I'm feeling a guilty pleasure at reading William James'
Varieties of Religious Experience as if for the first time. My unmarked new copy lets me encounter anew James' language, his playful wit, his willingness to challenge pieties. The copy I've used forever, by contrast, announces what's important with underlinings in multiple colors, comments and symbols in the margin, dog-eared pages ... allowing me, indeed forcing me, to skim the rest. But I'm reading it now as if in the original audience in Edinburgh, not knowing where it is leading, open to surprise at James' skilful oratory and provocative argumentation, savoring every word.
The pleasure is guilty because I am rediscovering things I've overlooked so long I've forgotten they were there. My
students in Theorizing Religion each year read James as I am now, seeing more than their teacher did in prepping for class! Oh well, that I've forgotten chunks of it is helping me achieve a "beginner's mind" about it which is quite delectable. And will make this Fall's
Varieties discussions fresher, too!
