Matthew Fox (priest)

Matthew Fox (born 1940) is an American priest and theologian. He is an exponent of Creation Spirituality, a movement grounded in the mystical philosophies of medieval visionaries Hildegard of Bingen, Thomas Aquinas, Meister Eckhart and Nicholas of Cusa.

Early life

Fox, originally named Timothy James, was born in Madison, Wisconsin. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1967, taking the name Matthew. He received Masters Degrees in both philosophy and theology from Aquinas Institute of Theology and later earned a Ph.D. in spirituality, summa cum laude, from the Institut Catholique de Paris. Due to his controversial teachings he was forbidden to teach theology by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) of the Holy See in 1988 and in 1992 he was dismissed from the Dominican order. He was received in 1994 as an Episcopal priest by Bishop William Swing of the Episcopal Diocese of California.

Creation Spirituality

Fox has become an important figure in Creation Spirituality. His books, especially Original Blessing (1983) and The Coming of the Cosmic Christ (1988), were pivotal in defining that movement. His 1996 autobiography, Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest, describes his life as a Dominican priest and his struggle with the Vatican as he wrote about his experiences and understanding of early Christianity. He has also authored 22 other books on various spiritual teachings. Fox's academic program, the Institute for Culture and Creation Spirituality, was based at Holy Names College in Oakland, California. Due to controversy and fear on the part of the college's board of regents, Fox left Holy Names College and founded the University of Creation Spirituality in Oakland, California in 1996, which became Wisdom University in January, 2005. The school advocated new forms of ecumenical worship and encouraged combining liturgy like Christian (Catholic) Mass with Native American rituals like sweat lodges and even pagan circle dances such as the ones taught by Starhawk. Fox promotes the Techno-cosmic Mass.

95 Theses

In Spring 2005, while preparing for a presentation in Germany, Fox was moved to prepare 95 Theses of his own which he had translated into German. On the weekend of Pentecost, arrangements were made for him to nail these to the door of Wittenberg church (the location where Martin Luther nailed the original 95 Theses in the 16th century, the act which is cited as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation). In his theses, Fox calls for a new reformation in Western Christianity. In his supporting book A New Reformation, Fox argues that two Christianities already exist, and it is time for a New Reformation to acknowledge that fact and move the Western spiritual tradition into new directions.

Writings

Fox has co-authored two books with British biologist/parapsychologist Rupert Sheldrake.

Books

• On Becoming a Musical, Mystical Bear: Spirituality American Style (1972), Harper & Row, ISBN 0-06-062912-6, Paulist Press 1976 paperback: ISBN 0-80911913-7
  • republished as Prayer: A Radical Response to Life (2001), Tarcher/Putnam, ISBN 1-58542-098-0
• A Spirituality Named Compassion and the Healing of the Global Village, Humpty Dumpty and Us (1979), Winston Press, ISBN 0-03051566-1, Harper San Francisco 1990 paperback: ISBN 0-06-254871-9, Inner Traditions 1999: ISBN 0-89281-802-6
• Whee! We, Wee All the Way Home: A Guide to Sensual Prophetic Spirituality (1980), Bear & Company, ISBN 0-939680-00-9
• Breakthrough: Meister Eckhart's Creation Spirituality, in New Translation (1980), Image/Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-17034-3 (translated from German, with commentary)
  • republished as Passion for Creation: The Earth-honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart (2000), Inner Traditions, ISBN 0-89281-801-8
• Meditations with Meister Eckhart (1983), Bear & Company, ISBN 0-939680-04-1
• Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality (1983), Bear & Company revised ed. 1996, ISBN 1-879181-27-4
  • Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality Presented in Four Paths, Twenty-Six Themes, and Two Questions, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam 2000, ISBN 1-58542-067-0
• Hildegard of Bingen's Book of Divine Works: With Letters and Songs (1987), Bear & Company, ISBN 0-939680-35-1
• The Coming of the Cosmic Christ (1988), Harper San Francisco, ISBN 0-06-062915-0
• Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth (1991), Harper San Francisco, ISBN 0-06-062917-7
• Sheer Joy: Conversations With Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality (1992), Harper San Francisco, ISBN 0-06-062914-2, Tarcher/Putnam 2003 paperback: ISBN 1-58542-234-7, forward: Rupert Sheldrake, afterword: Bede Griffiths
• The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood for Our Time (1995), Harper San Francisco reprint, ISBN 0-06-063062-0
• Wrestling With the Prophets: Essays on Creation Spirituality and Everyday Life (1995), Harper San Francisco, ISBN 0-06-062919-3, Tarcher 2003 paperback: ISBN 1-58542-235-5
• The Physics of Angels: Exploring the Realm Where Science and Spirit Meet (1996), coauthor Rupert Sheldrake, Harper San Francisco, ISBN 0-06-062864-2
• Natural Grace: Dialogues on Creation, Darkness, and the Soul in Spirituality and Science (1996), coauthor Rupert Sheldrake, Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-48356-2, Image 1997 paperback: ISBN 0-385-48359-7
• Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (1996), Harper San Francisco, 1997 paperback: ISBN 0-06-062965-7, (Fox autobiography)
• One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths (2000), Jeremy P. Tarcher, hardcover: ISBN 1-58542-047-6 paperback: ISBN 1-58542-326-2
• Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet (2002), Jeremy P. Tarcher, hardcover: ISBN 1-58542-178-2, 2004 paperback: ISBN 1-58542-329-7
• A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity (2006), Inner Traditions, ISBN 1-59477123-5 (Fox's "95 Theses")

External links

• 25th Anniversary Celebration of Original Blessing
• Matthew Fox's Friends of Creation Spirituality website
• Creation Spirituality website
• Matthew Fox MP3 audio - from Shift in Action, sponsored by Institute of Noetic Sciences