Matthew Fox (priest) 884135 226068679 2008-07-16T18:11:02Z Hrafn 3939239 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 226067795 by [[Special:Contributions/Celosiacristata|Celosiacristata]] ([[User talk:Celosiacristata|talk]])Unsourced {{Unreferenced|date=July 2008}} '''Matthew Fox''' (born 1940) is an [[United States|American]] [[priest]] and [[theology|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 entered the Order of Preachers (the Dominicans) where he was given the name Matthew, his "name in religion". Fox was ordained to the priesthood in the [[Roman Catholic|Roman Catholic Church]] in 1967. He received [[masters degree]]s in both [[philosophy]] and [[theology]] from the [[Aquinas Institute of Theology]] and later earned a [[Doctor of Philosophy|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 into the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal Church]] (Anglican Communion) 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 [[Roman Curia|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,{{Fact|date=July 2008}} 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 (liturgy)|Mass]] with [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] rituals like [[sweat lodge]]s and even [[paganism|pagan]] [[circle dance]]s 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 language|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]]. ==See also== *[[New Thought]] *[[Religious Science]] *[[Divine Science]] *[[Ernest Holmes]] *[[Unity Church|Unity]] ==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), 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 *''Western Spirituality: Historical Roots, Ecumenical Routes'' (1981), Bear & Company, ISBN 0-939680-01-7 *''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, ISBN 1-58542-047-6 paperback: ISBN 1-58542-326-2 *''Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet'' (2002), Jeremy P. Tarcher, 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") *''Passion for Creation: The Earth-honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart'', Doubleday, 1995. ISBN 978-0-385-48047-5 *''Natural Grace: Dialogues on Creation, Darkness, and the Sould in Spirituality and Science (with Rupert Sheldrake)'', Doubleday, 1997. ISBN 978-0-385-48359-9 *''Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Lessons for Transforming Evil in Soul and Society'', Doubleday (publishe, 2000. ISBN 978-0-609-60087-0 ==External links== *[http://www.originallyblessed.org 25th Anniversary Celebration of Original Blessing] *[http://www.matthewfox.org Matthew Fox's Friends of Creation Spirituality website] *[http://www.creationspirituality.info Creation Spirituality website] *[http://shiftinaction.com/discover/luminaries/matthew_fox Matthew Fox MP3 audio] - from ''Shift in Action'', sponsored by [[Institute of Noetic Sciences]] *[http://www.womenandspirituality.net/ Women and Spirituality] {{Persondata |NAME=Fox, Matthew |ALTERNATIVE NAMES=James, Timothy (born) |SHORT DESCRIPTION=[[priest]] and [[theology|theologian]] |DATE OF BIRTH=1940 |PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Madison, Wisconsin]] |DATE OF DEATH=living |PLACE OF DEATH=none }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Matthew}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:1940 births]] [[Category:Panentheists]] [[Category:Converts to Anglicanism]] [[Category:Former Roman Catholics]] [[Category:New Thought writers]] [[Category:New Thought movement]] [[Category:American theologians]] [[Category:American Episcopalians]] [[Category:Dissident Roman Catholic theologians]] [[Category:People from Madison, Wisconsin]] [[de:Matthew Fox (Theologe)]]