Recapturing the Wonder

A perfect book to read when you want to rediscover/recapture your faith. It's an accessible, understandable book.

The title of this book catches a nerve. In a technologically rich and overwhelmingly connected world, we tend to spend more time trying to talk and solve problems instead of appreciating and listening. Learning to appreciate life is about reconnecting back to what life is about. How do we deal with our doubts? What are we to make of the stresses and pressures of life? Perhaps, what is most disconcerting is when we are able to rationalize small details of our lives, but fail to connect them all together to make sense of the larger picture. This book seeks to examine the gaps and to help us tell our own stories. Author Mike Cosper draws on the expertise and experience of well-known authors, theologians, and spiritual writers to guide him along. These people form powerful testimonies that God is not some distant clockmaker but is up close and personal. With guides like Hannah Arendt, Charles Taylor, James K.A. Smith, Helen MacDonald, David Foster Wallace, and others. He describes the seven pathways in which we can find connections in our increasingly fragmented world, and to find ourselves as we navigate the complexity and sophistication around us. In each chapter, Cosper describes the issues and problems we face in our existing culture before presenting a possible pathway to make sense of our role.


First, it begins with recognizing that we need help. In our scientific and technological world, we are used to solving problems. We limit ourselves to what we can see and sidestep whatever that are alien to our understanding. This is one reason why many easily embrace the atheistic and secular lifestyle. In Cosper's words, we are living in a "disenchanted world" where "God and religion are superfluous." People no longer see a need for God. Even Christians can be disenchanted when they do not understand some of the things mentioned in the Bible. In fact, one can know the Bible well but still find oneself distant from God. This is especially so for people who treat the Bible like a knowledge chest. Cosper shows us through breath prayers how to be re-enchanted once again instead of being disillusioned by the world. The second practice addresses the state of religion, of how the externals may be different but the internal traits are the same. Like in the old days, religion is about sacrificing animals or some blood offerings. Today, many such rites are in another different form, such as virtual reality and need for some kind of affirmation of who we are, our worth, and our religious need. A key observation about why historical religions are increasingly out of vogue is because humanity have moved beyond the traditional past. It's like clinging on to old-fashioned ideas in a new-fashion world. The key to renewal of hope is to turn our expectations from working for recognition to experiencing grace. Using a three-part prayer of examination, confession, and assurance, we move toward to plug the source of anxiety that plagues the constant discontent in this world. The third observation of modern culture centers on how we are pressured to make things happen, especially when we do not see things happening according to our expectations. In the rush for mountaintop experiences, we constantly seek out spiritual testosterones to make some spiritual sense of our disenchanted world. Cosper hits the nail on the head by saying: "Chasing religious spectacles only makes sense in a disenchanted world." The way forward to is back to the Bible, and a re-orientating to how we approach the Scriptures. Learn to read the gospels without interruption; pray the psalms using down-to-earth emotional languages. Fourth, Cosper notices the "culture of display" where we tend to want to show ourselves off in the best possible way on social media. He reflects on Hannah Arendy's words that too much public display only portrays a "shallow" self, and calls for a return to God. This means a renewed focus on solitude: regular; little; and extended. The fifth is about abundance and scarcity, and how we are to make a distinction between the bread and the blessing. Far too many people are concerned about bringing bread instead of sharing the blessing. He notes that the gift of an artist is not about making money. It is about nurturing the gift, multiplying it, and blessing the world through it. Even shopping is a kind of religious experience that tests our own values whether our way of life is in keeping the bread or sharing the gift. The root of giving is essentially finding contentment and abundance in God. This can be done through the discipline of fasting to lower materialism's hold on us, and on generosity to heighten the love in us. Sixth, we live in an attention deficit world as well as an attention-seeking individuals. Our desire for constant attention and stimulation may very well distract us from the "anxieties of disenchantment." Like pain-killers, it numbs us from the pain without really solving the cause of the pain. Rather than draw attention to ourselves, why not be present with others? In a powerful chapter of "feasts of attention," Cosper shows us how we feast on need for attention in all the wrong places. In self-seeking activities, we prefer time to ourselves instead of giving attention to others. We fail to pay attention to the beauty of the world because we are anxious about our needs. In loving ourselves selfishly, we fail to notice the potential of God's creation. Seventh, we learn about how the "Rule of Life" gives us a map toward deeper spirituality and to experience the riches of God's promises.

