YES, WORLD: A Mosaic of Meditation

This is ""a teaspoon of a book,"" as the author freely confesses. Ruminating essays of faith and old-time religion, all previously published in United Church Herald and (three) McCall's, piece together a ""Post-Christian"" ethic cemented by that least reliable of adhesives, ""poetic"" apprehensions of God. Miss Irion's affirmative Yes, Worm is built upon the rubble of negations: no god, no supernaturalism, no ""great-grandmama's faith,"" because there's ""the hydrogen bomb and evolution and DNA and all."" Name-dropping into Schleiermacher, Feuerbach, Schweitzer, Tillich and Teilhard, the author leaves it at that, proving she has company in doubt but if and where the association continues ? ? ? Primarily prie-dieu chats, to God, nature and Others: a sock-opera about doing the family laundry, a pet rabbit pep-talk, protests against world suffering where asylum inmates are ""symbols,"" not victims. And what finally is faith?--""thinking thoughts and singing songs."" The unoriginal sin.