The Divine Milieu cover

The Divine Milieu

by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

The Divine Milieu is a revolutionary book of Christian spirituality. So revolutionary, in fact, that his religious superiors refused to let him have it published. Though Teilhard, as everyone called him, finished writing it around the year 1929, it was never brought to light until after his death, in French in 1957 and in English translation in 1960. Even today, half a century later, few understand it and many are suspicious of it, because it appears to fly in the face of traditional Christian piety. But, while it is still utterly contemporary and revolutionary -- different from any other spiritual book you ever read -- it is Christian in its roots and to its core. It is joyful, hopeful, and full of enthusiasm, as any Christian spirituality should be. It expresses a love for nature, a delight in scientific discoveries, a rejoicing in human progress, and an underlying almost childlike trust in a benevolent universe evolving in the unconditional love of a benevolent and all-forgiving God. In fact, this book offers to us perhaps the only integrative spirituality that can truly satisfy our 21st Century experience. -- From http://www.teilhardforbeginners.com/divinemilieau.html (Nov. 9, 2012).

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?