Keeping Faith by Fenton Johnson

Keeping Faith by Fenton Johnson

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Keeping Faith by Fenton Johnson

In his resonant account of a spiritual quest, Fenton Johnson examines what it means for a skeptic to have and to keep faith. Exploring Western and Eastern monastic traditions, Johnson lives as a member of the community at the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky and at the branches of the San Francisco Zen Center. Ultimately his encounter with Buddhism brings him to a new understanding and embrace of Christianity. Weaving together meditations on Johnson's spiritual journey with history and insights from modern monks, Keeping Faith offers a blueprint for a new way of practicing faith.


This unflinching spiritual biography explores:


  • A Skeptic's Journey: The author's candid struggle with anger, doubt, and the institutional church as he seeks an authentic path to the divine.
  • Buddhism and Christianity: A deep dive into two ancient monastic traditions, living side-by-side with monks in a Kentucky abbey and Zen practitioners in California.
  • Zen Meditation and Practice: An immersive look at the discipline of zazen and daily life inside the San Francisco Zen Center and its remote Tassajara monastery.
  • Modern Monasticism: A rare glimpse into the Abbey of Gethsemani, the spiritual home of Thomas Merton, and what it means to live a life of solitude, prayer, and community today.
Johnson, Fenton: - Fenton Johnson is the author of award-winning fiction and literary nonfiction, including the novels Scissors, Paper, Rock and The Man Who Loved Birds, as well as Keeping Faith: A Skeptic's Journey among Christian and Buddhist Monks and Geography of the Heart: A Memoir. He is associate professor of creative writing at the University of Arizona and teaches in the MFA program at Spalding University in Louisville.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780618492374
ISBN 10 0618492372
Title Keeping Faith
Author Fenton Johnson
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher HarperOne
Year published 2004-11-10
Number of pages 324
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.