BEYOND THEOLOGY

Chesterton said angles fly because they take themselves lightly. And that, beneath all the facetiae or Watts' latest work, is the message here. Western man has too long been entranced with the Dark Side of Christianity; a dramatic view, to be sure, and prevalent with profound insights. But it is only a partial view, and thus it has led to alienation from (or disconnection with) the mystic world of nature and the socio-realities of history. ""...deep down the centre `I myself' is `It' - as in `as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be...'"" Ultimate faith means a complete letting go; therefore it is beyond theology... founded on a supreme desperation, a ""mighty self-abandonment which gives birth to the stars."" These conclusions are prefaced with delvings into Catholicism, Protestantism, Mahayanna Buddhism, scientific analogies, psychiatry and poetry. There is also a theatrical metaphor: God as the Hidden Player in a game of Good and Evil, Heaven and Earth. He turns out to be our Self (not God as other). He also has a sense of humor (like Pursewarden's ""God Is a Humorist"" book in the Alexandria Quartct?). And this humor, this perfect self-awareness, makes for holiness. Watts has many fan; here his Shangri-la voice-resonant, spiritually esoteric- won't let them down.