Timothy James "Matthew" Fox (born December 21, 1940) is an American priest and theologian. Formerly a member of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

within the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, he became a priest in the Episcopal Church following his expulsion from the order in 1993. Fox has written 35 books that have been translated into 68 languages and have sold millions of copies and by the mid-1990s had attracted a "huge and diverse following".

Life

Dominican friar

Timothy James Fox was born in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. In 1960, when he entered the Catholic

(the Order of Preachers), he was given the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

"Matthew". He received masters degrees in both philosophy and theology from the Aquinas Institute of Philosophy and Theology and later earned a Doctorate of Spiritual Theology,

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

, from the

Institut Catholique de Paris The Institut catholique de Paris (, abbr. ICP), known in English as the Catholic University of Paris (and in Latin as ''Universitas catholica Parisiensis''), is a private university located in Paris, France. History: 1875–present The Institut ...

, studying with Marie-Dominique Chenu who named the Creation Spirituality tradition for him. It was

Thomas Merton Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915December 10, 1968), religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, Christian mysticism, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. He was a monk in the Trapp ...

, the Catholic monk, who steered Fox to study at the Institut Catholique de Paris. After receiving his doctorate, Fox began teaching at a series of Catholic universities, including Loyola University in Chicago and Barat College of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest, Illinois. In 1976, Fox moved to Chicago's

Mundelein College Mundelein College was a private, independent, Roman Catholic Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. Located on the edge of the Rogers Park, Chicago, Rogers Park and Edgewater, Chicago, Edgewater neig ...

(now part of Loyola University) to start the Institute of Culture and Creation Spirituality (ICCS), a master's program in Creation Spirituality with a unique

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

that integrated both left and right brain centers and would eventually lead to conflict with Church authorities. His holistic pedagogy included among its faculty Jungian psychologist John Giannini, physicist/cosmologist Brian Swimme, feminist theologian

Rosemary Radford Ruether Rosemary Radford Ruether (; 2 November 1936 – 21 May 2022) was an American Catholic feminist theologian known for her significant contributions to the fields of feminist theology and ecofeminist theology. Her teaching and her writings helped e ...

, along with many artists teaching "art as meditation." In 1983, Fox moved ICCS to

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, and began teaching at Holy Names University, where he was a professor for 12 years. In 1984 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — the future Pope Benedict XVI, then head of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

— asked the Dominican Order to investigate Fox's writings. When three Dominican theologians examined his works and did not find his books heretical, Ratzinger ordered a second review, which was never undertaken. Due to Fox's questioning of the doctrine of

original sin Original sin () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all humans share, which is inherited from Adam and Eve due to the Fall of man, Fall, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image ...

, in 1988 Ratzinger forbade him from teaching or lecturing for a year. Fox wrote a "Pastoral Letter to Cardinal Ratzinger and the Whole Church," calling the Catholic Church a dysfunctional family. After a year "sabbatical," Fox resumed writing, teaching, and lecturing. In 1991, Fox's Dominican superior ordered him to leave the ICCS in California and return to Chicago or face dismissal. Fox refused. On March 31, 1991, Fox made an extended appearance on the British television discussion program '' After Dark'', alongside Piltdown Man debunker Teddy Hall;

secular humanist Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system, or life stance that embraces human reason, logic, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism, while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basi ...

activist Barbara Smoker; theologian N. T. Wright; playwright Hyam Maccoby (who theorized that Jesus was an apocalyptic Jew and Messianic claimant); author Ian Wilson (known chiefly for speculative writing on the

Shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin (), also known as the Holy Shroud (), is a length of linen cloth that bears a faint image of the front and back of a naked man. Because details of the image are consistent with depiction of Jesus, traditional depictions o ...

); and others. In 1993, Fox's conflicts with Catholic authorities climaxed with his expulsion from the Dominican Order for "disobedience", effectively ending his professional relationship with the Church and his teaching at its universities. Among the issues Ratzinger objected to were his feminist theology; calling God "Mother"; preferring the concept of Original Blessing over Original Sin; not condemning homosexual behavior; and teaching the four paths of creation spirituality – the ''Via Positiva'', ''Via Negativa'', ''Via Creativa'', and ''Via Transformativa'' — instead of the church's classical three paths of purgation, illumination and union. Writing in ''The New York Times'', Molly O'Neill said that the Vatican was presented with a request on the part of the Dominicans that the theologian be dismissed. According to John L. Allen Jr., it was largely in reaction to the unconventional programming at ICCS, with a faculty that included a masseuse, a

Zen Buddhist Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

, a

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

teacher, and Starhawk, a feminist

Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...

