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Recapturing the Wonder: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World
When we're young, it's easy to believe in the supernatural, the mysterious, the enchanted. But as we grow older, we learn to be more "rational" and more confident that reality is merely what we can see. Even as Christians who believe in the resurrection, we live as if miracles and magic have been drained from the world.
As Mike Cosper wrestled with his own disillusionment, he found writers, thinkers, and artists like Hannah Arendt, Charles Taylor, James K. A. Smith, and David Foster Wallace whose words and ideas reassured him that he was not alone. And he discovered ancient and modern disciplines that shape a Christian way of life and awaken the possibility of living again in an enchanted world.
Exquisitely written with thoughtful practices woven throughout, this book will feed your soul and help you recapture the wonder of your Christian walk.
As Mike Cosper wrestled with his own disillusionment, he found writers, thinkers, and artists like Hannah Arendt, Charles Taylor, James K. A. Smith, and David Foster Wallace whose words and ideas reassured him that he was not alone. And he discovered ancient and modern disciplines that shape a Christian way of life and awaken the possibility of living again in an enchanted world.
Exquisitely written with thoughtful practices woven throughout, this book will feed your soul and help you recapture the wonder of your Christian walk.
180 pages, Paperback
Published July 14, 2017
180 people are currently reading
2162 people want to read
About the author
Mike Cosper
17 books91 followersMike Cosper is the executive director of Harbor Media, a non-profit media company serving Christians in a post-Christian world. He served for sixteen years as a pastor at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky, and is the author of Recapturing the Wonder, The Stories We Tell, and Rhythms of Grace. He lives with his family in Louisville, Kentucky.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews
September 23, 2017
Quite possibly the most necessary book I've read all year. It met me directly where I am--a little cynical, a little skeptical, too easily distracted & entranced by the shiny and shallow, and sometimes too quick to dismiss ordinary gestures. I can't count the number of times his words echoed things I've been reading, saying, writing, and thinking already. It was eery how often I read a paragraph and realized I'd had that exact thought or conversation with my husband. Then I'd watch as Cosper wove each of these familiar strands of thought into his greater thesis, which is that the way to warm your heart back up to experience wonder and beauty again is nothing new. In fact, it's through practices that are very, very old.
I've read a decent amount about attention spans (mostly because I feel so keenly the tug of our distracting world) and this was by far the best book on that subject that I've read. Cosper doesn't just acknowledge the problem (as Tim Wu does so thoroughly in The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads and Matthew B. Crawford does so well in The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction), he actually charts a course out of the land of disenchanted boredom and constant distraction. His solution? The ancient disciplines of the Christian faith. Prayer. Communion. Fasting, yes, but also feasting. And his solutions are so simple and generous that you find them irresistible. He describes fasting in a way that makes you want to fast--he's not showy or extreme, not promising anything more than a simple reorientation of your hungers that points you towards the kinds of desires that really need satisfying. Then he describes feasting in a way that makes you want to throw a dinner party. Tomorrow, if possible.
This is very much a book for my generation. We grew up on spectacle-based youth programs and grew to love the church in spite of it, but perhaps we've all grown a little cynical in the process, which leaves us cold to even the possibility of real surprises. We don't want to be emotionally manipulated, so we won't fall for anything. But this leaves us immune even to the moving power of beauty and simple acts of grace.Cosper can quote 30 Rock and Robert Capon and David Foster Wallace and G.K. Chesterton, moving seamlessly between pop-culture references and ancient wisdom.
Not only that, he ends the book with such a gracious acknowledgment that the disciplines in and of themselves are not a means to an end. I don't want to spoil the ending (even though it's not really a story you can spoil) because it is such a lovely, kind, generous way to end the book.
If you're interested in reading more about the changes occurring in this generation, consider:
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction
The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
I've read a decent amount about attention spans (mostly because I feel so keenly the tug of our distracting world) and this was by far the best book on that subject that I've read. Cosper doesn't just acknowledge the problem (as Tim Wu does so thoroughly in The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads and Matthew B. Crawford does so well in The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction), he actually charts a course out of the land of disenchanted boredom and constant distraction. His solution? The ancient disciplines of the Christian faith. Prayer. Communion. Fasting, yes, but also feasting. And his solutions are so simple and generous that you find them irresistible. He describes fasting in a way that makes you want to fast--he's not showy or extreme, not promising anything more than a simple reorientation of your hungers that points you towards the kinds of desires that really need satisfying. Then he describes feasting in a way that makes you want to throw a dinner party. Tomorrow, if possible.
This is very much a book for my generation. We grew up on spectacle-based youth programs and grew to love the church in spite of it, but perhaps we've all grown a little cynical in the process, which leaves us cold to even the possibility of real surprises. We don't want to be emotionally manipulated, so we won't fall for anything. But this leaves us immune even to the moving power of beauty and simple acts of grace.Cosper can quote 30 Rock and Robert Capon and David Foster Wallace and G.K. Chesterton, moving seamlessly between pop-culture references and ancient wisdom.
Not only that, he ends the book with such a gracious acknowledgment that the disciplines in and of themselves are not a means to an end. I don't want to spoil the ending (even though it's not really a story you can spoil) because it is such a lovely, kind, generous way to end the book.
If you're interested in reading more about the changes occurring in this generation, consider:
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction
The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
August 17, 2024
Hey, look, another modern American evangelical discovered that liturgy is valuable. Welcome to the group.
