The prevalence of the language and practice of discernment owes much to the larger movement of what Diana Butler Bass has termed "retraditioning" as well as a renewed focus on spiritual practices.

I asked my friend the English professor to define “discern.” He said — wisely, I think — that the word doesn’t mean telling right from wrong, but telling right from almost right.

I asked my friend the English professor to define “discern.” He said — wisely, I think — that the word doesn’t mean telling right from wrong, but telling right from almost right. Today’s West led the ...