Episcopal priest

After his expulsion, Fox met young

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

activists in England who were using "raves" as a way to bring life back to their liturgy and to attract young people to church worship. He was inspired to begin holding his own series of "Techno Cosmic Masses" in Oakland and other U.S. cities, events designed to connect people to a more ecstatic and visceral celebration and relationship with ritual and the building of community. Fox was received into the Episcopal Church (

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

) as a priest in 1994 by Bishop William Swing of the Episcopal Diocese of California. In 1996, Fox founded the University of Creation Spirituality in Oakland, an outgrowth of his institutes at Mundelein and Holy Names. The university offered similar master's degree programs in creation spirituality and related studies. It was initially accredited through an affiliation with

New College of California New College of California was a college founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971 by former Gonzaga University President John Leary. It ceased operations in early 2008. New College's main campus was housed in several buildings in the Mission ...

, before shifting in 1999 to affiliate with the

Naropa Institute Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named after the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university desc ...

of Boulder, Colorado, creating and running Naropa's master's degree program. The university also added a separate doctorate of ministry degree, with a curriculum based on his 1993 book ''The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood for Our Time'', which talked about a "priesthood of all workers". Fox led the University of Creation Spirituality for nine years, then was succeeded as president by James Garrison in 2005. The institution was subsequently renamed Wisdom University. Since leaving the university, Fox has continued to lecture, write and publish books. In 2005, he founded an educational organization geared to reach out to inner-city youth called Youth and Elder Learning Laboratory for Ancestral Wisdom Education (YELLAWE). The YELLAWE program is based on a holistic approach to education and creativity derived from Fox’s master’s level programs. It also includes physical training in bodily meditation practices such as tai chi. YELLAWE has operated in inner-city school systems in Oakland and Chicago. Fox's proponents hold that his teachings are more gender-neutral, ecology sensitive, and accepting of non-traditional sexuality, than church orthodoxy.

Creation Spirituality

While some academic theologians refer to Fox as the next Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, others call him a populizer, not an intellectual. Robert Brow characterizes the teachings as "esoteric excursions into ethics, theology, and mysticism".

Basic tenets

Fox's conception of Creation Spirituality draws on both a close reading of biblical sources and early medieval mystics within Christian traditions as well as today's science. It seeks common ground with numerous faiths from around the world, in an approach Fox called "deep ecumenism" for its connections across many spiritual practices. This was described most particularly in his book ''One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths''. Creation Spirituality considers itself a “green” theology, emphasizing a holy relationship between humanity and nature. Accordingly, the sacredness of nature is considered a sacrament, and creation is considered an expression of God and the “ Cosmic Christ". This approach was endorsed by eco-theologian Thomas Berry among others. Fox's book ''The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance'' delves more into these issues. Fox also laid out other tenets of Creation Spirituality in some of his other books, particularly ''Original Blessing,'' ''A Spirituality Named Compassion,'' and ''Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the People of the Earth''. Fox’s 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. This book was updated and published by North Atlantic Books in 2016. Fox also has authored or edited nearly 35 other books, largely on various spiritual teachings, teachers, and mystics (listed below). He was the first to translate Meister Eckhart into English from the critical German editions along with a commentary on his work and helped to launch the Hildegard of Bingen revival. His book on the mysticism of Thomas Aquinas translates many of his works that have never before been translated into English, German or French. Fox's theological positions have been categorized as a type of

monism Monism attributes oneness or singleness () to a concept, such as to existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished: * Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., in Neoplatonis ...

, specifically

panentheism Panentheism (; "all in God", from the Greek , and ) is the belief that the divine intersects every part of the universe and also extends beyond space and time. The term was coined by the German philosopher Karl Krause in 1828 (after reviewin ...