Recommends certain practices surrounding prayer, liturgy, meditation, fasting, feasting, and contemplation of beauty.
Would be a good intro course book for a freshman college class, or a cross-denom Christian book club book.
Recommends certain practices surrounding prayer, liturgy, meditation, fasting, feasting, and contemplation of beauty.
Would be a good intro course book for a freshman college class, or a cross-denom Christian book club book.
June 2, 2017
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.
February 3, 2024
In recent years, I’ve been really fascinated with monastic traditions and spiritual formation, but I always felt like it was “too spiritual” for me to access. Mike Cosper makes it accessible to anyone, and is a kind and gracious guide. This book was fantastic and so practical. I will definitely have to read it again with each new season of life, as habits and rhythms of grace will need to be re-examined.
October 22, 2018
Every now and then I get rather cynical about the world. Recently I had been reading some Jacques Ellul, rethinking some ideas from Charles Taylor and just observing our culture. I concluded that we were all so secular, even we Christians, and there was nothing we could do about it. Its the world we live in, forces bigger than us. Even if we raise our kids in the faith, their faith is always going to be tenuous in a way their great-grandparents' faith was not. Its not that we shouldn't try, but we're really up against it.
Cosper's book is sort of a book about spiritual disciplines. But he writes with the surrounding culture, and the work of people like Charles Taylor, in view. He does not shy away from the fact we live in a secular age. If anything, he emphasizes it. He tells a story in the first chapter about a clearly manipulated religious "miracle" at a church service. It was so obvious it was fake. Cosper says his dad wondered if it was real, which shocked Cosper. How could any sane person think a real miracle had occurred. This is what it means to live in a secular age - we all, automatically assume the miraculous is highly unlikely, if not absurd. Our first reaction is always skepticism, even if we are Christians. This assumed skepticism makes living faith different today then in the past.
Cosper's book examines different attributes of contemporary culture and offers time-tested spiritual practices as a way to, as the title says, "recapture the wonder." Much of what he says echoes people like Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen and others. Rather than seeking to manufacture religious experience, what if we looked to the roads our predecessors had taken. As far back as Elijah in the Old Testament, there was the recognition of finding God in the silence. Cosper ends each chapter with a few practices the reader can do.
Cosper is a good writer and each chapter is both challenging and easy-to-read. This book could be used in small groups. Besides the spiritual disciplines, he makes ideas from people like Taylor, David Foster Wallace and others accessible. In other words, this is not just another book on spiritual disciplines, but is a book in conversation with some pretty big thinkers. Further, it is a bit more broad and approachable then perhaps Merton or Nouwen.
There has been a revival in spiritual discipline in the last decades. We've had the aforementioned Catholics Merton and Nouwen (and others), the Quaker Richard Foster and the recently deceased Dallas Willard all writing on spiritual practice. My favorite recent book is Liturgy of the Ordinary, by Tish Harrison Warren. Cosper's book, like Warren's, seems uniquely fitted to everyday Christians trying to incorporate spiritual practice in the daily grind of life. If you're looking for a practical, challenging and applicable book that will give you some hope in the darkness, check this one out.
Speaking of hope, this book helped me in my latest bout with cynicism. Maybe, just maybe, it is possible to have a vibrant faith and a taste of wonder in our world today.
Cosper's book is sort of a book about spiritual disciplines. But he writes with the surrounding culture, and the work of people like Charles Taylor, in view. He does not shy away from the fact we live in a secular age. If anything, he emphasizes it. He tells a story in the first chapter about a clearly manipulated religious "miracle" at a church service. It was so obvious it was fake. Cosper says his dad wondered if it was real, which shocked Cosper. How could any sane person think a real miracle had occurred. This is what it means to live in a secular age - we all, automatically assume the miraculous is highly unlikely, if not absurd. Our first reaction is always skepticism, even if we are Christians. This assumed skepticism makes living faith different today then in the past.
Cosper's book examines different attributes of contemporary culture and offers time-tested spiritual practices as a way to, as the title says, "recapture the wonder." Much of what he says echoes people like Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen and others. Rather than seeking to manufacture religious experience, what if we looked to the roads our predecessors had taken. As far back as Elijah in the Old Testament, there was the recognition of finding God in the silence. Cosper ends each chapter with a few practices the reader can do.
Cosper is a good writer and each chapter is both challenging and easy-to-read. This book could be used in small groups. Besides the spiritual disciplines, he makes ideas from people like Taylor, David Foster Wallace and others accessible. In other words, this is not just another book on spiritual disciplines, but is a book in conversation with some pretty big thinkers. Further, it is a bit more broad and approachable then perhaps Merton or Nouwen.
There has been a revival in spiritual discipline in the last decades. We've had the aforementioned Catholics Merton and Nouwen (and others), the Quaker Richard Foster and the recently deceased Dallas Willard all writing on spiritual practice. My favorite recent book is Liturgy of the Ordinary, by Tish Harrison Warren. Cosper's book, like Warren's, seems uniquely fitted to everyday Christians trying to incorporate spiritual practice in the daily grind of life. If you're looking for a practical, challenging and applicable book that will give you some hope in the darkness, check this one out.
Speaking of hope, this book helped me in my latest bout with cynicism. Maybe, just maybe, it is possible to have a vibrant faith and a taste of wonder in our world today.
