Talk:Thomas Merton

Overall
This article has a great deal of unnecessary detail about Merton's early life, which would be fine for a biography but isn't needed here. And it has far too little detail about his work, which is the whole reason the article exists in the first place. --MiguelMunoz (talk) 20:01, 24 September 2015 (UTC) This is... a biography. But I agree about adding more about his work. Elizium23 (talk) 20:18, 24 September 2015 (UTC)

Someone has this month put a "story" template on this article. I don't think that is fair criticism: I find the article reads well, though it is perhaps a bit long. Deipnosophista (talk) 13:55, 28 August 2018 (UTC)


 * I agree that the article should be more encyclopedic, concise and fact-filled. I have tried improving the first part, in response to the "storey" template. Please let's discuss. Jzsj (talk) 07:36, 24 June 2020 (UTC)

Thomas Merton wasn`t Catalan
Thomas Merton was an American citizen all his life. A user is trying to present him as Catalan because he said: "I imagined myself a Catalan by birth". He wasn`t saying that he was a Catalan and its absurd to call him that.Mistico (talk) 17:54, 29 July 2018 (UTC)

..................................................... The Spirituality beyond Catholicism section in the article is quite good. However, there is no mention of the fact that a large number of conservative Catholics objected to his interest in these topics. I find that to be a serious lacking. In my own contact with Catholic clergy and monastics, I never encountered any interest in non-Catholic spirituality in the US, although I did encounter it in the Philippines, where an interest in zen is sometimes expressed among Catholic clergy. To fully understand Merton's legacy (as discussed in the Legacy section of the article), some attention to the opposition to Merton's interest in this topic would improve the article.184.180.87.188 (talk) 15:36, 16 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Sure, do you know any reliable secondary sources that cover the topic? Elizium23 (talk) 15:41, 16 May 2020 (UTC)

Far too long
Wikipedia is supposed to be an encyclopedia, not a collection of biographies. At least half of this article should be edited away. Joreberg (talk) 18:48, 1 August 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree it is too long and detailed. People have used his memoir to construct a blow-by-blow account of days, weeks, and months in his spiritual journey. This is inappropriate to the goal of the encyclopedia.Parkwells (talk) 13:52, 11 September 2020 (UTC)

scores?
Really just scores of young men were influenced by his book to join monasteries? A score is 20, so scores sounds fairly paltry. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.80.171.57 (talk) 17:47, 9 October 2020 (UTC)

changed views of his work?
The Seven Storey Mountain is the work of a man I have never even heard of." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Storey_Mountain Later Life and Criticism. 58.96.236.60 (talk) 13:21, 29 January 2023 (UTC)

Martyrdom?
Has the 2018 book by Turley and Martin been discussed much in academic circles? I notice it was self-published through Amazon's CreateSpace. While it's obviously possible for a book to struggle to find a conventional publisher because of inflammatory content, but I'd like to know more about how it's been received. Is it self published because it's controversial, or because it's crankery? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2620:22:4000:105:1f98:781:5e07:1e8f (talk) 12:50, 27 May 2024 (UTC)


 * The work does appear to be self-published but I don't know the answer to your question. I do think it would help if we had stronger independent, secondary sources that refer to their work. Barring that, it probably should not be included in the article. Stefen Towers among the rest!   Gab • Gruntwerk 19:46, 19 July 2024 (UTC)

Removal of references
I removed two references, one which is from an apparent blog (usually not seen as reliable) and the other from a fringe magazine (typically have POV issues). Please find stronger references to cite content. Stefen Towers among the rest!  Gab • Gruntwerk 19:26, 19 July 2024 (UTC)