This is the case for Hunting Magic Eels. One of the parts I'm very proud of in the book is Part 4. After an entire book preaching about our need to recover enchantment, I turn to talk about spiritual discernment. And for some readers and reviewers, this turn wasn't appreciated. It felt like, I'm assuming, that I "took back" some or much of what I'd written in Parts 1-3.
And yet, I'm proud about the turn toward discernment in Hunting Magic Eels because most books out there on the market that have dealt with this topic don't make this turn. Most books just climb the summit of "Let's be more spiritual!" and end the journey there, all uplift, transcendence, and positivity.
But me? Well, for me we've not arrived at the summit of spirituality until we arrive at the cross.
Nothing could be more in tune with the times than preaching a "spiritual but not religious" Christianity. And by "spiritual" I mean what I'll call an "enchanted humanism." Love plus woo-woo. Tolerance with some spiritual uplift.
And there's a whole lot of that in Hunting Magic Eels. The concluding message of the Epilogue is that "Love is the enchantment of the world." I'm totally in on the "Love plus woo-woo" message.
But as a Christian, for me, love has to have a cruciform, Christological shape. The love God is calling me toward, woo-woo and all, isn't very attractive to me. I've never been fond of my enemies. I quite hate them. And when I look at social media I feel a lot of contempt in my heart for all the idiots out there. Basically, readers who were interrupted by Part 4 of Hunting Magic Eels had never read Stranger God. But if you'd read Stranger God, of course you'd know Part 4 was coming in Hunting Magic Eels. Love is hard, really, really hard. Love is the narrow door that few find. And that's something I don't think most authors about "spirituality" ever get around to saying or honestly confronting. Most people read for affirmation and enjoyment. We like books that affirm who we already are over books that challenge our moral self-assessments.
Truthful books about love are rare. They are too chafing and challenging. Truthful books about love afflict and wound us.
Phrased theologically, yes, enchantment is vital in our disenchanted world. More woo-woo, please! But love requires more than "enchanted humanism." We need Jesus. We need the cross. What we need is a Christological enchantment.