August 31, 2018
While some of the chapters had less relevance for me than others, I did come away from this book with plenty of food for thought.
May 1, 2019
In Recapturing the Wonder, Mike Cosper has written a unique book that explores spiritual disciplines in our secular context. Cosper says that his book is “an attempt to sketch out the spiritual landscape of an age that has been called a ‘secular age,’ an ‘age of anxiety,’ and a ‘culture of narcissism,’ and an effort at finding a path into a different way of life.”
Cosper begins to explaining what it means that we live in a secular age. He explains that a secular world is a disenchanted world: “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.”
The secular world responds to the religious world: “You can believe what you whatever you want so long as you don’t expect it to affect your everyday experience.”
In this world, spiritual disciplines are a counter-cultural act. They are not just formation: they are counter-formation. They shape us against the world we inhabit. It also means that these disciplines are going to be hard for us. “In a disenchanted world,” Cosper says, “solitude is terrifying.” As Christians, “We’re not called first to act but to cease.” Cosper continues, “As we take up ancient practices like prayer, Scripture reading, and fasting, we will see the way they confront our disenchanted way of knowing the world.”
Where the secular world creates religion of display, in Christ we can experience the reality of peace with God. “The alternative to the disenchanted religion of display---a life spent seeking affirmation in the mirror of the world—is to find rest in Jesus.” Cosper says we don’t need to manufacture spectacle, we need to experience the presence of God in daily disciplines.
What does your interior life look like? Who are you when you’re not displaying yourself? “In solitude, that artifice shatters. The real, confusing me shows up, and I have to reckon with it in its mysterious and contradictory wholeness.”
Cosper says that our consumerism shapes a heart that grasps for finite resources: “Consumerism only makes sense if the world is a place where resources are scarce, where God can’t be counted on to show up or provide for us. We need to hoard what we have, grab what we can, and keep as much for ourselves as possible.” He continues “Our lives are not about possession but provision, not about what we consume but what we’ve been given and thus what we can share.” In both the Old and the New Testaments, we have symbols of the falseness of this worldview. The power of manna is a lesson to the consumer. It all comes from God, it all will rot. The moth will get it all.
Cosper says that our creativity can be a spiritual discipline that bucks the world. Pointing to the author Robert Capon, Cosper says that the source of creativity is attention: “attention is the paterfamilias of all human innovation and creativity.” God is the greatest artist and thus he is also has the ability to pay infinite attention: “God’s attention is God’s delight. When he pays attention, he invests whatever he is attending to with his immense joy. And the miracle of God’s providence is that he’s paying attention to all of it.”
The enemies of attention are distraction, cynicism, and snobbery. “Where a cynic is suspicious of claims that there’s anything transcendent in the world, the snob is suspicious that anything good comes from ordinary, earthy life.” Cosper continues, “In both cases, the attitude is adopted because we think it protects us from risk. To seek transcendence feels risky, especially in a world where we’re already pushing against hard-formed barriers in our hearts and minds… Both cynicism and snobbery come from an anxious and insecure heart. They are acts of self-protection, ways of insulating ourselves from a world—whether it’s high-brow or low-brow—that we feel we’re looking at from the outside.”
Do you want a life richer than anything this secular world can offer? Turn to Christ and attend to life in him. Walk a path that he orders, not a path that the world has ordered for you. “To experience the richness of life in God’s kingdom, we must reorder our lives.” Perhaps the first place to start is with a commitment is in a counter-cultural commitment to the church. After all, “The gathered church is a foretaste of the new heaven and the new earth.”
Mike Cosper’s Recapturing the Wonder is thought-provoking and fresh. It sharpened my thinking and challenged me to re-think my spiritual practices. I encourage you to read and benefit from it.
Cosper begins to explaining what it means that we live in a secular age. He explains that a secular world is a disenchanted world: “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.”
The secular world responds to the religious world: “You can believe what you whatever you want so long as you don’t expect it to affect your everyday experience.”
In this world, spiritual disciplines are a counter-cultural act. They are not just formation: they are counter-formation. They shape us against the world we inhabit. It also means that these disciplines are going to be hard for us. “In a disenchanted world,” Cosper says, “solitude is terrifying.” As Christians, “We’re not called first to act but to cease.” Cosper continues, “As we take up ancient practices like prayer, Scripture reading, and fasting, we will see the way they confront our disenchanted way of knowing the world.”
Where the secular world creates religion of display, in Christ we can experience the reality of peace with God. “The alternative to the disenchanted religion of display---a life spent seeking affirmation in the mirror of the world—is to find rest in Jesus.” Cosper says we don’t need to manufacture spectacle, we need to experience the presence of God in daily disciplines.
What does your interior life look like? Who are you when you’re not displaying yourself? “In solitude, that artifice shatters. The real, confusing me shows up, and I have to reckon with it in its mysterious and contradictory wholeness.”
Cosper says that our consumerism shapes a heart that grasps for finite resources: “Consumerism only makes sense if the world is a place where resources are scarce, where God can’t be counted on to show up or provide for us. We need to hoard what we have, grab what we can, and keep as much for ourselves as possible.” He continues “Our lives are not about possession but provision, not about what we consume but what we’ve been given and thus what we can share.” In both the Old and the New Testaments, we have symbols of the falseness of this worldview. The power of manna is a lesson to the consumer. It all comes from God, it all will rot. The moth will get it all.
