Few things that I am capable of doing seem more presumptuous than to write a review of Richard Rohr and Mike Morrell’s book The Divine Dance. As the book itself deserves to be read and re-read, so such a review would necessarily have to be written and re-written as more discoveries emerge from the reading and re-reading. 

I gathered that the goal of the book was nothing less than to attempt the restoration of Trinity as the lively foundation of a Christianity that can authentically be lived and experienced by ordinary mortals. It aims to provide a good, healthy theology in which God is for us rather than out for us. His nemesis, bad theology, is described memorably in the forward to the book by William Young, the author of another Trinitarian reflection, The Shack:

 

“Bad theology is like pornography – the imagination of a real relationship without the risk of one. It tends to be transactional and propositional rather than relational and mysterious. You don’t have to trust Person, or care for Person. It becomes an exercise in self-gratification that ultimately dehumanizes the self and the community of humanity in order to avoid the painful process of humbling and trusting. Bad theology is not a victimless crime. It dehumanizes God and turns the wonder and messy mystery of intimate relationship into a centerfold to be used and discarded.”

As stated in the explanatory material, Mike combined a lot of Fr. Richard’s previous writings into a mix which they could mold together with new material to create the book. Many phrases will appear familiar to those who have read Fr. Rohr’s earlier works or subscribed to his marvelous daily reflections, e.g., “the way you do anything is the way you do everything,” “we project onto God our way of loving,” and as will conceptual constructs such as “non-dual thinking” and “everything belongs,” and his perennial animus against atonement doctrine. 

 

What’s new is the mix of these earlier ruminations with new reflections on Trinity, as experienced rather than dissected. Karl Rahner did in fact utter words to the effect that most Christians could get along just fine without the doctrine of the Trinity, yet he was also clear that humans estranged from their source in Trinity are beings necessarily incomprehensible to themselves. At some point, every Trinitarian Christian needs to wrestle with exactly what he or she believes about it.

The book provides many insights and exercises to help us come to understand the Trinitarian nature of existence, e.g., breathing, walking around, making the sign of the cross on oneself, lectio divina, and centering prayer. Some of these exercises might seem silly to some, while others might find in them the moment of breakthrough. I would gently urge the reader to ponder what’s in the book without judging its content or its author, for one person’s silliness is another person’s salvation.

As a Catholic deacon I found lots to think over, re-think and plenty to preach about. I’m sure it will result in letters to the bishop from our local branch of the Pontius Pilate Society. I was particularly struck by Fr. Richard’s expression of the relationship between the Body of Christ (the Church – you, me) and the Body of Christ as manifested in the Eucharistic species. I’d never even thought of that connection. 

When the priest, and then we ourselves, hold the host in our hands we are, with no exaggeration, holding absolutely everyone and everything in our hands. By receiving the host into our body, we accept our fundamental unity, draw strength from it, shoulder our responsibility under the law of love towards it, and in the giving away of what we’ve received, find ourselves immersed ever more deeply into the mystery. Talk about Real Presence! I’m reminded of Flannery O’Connor’s defense of it, when she remarked, “Well, if it isn’t [the Real Presence], then to hell with it.” Nothing else, it seems, will ever do.

Fr. Richard shares with folks like Raimon Panikkar and Paul Knitter a certain ease in locating helpful correspondences between Trinity and images of God that are found in other religious traditions. I found his exposition of sat-chit-ananda helpful and by no means threatening. Illuminating the diamond of my own faith with light from another angle simply reveals more of the innate beauty in it.

Thanks (to Mike in particular, I’m guessing) for the tip about Bené Brown and vulnerability research. I think it will be of help in mapping Marian devotion to Trinitarian experience. More importantly, it illuminates vulnerability as a spiritual virtue and concrete practice that opens us more and more to the presence and action of God within.

The book takes readers deeply into the mystery of the divine dance, inviting us to experience a relationship with God that unfolds like the river quoted in John O’Donohue’s poem, surprising itself by its own unfolding, and realizing that its own unfolding is part of the unfolding of Creation itself. It’s an invitation that no one should refuse.  

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part 255.