Dr. James P. Carse

Jim was amazing. I went to NYU in the 1970s and took all his classes. We also sometimes had lunches together.... I learned so much from him... wish we had stayed in touch but it was not so easy back then...

Dear Carse Family and Friends, It's easy and wonderful to remember Dr. James Carse and to write about him. He was very significant and stellar as a professor at NYU and author. I had 3 wonderful classes with him that helped set the stage for the rest of college and career and, more important, life in general. He also helped a lot with my thesis, which was related to his course (Spirituality in the Modern Novel). He was so interesting and important to thousands of students and readers who...

I took Professor Carse's class "Theism, Atheism, and Existentialism" at NYU in the late 1980's. It was one of the finest educational experiences I ever had. (Still have my notes and all of the books!) My biggest regret, though, is that was the only class I took from Prof. Carse. Looking back, I really wish I had taken at least one more while I was at NYU. The best advice I can give a college student today is, if you find a professor you really like, take as many classes with them as possible....

It began with a decision to take a bath this evening. I have a lovely old bathtub, with silver clawed feet which I don´t use very often because it´s a little narrow where my shoulders slide into the steaming bubbly water. As I do when I bathe, I decided to take a small pile of books with me. Among these books was Breakfast at the Victory Club, which I'm about halfway through. I began the chapter titled: A Deeper Dreamer. It starts off with an anecdote about an intrepid baby mouse that...

I ran a search for James Carse this morning and just learned of his passing. I took his World Mythology course at NYU in either 1982 and it was the most engaging and memorable course I´ve ever taken (which is saying something as I´ve taken my share en route to my own PhD). Four decades later and I´m struck by how fresh my memories are of my anticipation walking from the East Village, up the stairs and into his classroom. He was a masterful teacher and storyteller who could connect the most...

I knew Jim as the chaplin at the Univeersity of Connecticut where I did my Ph.D and he became a lifelong friend. He was among the first lecturers I invited to Oakland University when I started teaching there for he was a gifted story teller and that brought his lectures alive. After I moved to Hungary I kept in touch with through his marvelous books for he wrote as compellingly as he talked. A great spirit, superb teacher who added importantly to religious thought and practice.

My favorite professor ever....his classes kept me alive, at a time when I was barely learning about life. I visited him in N.Y., after thinking about writing my own book...he offered to edit it for me. I blew it, though, deciding not to write one at that time. Now he is gone physically. Through his classes, Dr. Carse taught me how to think... At 69 years old, I, again, desire to write...Perhaps, Dr. Carse, you can guide me through the ethers...bless you, Dr. Carse....for...

In a world white-hot with ideological overkill, Carse's writings are a healing balm of clarity, an invitation to ponder the infinite One who is merciful and mighty. I thank God for his vivid life.

He was my teacher 40 year ago and a powerful influence. (I became a teacher and a storyteller myself, perhaps even something of a seeker.) We had many conversations and I can still remember discrete moments in his classroom, but one image stands out: an ordinary day passing each other in Washington Square Park. He pointed at me with a look of utter surprise and delight as if to say, "There you are!" As if a blue whale had just breached the surface in the fountain and I was that whale. (As if...