Cosper says that our creativity can be a spiritual discipline that bucks the world. Pointing to the author Robert Capon, Cosper says that the source of creativity is attention: “attention is the paterfamilias of all human innovation and creativity.” God is the greatest artist and thus he is also has the ability to pay infinite attention: “God’s attention is God’s delight. When he pays attention, he invests whatever he is attending to with his immense joy. And the miracle of God’s providence is that he’s paying attention to all of it.”
The enemies of attention are distraction, cynicism, and snobbery. “Where a cynic is suspicious of claims that there’s anything transcendent in the world, the snob is suspicious that anything good comes from ordinary, earthy life.” Cosper continues, “In both cases, the attitude is adopted because we think it protects us from risk. To seek transcendence feels risky, especially in a world where we’re already pushing against hard-formed barriers in our hearts and minds… Both cynicism and snobbery come from an anxious and insecure heart. They are acts of self-protection, ways of insulating ourselves from a world—whether it’s high-brow or low-brow—that we feel we’re looking at from the outside.”
Do you want a life richer than anything this secular world can offer? Turn to Christ and attend to life in him. Walk a path that he orders, not a path that the world has ordered for you. “To experience the richness of life in God’s kingdom, we must reorder our lives.” Perhaps the first place to start is with a commitment is in a counter-cultural commitment to the church. After all, “The gathered church is a foretaste of the new heaven and the new earth.”
Mike Cosper’s Recapturing the Wonder is thought-provoking and fresh. It sharpened my thinking and challenged me to re-think my spiritual practices. I encourage you to read and benefit from it.
August 28, 2017
“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.
September 24, 2021
If this had been written in another genre style- say, memoir- I would likely give it almost five stars.
Reading this book was confusing because I felt at times like it wasn’t sure what it wanted to be yet and might have used a more experienced editor to help carve it from the stone. I emphasize the role of editor here because I do believe Mike Cosper is a gifted writer with a poet’s thoughts. Because it marketed itself as a Christian living book, I thought it was a little bit self-helpy (as most Christian living books tend to be, not excepting Crossway’s). This also caused more distance between the author and the reader; Cosper’s voice took on a didactic tone when I think it would be more powerful and helpful as a memoir. I would have liked to read Mike’s thoughts and speculations as someone along for the journey.
Good tidbits here and some constructive points to ponder.
Reading this book was confusing because I felt at times like it wasn’t sure what it wanted to be yet and might have used a more experienced editor to help carve it from the stone. I emphasize the role of editor here because I do believe Mike Cosper is a gifted writer with a poet’s thoughts. Because it marketed itself as a Christian living book, I thought it was a little bit self-helpy (as most Christian living books tend to be, not excepting Crossway’s). This also caused more distance between the author and the reader; Cosper’s voice took on a didactic tone when I think it would be more powerful and helpful as a memoir. I would have liked to read Mike’s thoughts and speculations as someone along for the journey.
Good tidbits here and some constructive points to ponder.
February 23, 2025
"Seeking God's face in a fallen world is not the easy life; it's the good life, and a good life is always a life of worthwhile stories and worthwhile struggles." - Mike Cosper from "Recapturing the Wonder"
(I loved this book. Fresh, full of humility, and instructive in the ways to live life well in Christ.)
(I loved this book. Fresh, full of humility, and instructive in the ways to live life well in Christ.)
March 24, 2018
Of all the books about the Christian disciplines (or habits of grace) that I’ve read, this is probably my favorite so far. I’m not saying that it’s better than Foster, Willard, Bonhoeffer, Ortberg, Mathis, etc. It just spoke to me more. Now if I could stop just reading, and start doing...
May 30, 2018
Summary: Explores the disenchantment many Christians experience living in a modern secular age and the practices that may "re-enchant" our world with the supernatural presence of God.
Thoughtful commentators from Charles Taylor and Hannah Arendt to James K. A. Smith and David Foster Wallace have observed how we live in a disenchanted, disillusioned secular age. In this work Mike Cosper engages these commentators and how the disenchantment of the modern world affects Christians' experience of the reality of God. He writes about the contrast between an enchanted world and a disenchanted one:
"Perhaps to best understand disenchantment, we can look at its opposite, the 'enchanted' world of a few centuries ago. In that world, men and women saw themselves as spiritual creatures, vulnerable to blessings and curses, to angels and demons, and subject to the god or gods who made and oversaw the world. This enchanted world was part of a Cosmos, an orderly creation full of meaning, a place with a purposeful origin and a clear destination, guaranteed by the god or gods who made it and rule over it. At the same time, this Cosmos is full of mystery, a place where our knowledge has its limits and an unseen spiritual realm is constantly at work, shaping our everyday experience.
In disenchantment, we no longer live in a Cosmos; we live in a universe, a cold, hostile place where existence is a big accident, where humanity is temporarily animated 'stuff' that's ultimately meaningless and destined for the trash heap" (p. 11).
For many Christians, the Word of God becomes an abstraction--concepts rather than the living Word of the Living God, working in the world. What Mike Cosper seeks to do in this book is to explore both the corrosive effects of the secular world on our faith, and the practices through which we might recover a vibrant, transcendent faith whereby we recognize the presence of God in all of life.
