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Tasmanian Anglican

September 2003

 

 

 


Re-enchantment: The New Australian Spirituality, by David Tacey. Harper Collins 2002, 283 pages

 

Re-enchantment: The New Australian Spirituality

reviewed by Alan Dwight

 

 

David Tacey has much to say to modern churches worried at declining numbers and he gives considerable evidence of widespread spirituality.

Tacey points our that indigenous Australians believe that the young lack sacred knowledge and the elders are central to a culture; they are surprised by white Australians' adulation of youth and the marginalisation of the elderly. Modern youth are on a search to counter destructive materialism &endash; consumerism, ecological degradation and greed. Youth, he believes, often have a public conscience and seek community, yet many shun a church community. They may be repelled by the tyranny of words without symbolism to convey a sense of mystery. Tacey believes that it is not just 'a matter of modernising church practices …bringing in guitars…reducing rituals.' These, he argues, 'will not ensure that the church can find renewal and resume its leadership rol… [It] is angels, rituals and mysteries that many people want to discover, and many sorely miss them when the modernised church takes them away.'

Tolerance

Tacey says some have rejected a religious tradition that concentrates much on the past and divine miracles rather that the present working of the Holy Spirit. After pointing out that Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in the Australia, he asserts, 'Catholicism…maintains its reduced ground, partly because of the strong emphasis on ritual and sacrament, which feeds the hunger of the spirit. But any church that appears too rational or verbal and whose image of God is too familiar, such as the low Anglican and Protestant churches, is suffering greatly.'

Compelling

Multiculturalism is seen a failing to unite Australians because it is based on mutual tolerance. Tacey quotes Robert Dessaix, well-known broadcaster, as arguing re-enchantment is possible 'through listening to what our indigenous Australians find magic in.' There's the suggestion that our land of two thirds desert could lead to a desert mysticism such as flourished in the early church.

One can disagree and find apparent contradictions but the book is compelling reading for anyone concerned at the continuing viability of the church we love. And it's good to find evidence of a strong belief in our society that people do not live by bread alone.