Book Review:
A Return to Love, by Marianne Williamson
by Will Jones, LPC
For most of my life I have been interested in psychology and religion. It is rare to find a book that successfully integrates these two fields. The book I am reviewing is one of those rare books. It is an interpretation of a much larger volume entitled A Course in Miracles, a book of interesting origin penned by two psychologists from Columbia University in New York City. Ms. Williamson claims this book, commonly referred to as "the course," was to her not just another book, but "my personal teacher, my path out of hell" from her life which in her mid twenties was a "total mess."
The title, A Return to Love, reflects some of the theology which she explains to us. This theology insists that God created us perfectly. But we have developed mistakes in our perception and therefore are not in touch with the greater truths of life. The most misleading of our perceptual faculties is the ego.
Throughout the book the ego is seen as the bad guy, the greatest culprit, the source of fear. The ego is seen as having a pseudo life of its own and it is hard at work to ensure its own survival. It is a complete network of fearful perceptions stemming from the idea that we are separated from God. So our thoughts, separated from God by the ego, are separated from love. Healing is a return to the love which God created in all of us.
Our guide to a different perception of reality is the Holy Spirit. One of the core beliefs of this reality is that only love is real. Everything else is an illusion; so the Holy Spirit guides us to this new perception that is based on love. Or we might say it returns us to our perfectly loving, natural state. The atonement is seen as the correction of our perception. Our job is to let go of our resistance to love.
A lot of theological words, like atonement, are not used in their more traditional sense. Forgiveness is another example. We usually think of forgiveness as something we do when we see guilt in someone. But if only love is real, guilt is not real. Forgiveness is merely to remember only the love that you give and that has been given to you.
In many ways the book suggests mind training or a form of mental discipline. It is indeed heavily rational in its approach. "God means love, and will means thought. God's will is loving thought." If we can learn to perceive correctly, we will perceive and love. There are constant themes of fear versus love, ego versus the Holy Spirit, and truth versus misperception. So we learn to think clearly, and be in touch with the true reality of ourselves which is love. One of the clear objectives of the course is to teach us a way of life that releases us from fear.
"Although it is a human decision to choose love instead of fear, that radical shift that this produces in every dimension of our lives is gift from God...When our minds, through focus on love, are allowed to be open vessels through which God expresses, our lives become the canvasses for the expression of joy. That's the meaning of our lives. We are here as physical representations of a divine principle. To say that we're on the earth to serve God, means that we're on earth to love."
The book certainly is a challenge to our traditional way of thinking. While we could debate its theological and psychological theory, I believe we would best spend our time digesting its many positive challenges. As I have said, this is a book about a book. It is a bright and excellent introduction to A Course in Miracles. I have found these books to be an excellent source of ideas for sermons. I would welcome opportunities to discuss either of these books. Certainly, if we followed their teachings, it would bring us together in love.
Reprinted with permission from PPImprints, the Journal of The Professional Pastoral-Counseling Institute, Inc. To be notified when PPImprints is published, please register.
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