Cosper begins with three chapters that chronicle the expressions of disenchantment in contemporary Christian life. After describing the disenchantment, he chronicles our modern efforts to self-justify through constructing a social media persona as our modern religious sacrifices that the God of grace mercifully brings to an end. Likewise, he reminds us of the recent focus of many churches on hype and spectacle instead of the slow, steady rhythms of grace by which we encounter God in the ordinary rhythms of life.
In the next three chapters, he commends several practices that break us out of the self-hype spectacles--solitude and secrecy, abundance and scarcity, and feasts of attention. He commends having a life beyond what we post on social media. He uses Lewis Hyde's The Gift as a parable of living generously and honoring the gifts we receive as well as those we give. He invites us into a life where we feast on giving our attention to God's world, and sometimes to feasts themselves.
The seventh chapter was of great interest. He looks at Thomas Merton's Seven Story Mountain and Jack Kerouac's On the Road. I was intrigued, having recently read the later (reviewed here). He suggests both were seeking transcendence, Merton through a rule of life, and Kerouac, through attentiveness in the moment. Recognizing the downsides of each lifestyle (most of us don't live in the monastery, and Kerouac's road was tremendously self-destructive), he suggests we need both.
Each of the chapters concludes with spiritual practices connected to the chapter. Cumulatively they help us focus on God in our hours, days, weeks, and years, and special seasons and feasts of the church. We learn examen, Ignatian prayer and praying the Psalms, practices of solitude and silence, fasting and feasting, and how to weave all of these into a rule of life. The author shares his own rule, one that struck me as marvelously do-able.
There are a number of books that have been written about our secular age. Likewise, a number have been written about spiritual practices. The particular gift of this book is the bringing of the two together, pointing to the importance of, and telos of these practices. Cosper helps us see that through them, we recover a sense of the greatness of God in the ordinary of our hours, days, weeks, and years--which make up a life. More than this, he captures something of the deep joy of secrecy, or a long leisurely feast with friends, or seeing an abstract Word come alive to us. One senses that you are walking alongside one who is recapturing the wonder of a transcendent God who is also immanent in our world--and that we may as well.
Thoughtful commentators from Charles Taylor and Hannah Arendt to James K. A. Smith and David Foster Wallace have observed how we live in a disenchanted, disillusioned secular age. In this work Mike Cosper engages these commentators and how the disenchantment of the modern world affects Christians' experience of the reality of God. He writes about the contrast between an enchanted world and a disenchanted one:
"Perhaps to best understand disenchantment, we can look at its opposite, the 'enchanted' world of a few centuries ago. In that world, men and women saw themselves as spiritual creatures, vulnerable to blessings and curses, to angels and demons, and subject to the god or gods who made and oversaw the world. This enchanted world was part of a Cosmos, an orderly creation full of meaning, a place with a purposeful origin and a clear destination, guaranteed by the god or gods who made it and rule over it. At the same time, this Cosmos is full of mystery, a place where our knowledge has its limits and an unseen spiritual realm is constantly at work, shaping our everyday experience.
In disenchantment, we no longer live in a Cosmos; we live in a universe, a cold, hostile place where existence is a big accident, where humanity is temporarily animated 'stuff' that's ultimately meaningless and destined for the trash heap" (p. 11).
For many Christians, the Word of God becomes an abstraction--concepts rather than the living Word of the Living God, working in the world. What Mike Cosper seeks to do in this book is to explore both the corrosive effects of the secular world on our faith, and the practices through which we might recover a vibrant, transcendent faith whereby we recognize the presence of God in all of life.
Cosper begins with three chapters that chronicle the expressions of disenchantment in contemporary Christian life. After describing the disenchantment, he chronicles our modern efforts to self-justify through constructing a social media persona as our modern religious sacrifices that the God of grace mercifully brings to an end. Likewise, he reminds us of the recent focus of many churches on hype and spectacle instead of the slow, steady rhythms of grace by which we encounter God in the ordinary rhythms of life.
In the next three chapters, he commends several practices that break us out of the self-hype spectacles--solitude and secrecy, abundance and scarcity, and feasts of attention. He commends having a life beyond what we post on social media. He uses Lewis Hyde's The Gift as a parable of living generously and honoring the gifts we receive as well as those we give. He invites us into a life where we feast on giving our attention to God's world, and sometimes to feasts themselves.
The seventh chapter was of great interest. He looks at Thomas Merton's Seven Story Mountain and Jack Kerouac's On the Road. I was intrigued, having recently read the later (reviewed here). He suggests both were seeking transcendence, Merton through a rule of life, and Kerouac, through attentiveness in the moment. Recognizing the downsides of each lifestyle (most of us don't live in the monastery, and Kerouac's road was tremendously self-destructive), he suggests we need both.
Each of the chapters concludes with spiritual practices connected to the chapter. Cumulatively they help us focus on God in our hours, days, weeks, and years, and special seasons and feasts of the church. We learn examen, Ignatian prayer and praying the Psalms, practices of solitude and silence, fasting and feasting, and how to weave all of these into a rule of life. The author shares his own rule, one that struck me as marvelously do-able.