. Some have claimed this approach is integral to Fox's creation spirituality. Fox's theology has received plaudits from noted spiritual figures including Dom Bede Griffiths, OSB, who said: "“(Matthew Fox’s) creation spirituality is the spirituality of the future and his Theology of the Cosmic Christ is the theology of the future." About the 25th-anniversary edition of ''Original Blessing'', John B. Cobb, professor emeritus at the

Claremont School of Theology Claremont School of Theology (CST) is a private graduate school focused on religion and theology and located in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the thirteen official theological schools of the United Methodist Church, and also has close r ...

, wrote: "Fox's accomplishment in ''Original Blessing'' was more than to recover a form of spirituality that had been obscured and to show its profound relevance and importance for our time. He used spirituality as an avenue into the depths of Christian faith and theology in general...Gradually the book is assuming the status of a classic. In due course, it will take its place in the history of spirituality and indeed in the history of theology."

Techno Cosmic Mass

Fox's "Techno Cosmic Mass" (more recently called "Cosmic Mass") is an attempt to combine the religious ritual of the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

with dance and multimedia material, deejays, video jockeys, and rap music. They evoke and connect spiritual rituals and the ecstatic energy of

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

and rave parties. They developed from a group called the Nine O'Clock Service in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, England, in the late 1980s and early 1990s and were brought to the United States and further developed by Fox. Over 100 Cosmic Masses have been celebrated in North America and numerous persons have studied how to present them.

95 theses

In 2005, while preparing for a presentation in Germany and following the election of Ratzinger as

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

, Fox created 95 theses that he then translated into German. On the weekend of

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

, arrangements were made for him to nail these to the door of the

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

church where

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

nailed the original 95 Theses in the 16th century, an act often associated with the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. The action fueled the creation of a lively blog involving tens of thousands of Germans. In his theses, Fox called for a new reformation in Western Christianity. In his supporting book, ''A New Reformation'', Fox argued 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.