Cosper is able to spring off from a keen understanding of our contemporary culture and about the inner desires of the human heart. With each observation, he supplies a pathway to move from disenchantment to enchantment; from emptiness to fulfilment; from anxiety to contentment. Without readers having to dig into the classic texts for themselves, Cosper summarizes aptly the profound thoughts of several spiritual writers. From Hannah Arendt, he marvels at how the political theorist's insight about shallow living still applies today. He draws from Thomas Merton about the commitment to eternal paths instead of the paths of temporal fame. He learns from Charles Taylor about the emptiness of secularism, and from David Foster Wallace, the futility of cynicism. By revealing the emptiness of the world, Cosper clears the idols that charm so that we can truly see that these things are futile. Gradually, we are given an impetus to see success with new eyes. According to the world: Success is about accumulating wealth, grabbing power and climbing up the ladders of reputation.
According to True Spirituality: Success is about giving; surrendering; serving; and climbing down from the temptations of wealth, power, and reputation. If readers are able to take a few steps toward the path of spirituality, this book would have worth every cent.
Rating: 4.75 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of IVP and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

This has probably been my favourite book this year. Mike Cosper explores the ways in which our society is disenchanted, no longer believing in mystery or the supernatural and how that has dripped into our church and our beliefs. He implores us to bring back the wonder and awe of Christianity and helps the reader explore different ways to do that. I personally found it refreshing and creative, it was like stepping through the wardrobe into Narnia and being captivated by the wonder and awe of Jesus again.

Recapturing the Wonder: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World deals with the hard subject of 21st century disenchantment. Humans are disenchanted in our modern age. We fill our minds with media and noise all day so that we don't have to be alone with our thoughts in the waning light of time. Cosper tackles this mentality of disenchantment in his brilliant showcase of awakening to God's wonder in a disillusioned world.

Cosper opens the book by highlighting Christian's attitude towards things beyond the ordinary - miracles, extraordinary circumstances, supernatural wonders. "I react to the suggestion of a miracle—or for that matter, any thoughts about God, the spiritual, or the transcendent—with skepticism and cynicism. It is my default setting." He explains that this attitude is 'disenchantment' - "A disenchanted world has been drained of magic, of any supernatural presences, of spirits and God and transcendence. A disenchanted world is a material world, where what you see is what you get." This is what North America is, is it not?

Cosper digs deep to the root of the disenchantment, saying, "It’s not a world entirely without God or a world without religion. Rather, it’s a world where God and religion are superfluous. You can believe whatever you want so long as you don’t expect it to affect your everyday experience. Believe whatever you want about God or the afterlife, but trust in science and technology to explain everything about the real world." He also calls out the church for trying to create an aura of enchantment by fancy light shows, loud music, hype speeches. "Mountaintop moments create their own normality. We learn to depend on them and we feel starved when they’re removed. We might find ourselves in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre unable to connect with the place. Where’s the motivational speech? Where’s the rock band? Who’s going to help me feel something?"

This book strips away the shiny gauze of what 21st century Christianity has become and pries down to the core of what the Gospel is: true, unbridled grace. We live in a disenchanted world because we have tried to make God smaller than He really is; tried to squeeze Him into a box. We don't understand who He truly is, or how much grace He has truly given us, or else we wouldn't do these things. Cosper explains:
"All of our religious efforts grow from hearts that long for redemption, for transcendence, and that most of all long to connect with God. So we look for him in enchanted objects, like plastic crosses or feathers from heaven, or we look for him to meet us in the climactic moments of a worship service... In the Scriptures we see that (Jesus) comes not in a storm, but in a still, small voice. Not in a conquering hero, but a carpenter. Not in a victorious tribe, but in an impoverished and persecuted church. The real wonder is that this is what we really want.The mountaintop experiences don’t satisfy, but the presence of Jesus does, and he’s promised that he won’t forsake us."


