How Do We Know When It's God? A Spiritual Memoir.How Do We Know When It's God? A Spiritual Memoir Dan Wakefield Little Brown, $12, 272 pp. In Returning: A Spiritual Journey (1988), novelist and playwright Dan Wakefield told the story of his religious conversion after a hectic life of drinking and two failed marriages. Wakefield's latest, How Do We Know When It's God?, reprises REPRISES. The deductions and payments out of lands, annuities, and the like, are called reprises, because they are taken back; when we speak of the clear yearly value of an estate, we say it is worth so much a year ultra reprises, besides all reprises. 2. and updates his spiritual journey, covering his active membership at King's Chapel For the Chapel at Cambridge, England, see . King's Chapel is a Christian Unitarian church in Boston, Massachusetts, located at the corner of Tremont Street and School Street. in Boston (Unitarian in theology, Anglican in liturgy, and Congregational in worship); sideline career teaching seminars on spiritual autobiography Spiritual autobiography is a genre of non-fiction prose that dominated Protestant writing during the seventeenth century, particularly in England, particularly that of dissenters. ; participation in est and a Jungian seminar on Jesus; and his practice of tai chi Tai Chi Definition T'ai chi is a Chinese exercise system that uses slow, smooth body movements to achieve a state of relaxation of both body and mind. and yoga. Apart from this spiritual tourism, Wakefield recounts numerous romances (including one short-lived marriage) and various struggles with his writing, psychological state, and church community, as well as his persistent desire to develop what the Ignatian tradition calls discernment, that which helps us know the will of God. As the book's title reflects, the quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby" quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the discernment, for the wisdom to distinguish God from mere psychological frisson, is Wakefield's central subject. His honesty, earnestness, and ability to write sinewy sin·ew·y adj. 1. a. Consisting of or resembling sinews. b. Having many sinews; stringy and tough: a sinewy cut of beef. 2. Lean and muscular. See Synonyms at muscular. , nonsentimental prose distinguish this volume from much of the literature of search, a genre dominating contemporary religious publication. Particularly fine are the vignettes of persons who have helped Wakefield on his journey. The late Henri Nouwen told him, correctly, that "Christianity is not about getting your life together." There is a wonderful portrait of novelist Reynolds Price Reynolds Price (born February_1, 1933, as Edward Reynolds Price) is an American novelist, poet, dramatist, essayist and James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University. , who has done his own translation of the Gospels, and who challenged Jesus Seminar guru John Dominic Crossan's assertions about Jesus. If four semiliterate sem·i·lit·er·ate adj. 1. Having achieved an elementary level of ability in reading and writing. 2. Having limited knowledge or understanding, especially of a technical subject. writers of bad Greek could invent the person of Jesus, then, Price advised, "Try it sometime, Mister Crossan." Now recovered from heart surgery, at an age when the Social Security checks could arrive, Wakefield teaches part of the year in Florida, continues to sort out his romantic life, and hangs onto his basic religious convictions. Not a denominational person, Wakefield describes himself as a "plain Christian." His work will particularly appeal to the growing number of Americans (30 percent according to a December 1999 Gallup Poll) who consider themselves "spiritual but not religious." But Wakefield's book offers all of us insight into the confusions, aspirations, and varied resources available in the American marketplace for those who wish to understand the religious and spiritual life. Lawrence S. Cunningham teaches theology at the University of Notre Dame. |
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