There are a number of books that have been written about our secular age. Likewise, a number have been written about spiritual practices. The particular gift of this book is the bringing of the two together, pointing to the importance of, and telos of these practices. Cosper helps us see that through them, we recover a sense of the greatness of God in the ordinary of our hours, days, weeks, and years--which make up a life. More than this, he captures something of the deep joy of secrecy, or a long leisurely feast with friends, or seeing an abstract Word come alive to us. One senses that you are walking alongside one who is recapturing the wonder of a transcendent God who is also immanent in our world--and that we may as well.
January 18, 2024
An excellent invitation to explore pathways that can help followers of Jesus see how the ordinary and the transcendent overlap. On the face of it, this is a book about growing in spiritual disciplines - but it's much more than that. It's an invitation to a deeper formation in Christ in a world and a culture that is disenchanted. Refreshing, hopeful and full of Christ.
September 7, 2018
This is a great book to read with Alan Noble's "Disruptive Witness". Both of them try to help make sense of living with an authentic faith in a world that is so "disenchanted." Cosper provides 7 "pathways" / practices to help us live with transcendent faith in disenchanted world. He concludes that "Seeking God's face in a fallen world is not the easy life; it's the good life, and a good life is always a life of worthwhile stories and worthwhile struggles."
July 17, 2018
“This is an age where our sense of spiritual possibility, transcendence, and the presence of God has been drained out. What’s left is a spiritual desert, and Christians face the temptation to accept the dryness of that desert as the only possible world. We have enough conviction and faith to be able to call ourselves believers, but we’re compelled to look for ways to live out a Christian life without transcendence and without the active presence of God, practicing what Dallas Willard once called ‘biblical deism’ — a strange bastardization of Christianity that acts as though, once the Bible was written, God left us to sort things out for ourselves.
In such a world, the Bible feels like a dead text and our prayers seem to bound answerless off the drywall… We might be fluent in the language of faith but unable to pray, overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, and victim to the compulsive, distracting habits that fill our age. We might be able to articulate the doctrine and dogma of the gospel but feel as though we’re doing so from the outside looking in.”
In a world where I find myself compulsively checking my phone as a liturgy, as soon as I wake and before falling asleep, dissatisfaction and the need to be omniscient have been illuminating my face every single day with the glow of the screen. I found myself counseling someone one day to take a step away and rest, while ignoring the fact that the Spirit had those words for me. Like the above quote said, I found myself fluent in the language, but my heart had forgotten the language. Lord, have mercy. Loved this book.
In such a world, the Bible feels like a dead text and our prayers seem to bound answerless off the drywall… We might be fluent in the language of faith but unable to pray, overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, and victim to the compulsive, distracting habits that fill our age. We might be able to articulate the doctrine and dogma of the gospel but feel as though we’re doing so from the outside looking in.”
In a world where I find myself compulsively checking my phone as a liturgy, as soon as I wake and before falling asleep, dissatisfaction and the need to be omniscient have been illuminating my face every single day with the glow of the screen. I found myself counseling someone one day to take a step away and rest, while ignoring the fact that the Spirit had those words for me. Like the above quote said, I found myself fluent in the language, but my heart had forgotten the language. Lord, have mercy. Loved this book.
November 14, 2017
I picked up Mike Cosper's Recapturing the Wonder: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World (2017) from the Intervarsity Press table at the AACC world convention along with a few other books. I tucked it in my briefcase and when I got home, shelved it. Thankfully, I didn't forget it was there because this book is excellent.
I found myself immediately engaged in this book. He writes of a modern faith that has somehow lost its sense of mystery and wonder, a supernatural faith stripped of the "super" and thus becoming mundane. He observes this trend and tells his readers "open your eyes!" I have been trying to communicate this message to fellow believers, and I don't know if the message ever lands. Often, I suspect I am regarded as either a religious nutjob, or simply as kooky. Honestly, I'm okay with those characterizations, but once one has tasted supernatural wonder, he wants to invite others to the same. When one recognizes that God's kingdom is so much larger and more glorious than most people ever imagine, he wants to shout, "come and see! come and see!"
I cannot commend this book strongly enough. If you find your faith boring, mundane, or disenchanted, please get this book and read it. I don't think you'll regret it. The last page and a half of the book proper (149-150) are alone worth its price.
I found myself immediately engaged in this book. He writes of a modern faith that has somehow lost its sense of mystery and wonder, a supernatural faith stripped of the "super" and thus becoming mundane. He observes this trend and tells his readers "open your eyes!" I have been trying to communicate this message to fellow believers, and I don't know if the message ever lands. Often, I suspect I am regarded as either a religious nutjob, or simply as kooky. Honestly, I'm okay with those characterizations, but once one has tasted supernatural wonder, he wants to invite others to the same. When one recognizes that God's kingdom is so much larger and more glorious than most people ever imagine, he wants to shout, "come and see! come and see!"
I cannot commend this book strongly enough. If you find your faith boring, mundane, or disenchanted, please get this book and read it. I don't think you'll regret it. The last page and a half of the book proper (149-150) are alone worth its price.
September 1, 2017
I wasn't able to see the totality during the recent eclipse but where I was, 95% of the sun was covered, so it was still a spectacular sight. I was surprised the next day when I heard people talking about how 'underwhelming' it was. I also heard of people discounting the experience of those who were lucky enough to see the totality and use phrases like "life-changing".
We've lost our sense of wonder.
So what a great 'coincidence' that this book came my way a couple of weeks later. A loss of 'wonder' is a particularly troubling thing in the Christian, and I think Mike Cosper does a great job of analyzing this problem and providing some very simple suggestions that might help reorient us to the wonder of God and the world he has made, even in the middle of sin and suffering.