Books

* ''Religion USA: Religion and Culture by way of TIME Magazine'' (1971), Listening Press, * ''On Becoming a Musical, Mystical Bear: Spirituality American Style'' (1972), Harper & Row, , (1976) Paulist Press, paperback: Republished as ''Prayer: A Radical Response to Life'' (2001), Tarcher/Putnam, * ''Western Spirituality: Historical Roots, Ecumenical Routes'' (1979) Fides/Claretian * ''A Spirituality Named Compassion and the Healing of the Global Village, Humpty Dumpty and Us'' (1979), Winston Press, , (1990) Harper San Francisco, paperback: , (1999) Inner Traditions: * ''Whee! We, Wee All the Way Home: A Guide to the New Sensual Prophetic Spirituality'' (1980), Bear & Company, * ''Breakthrough: Meister Eckhart's Creation Spirituality, in New Translation'' (1980), Doubleday (translated from German, with commentary) (1980) Image, paperback, ; republished as Passion for Creation: The Earth-honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart (2000), Inner Traditions, * ''Western Spirituality: Historical Roots, Ecumenical Routes'' (1981), Bear & Company, * ''Manifesto for a Global Civilization'' (with Brian Swimme), 1982, Bear & Company, * ''Meditations with Meister Eckhart'' (1983), Bear & Company, * ''Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality'' (1983), Bear & Company revised ed. 1996, , Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality Presented in Four Paths, Twenty-Six Themes, and Two Questions, (2000) Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, * ''Illuminations on Hildegard of Bingen Text by Hildegard of Bingen/Commentary by Matthew Fox''; (1985) Bear & Co. paperback , Republished (2002) Bear & Company. paperback * ''Hildegard of Bingen's Book of Divine Works: With Letters and Songs'' (1987), Bear & Company, * ''The Coming of the Cosmic Christ'' (1988) Harper San Francisco, (1988) HarperOne, paperback, * ''Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth'' (1991), Harper San Francisco, * ''Creation Spirituality and the Dreamtime'', with Catherine Hammond, eds. (1991) Morehouse Publishing Co., * ''Sheer Joy: Conversations With Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality'' (1992), Harper San Francisco, (2003) Tarcher/Putnam paperback: , foreword: Rupert Sheldrake, afterword: Bede Griffiths, translation: Richard Tres * ''The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood for Our Time'', (1993) Harpercollins (hardcover) (1995) Harper One (paperback) * ''The Sacred Universe with Rupert Sheldrake'', (1993) Sounds True (audiocassette) * ''Wrestling With the Prophets: Essays on Creation Spirituality and Everyday Life'' (1995), Harper San Francisco, , (2003) Tarcher, paperback: * ''Passion for Creation: The Earth-honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart'', (1995), Doubleday, * ''Vision: The Life and Music of Hildegard von Bingen'' with Hildegard of Bingen, Barbara Newman, Jane Bobko (1995) Studio * ''In the Beginning There Was Joy: A Celebration of Creation for Children of All Ages'' (1995) Crossroad Publishing Company , (1995) Godsfield Press Ltd. (paperback) * ''The Physics of Angels: Exploring the Realm Where Science and Spirit Meet'' (1996), coauthor Rupert Sheldrake, Harper San Francisco, , Revised edition 2014, Monkfish Publishing Company, * ''Natural Grace: Dialogues on Creation, Darkness, and the Soul in Spirituality and Science'', with coauthor Rupert Sheldrake, (1996), Doubleday, , (1997) Image paperback: * ''Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest'' (1996), HarperOne , (1997) Harper San Francisco, paperback: , (Fox autobiography), updated edition 2015, North Atlantic Books, * ''A Spirituality Named Compassion'' (1999) Inner Traditions * ''One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths'' (2000), Jeremy P. Tarcher, , (2000) * ''Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Lessons for Transforming Evil in Soul and Society'', (2000) Doubleday, hardcover, , (2000) Three Rivers Press, paperback, , Revised edition 2016, North Atlantic Books, * ''Prayer: A Radical Response to Life'' 2001 Tarcher * ''Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet'' (2002), Jeremy P. Tarcher, (hardcover) , Tarcher (2004) * ''Wrestling With the Prophets: Essays on Creation Spirituality and Everyday Life'' 2003 Tarcher * ''One River, Many Wells'' (2004) Tarcher, hardcover, , (2004) Tarcher, paperback, * ''Sheer Joy'' (2003) Tarcher * ''A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity'' (2006), Inner Traditions, hardcover, (Fox's "95 Theses"), (2006) * ''The A.W.E. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human'' (2006) CopperHouse paperback/CD/DVD edition * ''The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine'' (2008) New World Library, hardcover, , (2009) New World Library * ''The Pope's War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved'' (2011), Sterling Ethos, * ''Christian Mystics: 365 Readings and Meditations'' (2011), New World Library, * ''Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint For Our Times'' (2012), Namaste Publishing, * ''Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision For a New Generation'' (2013), coauthor Adam Bucko, North Atlantic Books, * ''Letters to Pope Francis'' (2013), Level Five Media, LLC, * ''Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior For Our Times'' (2014), New World Library, * ''Stations of the Cosmic Christ'' (2016), Tayen Lane Publishing, * ''A Way To God: Thomas Merton’s Creation Spirituality Journey'' (2016), New World Library, * ''The Order of the Sacred Earth'' (2017), with Skylar Wilson and Jen Listug, Monkfish Publishing Company, * ''Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic--And Beyond'' (2020), iUniverse, (sc) (e)

Notes

References

External links

Matthew Fox & Creation SpiritualityCreation Spirituality website25th Anniversary Celebration of Original BlessingMatthew Fox MP3 audio
- from ''Shift in Action'', sponsored by Institute of Noetic Sciences
Prayer Party -- Techno Mass Rocks Religious in Oakland: Music, dance celebrate spirituality
by Don Lattin, San Francisco Chronicle, February 25, 1997

New York Times Magazine, June 22, 1997 * ttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1999/02/05/MN101144.DTL East-West Naropa Institute Plans to Open in Oakland: Move is part of Jerry Brown's downtown planBy Rick DelVecchio, San Francisco Chronicle, February 5, 1999

''The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times'' Jan. 26, 2023. Weber Retreat and Conference Center is a ministry of the Adrian Dominican Sisters at 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Matthew 1940 births Living people 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests 20th-century American Roman Catholic theologians 20th-century American Episcopal priests 21st-century American Episcopal priests American Episcopal theologians 20th-century American memoirists American spiritual writers Aquinas Institute of Theology alumni Institut Catholique de Paris alumni Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism Dissident Roman Catholic theologians Former Dominicans Loyola University Chicago faculty Naropa University faculty Nautilus Book Award winners New Thought writers Panentheists Religious leaders from the San Francisco Bay Area Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area Writers from Madison, Wisconsin