This is a beautiful book, and one that more people need to read. Why? Because it hurts. What hurts the most about Recapturing the Wonder: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World is that it's true. Take a look around you at the world we live in. Humans fill their every waking moment with noise, with media, with something - anything - to fill the empty pit of nothingness that they feel in their chests. Even we as Christians refuse to see God as big as He truly is. We confine Him to a box, scoff when people say they were miraculously healed, and shudder when the subject of miracles is brought up. Why do we do these things? It's because we're scared. We're scared of the thought that God is bigger than any of us can possibly imagine, scared that we can't control Him, and terrified at the thought that He offers us grace: a gift far greater than anything we can ever possibly imagine. Yet, this is the life God calls us to. God does not call for us to understand Him, He simply calls for us to follow Him. And, if we strip away all of our presuppositions, all of our assumptions, all of our excuses, we will find enchantment. We will stare in awe and wonder: at a God who is bigger than all of our disillusion, and grace greater than all of our mistakes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

“Recapturing the Wonder” was a great work and a quite personable read. It often felt like the author was simply telling me his thoughts, conversationally. At first I was concerned that the book would take a “write yourself into the Bible” approach, but I was pleased to discover that the author had an approachable manner of breaking down spiritual disciplines, why they’re still very vital to growth in Christ, and tips for making them a part of your life. At the same time, the book didn’t emphasize being disciplined in spiritual disciplines for the sake of marking them as done, but instead illustrated the beauty of God and the Kingdom of God that is available to us through His Word and Spirit. The author was able to give a modern voice to the wonder of who God is and encourage readers to slow down and experience Him in our distracted, disenchanted world. It’s the type of book that I wished everyone I knew was reading so that we could discuss some of the author’s points and challenges to us together.

I can’t give a “normal” review of a spiritual book, so I’m not going to try. Instead, I’ll say this: this book was a very good, personable read. It wasn’t a how-to manual, but did offer some wonderful suggestions for seeing the wonder in the everyday of life, like children do. (I miss that sense of wonder.) some of the suggestions were fantastic, including the prayers, but the author’s voice made you feel like you were sitting and chatting with him, not being lectured to. Definitely worth reading if you’d like to re-capture that childish sense of wonder, of seeing God amid the everyday.
(Galley provided by InterVarsity Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

There's a lot to consider here and I look forward to considering it more fully. However, it's safe to say that this book successfully crosses many "boundaries" that would seemingly divide us while capturing and making plain an almost-lost essence of the spirit.

BOOK REVIEW: RECAPTURING THE WONDER: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World

Recapturing the Wonder: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World by Mike Cosper (IVP Books; 2017)

Recapturing the Wonder by Mike Cosper tackles the very real difficulties that Christians in the West face to try to connect with and commune with a transcendent God, while all the world around us screams that there is no God or no better place other than the broken and disenchanted world all around us. Cooper makes a point of discussing the “disenchantment” of society in the West in anything outside our sense experiences, and that there is no absolute truth, and nothing to hope for after one dies. While fully and honestly admitting that life is very hard —- even for Christians (no “name it and claim it”) —- still, God’s grace can be easy at times to appropriate. This is the aim of Cosper’s book.

After a brief review of our post-modern and materialistic society and its impact on all people, including Christians, the author quickly launches into what he calls “pathways” to regaining our enchantment for the world around us, as well as the spiritual realm which is actually more real than what we can see and experience with our five senses.

The pathways that Cosper fleshes out are: One —- Re-enchanting Our World; Two —- Experiencing Grace; Three —- Bringing Scripture to Life; Four —- Withdrawing With God; Five —- Practicing Abundance; Six —- Throwing a Feast; and Seven —- Writing a Rule of Life. Cooper writes not as an expert in mastering these pathways, but rather as a fellow struggler who is learning how to live a transcendent life through wrestling with God, like Jacob did in the Old Testament. I believe a vast majority of believers struggle mightily in this area of living as God being the most real Person and true reality, and would greatly benefit from a book like this one. Highly recommended!

I was surprised by this book, i found it to be like having a fun conversation with Mike around disciplines. I have always enjoyed books on spiritual disciplines and this one did not disappoint. You can tell that Mike was striving in his own life hoping to grow deeper and the resources that he found, he knew would be beneficial to others, so he captured his thoughts into a book and I am so glad he did. I highly suggest this book to anyone who is wanting to deepen their roots in Christ.