I already want to reread this book and I would recommend it to anyone who is sensing this disenchantment in their own life.
We've lost our sense of wonder.
So what a great 'coincidence' that this book came my way a couple of weeks later. A loss of 'wonder' is a particularly troubling thing in the Christian, and I think Mike Cosper does a great job of analyzing this problem and providing some very simple suggestions that might help reorient us to the wonder of God and the world he has made, even in the middle of sin and suffering.
I already want to reread this book and I would recommend it to anyone who is sensing this disenchantment in their own life.
May 6, 2020
You never know what you’re going to get when you read Christian living books, but this is certainly one of the good ones! I felt like the author approached the spiritual disciplines in a fresh way, which is why I enjoyed this so much. I didn’t feel like this had already been said before. Throughout the book, he contrasts life in the disenchanted world where we live versus life in the Cosmos where there is a good God who cares about His creation and where supernatural things do happen.
I loved that at the end of each chapter he had an application section with some practical ways to implement what he is teaching! Super helpful!
He also wrote super perceptively about our church today and how we often emotionally manipulate our church gatherings with our fog machines and our music. He says that these things “reveal a loss of confidence in the practices that have formed and united the church for generations before—practices rooted in word, prayer, and song, habits that celebrate the covenantal shared life of a faith community. If we have no confidence that God is going to show up in these practices, then we have one mandate: make something happen.” Page 62
He goes on to say that maybe the reason we don’t feel God’s presence is because we have been trained to believe that His presence feels like the excitement we get at a hyped-up worship service.
I could go on with other good things that were said in this book, but you should read it :)
I loved that at the end of each chapter he had an application section with some practical ways to implement what he is teaching! Super helpful!
He also wrote super perceptively about our church today and how we often emotionally manipulate our church gatherings with our fog machines and our music. He says that these things “reveal a loss of confidence in the practices that have formed and united the church for generations before—practices rooted in word, prayer, and song, habits that celebrate the covenantal shared life of a faith community. If we have no confidence that God is going to show up in these practices, then we have one mandate: make something happen.” Page 62
He goes on to say that maybe the reason we don’t feel God’s presence is because we have been trained to believe that His presence feels like the excitement we get at a hyped-up worship service.
I could go on with other good things that were said in this book, but you should read it :)
August 3, 2018
Recapturing the Wonder is both timely and important. I picked it up for multiple reasons, but primarily because of what the title promises and what I know about its author, Mike Cosper. What Cosper has done here is for the most part take readers through something akin to the practice of the spiritual disciplines, yet with so much of a fresh touch. Quite different from the white-knuckled clinches of traditional approaches to the disciplines, Recapturing the Wonder paints a picture of a beautiful life lived within the will of God, a life moving "easy within the harness" as Robert Penn Warren wrote. Cosper's language and message is both authoritative and profound, with brushes of the poet in places. If you'll let it, this book will change the way you approach your faith — in the best, most subtle way. Equal parts corrective and exhorting, I recommend Recapturing the Wonder to those looking for a fresh start, those that might feel stuck or stagnant, or those looking for renewed inspiration in their lives and faith. I also recommend checking out Mike's podcast Cultivated.
July 9, 2024
“Recapturing the Wonder" by Mike Cosper offers a refreshing perspective on spiritual disciplines and establishing a personal rule of life. I appreciate how Cosper weaves these themes throughout the book, resonating with similar teachings from authors like John Mark Comer and Dallas Willard, who I deeply respect.
One aspect I found particularly engaging was Cosper's unique take on these concepts, which felt both insightful and practical. His approach to faith in a disenchanted world is thought-provoking and relevant, especially for those seeking deeper spiritual growth.
Having followed Cosper's work, especially his "Rise and Fall of Mars Hill" podcast, I have an extra layer of respect for his insights. This prior exposure made me more receptive to his ideas and enriched my reading experience.
I would definitely recommend "Recapturing the Wonder" to anyone looking to deepen their spiritual practices and explore the significance of a personal rule of life. Whether you're familiar with the teachings of Comer and Willard or new to these concepts, Cosper's book offers valuable guidance and inspiration.
One aspect I found particularly engaging was Cosper's unique take on these concepts, which felt both insightful and practical. His approach to faith in a disenchanted world is thought-provoking and relevant, especially for those seeking deeper spiritual growth.
Having followed Cosper's work, especially his "Rise and Fall of Mars Hill" podcast, I have an extra layer of respect for his insights. This prior exposure made me more receptive to his ideas and enriched my reading experience.
I would definitely recommend "Recapturing the Wonder" to anyone looking to deepen their spiritual practices and explore the significance of a personal rule of life. Whether you're familiar with the teachings of Comer and Willard or new to these concepts, Cosper's book offers valuable guidance and inspiration.
September 21, 2022
Wow! This was a terrific read. I have found myself drawn to Cosper's tone and his affinity for storytelling, but I admit I never expected to be so affected by this book.
He begins with the premise of mystery, handling it with nuance and.without being naive or simplistic. Using a variety of sources, from Thomas Merton to The Matrix, he examines disenchantment in the Christian life and the history of struggle for each one of its adherents, showing cultures impact on our mindsets with regard to transcendence. It isn't bleak by any means. One word that continually comes to mind alongside his idea enchantment is affection. He gives us routes for ordering our affections AND spends times arousing desire to do them. I expected the latter and was so blessed by the former.
