to humanity, interpretation of it will vary in exactly the same way as interpretation of all other human experiences. This could be a possible reason for it being so very poorly integrated into everyday life, resulting in the loss of meaning and value.