Seeds of Destruction

"Of all the words that have been written on race relations, those in this book seem the most powerful and unassailable." ―Virginia Pasley, Newsday

Thomas Merton was one of the foremost spiritual thinkers of the twentieth century. Though he lived a mostly solitary existence as a Trappist monk, he had a dynamic impact on world affairs through his writing.

In Seeds of Destruction, he speaks to the troubled times in which it was originally published—1964. This book was written during and for the moral crisis of racism and the "black revolution," and the spiritual crisis occasioned by the passing of the old order. As the author states in his preface, "It seems to me to be a solemn obligation of conscience at this moment of history to take the positions which are indicated in this book."

In this work, Father Merton exposes the fallacies of those who would use Christian ideals and scripture to support racism. He shows how the changing era, which he calls an apocalyptic one, has affected black Americans as well as whites. He also shares a fascinating glimpse into his correspondence with people from around the world on topics ranging from the Ecumenical Council and the writings of Julian of Norwich to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s march on Washington and President Kennedy's tragic assassination. Among his correspondents are Jacques Maritain, the mayor of Hiroshima, James Baldwin, a Muslim, Dorothy Day, a rabbi, Mark Van Doren, a Quaker, Sister Madaleva, a stateman's wife, a "white priest," some Spanish seminarians, Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Dr. Wu, a contemplative nun, a Cuban poet, and many others.

Seeds of Destruction is addressed to those of good will in his time—a time that Father Merton sees as one of tremendous hope, as well as savage crisis.

First published in 1964.