I listened to this on audio, and I will be purchasing a copy for myself to revisit and mark up. And more copies to pass along with others.
He begins with the premise of mystery, handling it with nuance and.without being naive or simplistic. Using a variety of sources, from Thomas Merton to The Matrix, he examines disenchantment in the Christian life and the history of struggle for each one of its adherents, showing cultures impact on our mindsets with regard to transcendence. It isn't bleak by any means. One word that continually comes to mind alongside his idea enchantment is affection. He gives us routes for ordering our affections AND spends times arousing desire to do them. I expected the latter and was so blessed by the former.
I listened to this on audio, and I will be purchasing a copy for myself to revisit and mark up. And more copies to pass along with others.
July 4, 2019
I feel the main idea of the book is this: The pathway back to experiencing God's grace in an extraordinary way is through ordinary means. It's through intentionally paying attention to the world around us, through allowing there to be the possibility of something miraculous in a sunset or a meal shared with friends. It's through praying, and fasting, and reading the Word, in performing the acts that are impractical in a world where there is no God in the faith that our God will in fact use them in transcendent ways. In many ways, it reminded me of Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life in its reminders that the way to a deep relationship with the Lord is through the ordinary spiritual disciplines and through the faith that He can and will work through them. This book was very re-centering for me, reminding me that each moment can be an offering to the Lord.
May 24, 2018
This book is very relevant on the how to proceed to live in the Presence of Jesus while living in the post modern era and in the culture of today. Giving suggestions on how to go about doing this has been quite helpful. Interestingly, even the monastic Carmelite order of the Roman Catholic Church has recently opened it’s door to lay persons, who continue to raise a family and work in the secular world, yet are now able to be a part of this community. Interesting to ponder.
http://ocarm.org/en/content/ocarm/wha...
I did enjoy this book greatly thanks to my son’s Mother’s Day gift to me.
http://ocarm.org/en/content/ocarm/wha...
I did enjoy this book greatly thanks to my son’s Mother’s Day gift to me.
December 30, 2021
“My goal in this book was to lift the veil a little bit on how the world has shaped us, how we’ve learned to see things through the lens of disenchantment…Seeking God’s face in a fallen world is not the easy life; it’s the good life, and a good life is always a life of worthwhile stories and worthwhile struggles” (p. 162-163)
This was my favorite read of the year! An apologetic for a rule of life in our secular age. Crisper weds the insights of Taylor and Smith in an accessible and practical way. He shows why we struggle to live the Christian life well and he offers a path forward to seeking God’s presence while we can - in every moment.
This was my favorite read of the year! An apologetic for a rule of life in our secular age. Crisper weds the insights of Taylor and Smith in an accessible and practical way. He shows why we struggle to live the Christian life well and he offers a path forward to seeking God’s presence while we can - in every moment.
February 24, 2024
I'm glad I read this. I was that kid who found enchantment in everything, from roly polies in the mud, to leaves on the trees, to rocks, rivers, etc. The world is enchanted - in other words, the whole earth is full of God's glory. It's why we love stories about worlds within wardrobes or behind Platform 9 3/4. We know there's nothing ordinary here. This book is a great reminder of that. The author goes off on tangents at times, but it wasn't a problem for me because I liked the tangents. He had some really great ideas for how to cultivate a sense of wonder, from ideas on prayer to ideas on how to have dinner with your friends.
I hope to read more from Cosper in the future.
I hope to read more from Cosper in the future.
April 17, 2020
Beautiful writing
In addition to the merits of the book’s premise, I have to say this - one of the things I most enjoyed was Mike’s gift for beautifully recounting memories and experiences, like a true storyteller. Too much Christian writing is bland, informational, utilitarian. Mike writes with beauty, joy, and longing. This was not just a helpful read; it was an enjoyable one.
In addition to the merits of the book’s premise, I have to say this - one of the things I most enjoyed was Mike’s gift for beautifully recounting memories and experiences, like a true storyteller. Too much Christian writing is bland, informational, utilitarian. Mike writes with beauty, joy, and longing. This was not just a helpful read; it was an enjoyable one.
January 28, 2019
One of the most refreshing books I've read in a while. Cosper doesn't suggest anything revolutionary, but he looks back on spiritual disciplines that reorient out minds to be Kingdom focused. I recommend this to anyone who might be struggling with doubt, connecting with God, and inconsistency towards a spiritual life. It's a short read, but you can chew on each chapters for weeks at a time.
June 26, 2023
This book is tough to rate. I was really excited about the concept of this book, it sounded like something I needed to read, but the author misses the mark. About 3 chapters are worthwhile, the others consist of random rants that don’t become applicable to the overall concept of the book. I wanted a lot more from this, but the Mike Cosper dropped the ball.
January 19, 2018
This was by far one of the best books on the spiritual disciplines I've ever read. Cosper does a fantastic job of story-telling throughout the book as well as giving you tangible ways to grow in your daily walk with God. I had a tough time putting this one down!
June 14, 2018
I read this book slowly, so that I could digest it properly. I loved Cosper’s writing style, descriptions, and his call back to appreciating the wonder of the world that God has created. Highly recommend as a helpful reflection on how to unplug and refocus on what matters.
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