How (Not) to Speak of God
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"'This book brings together Christian mysticism, postmodern philosophy, and the practices and liturgies of an alternative worship community trying to make sense of Christianity in a postmodern environment. The results are stunning - original, provocative, and creative.' Jonny Baker 'In this calm, quiet, well-reasoned book, Peter Rollins bursts the silence and grinds the 'posts' into the nothing they have become. Here in pregnant bud is the rose, the emerging new configuration, of a Christianity that is neither Roman nor Protestant, neither Eastern nor monastic; but rather is the re-formation of all of them. Here, in pregnant bud, is third millennium Christendom.' Phyllis Tickle"
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"Church Times" article on Greenbelt 2005 described Peter Rollins as 'holding a seminar spellbound', and Ikon's 'gentle, symbolic, and creative multimedia act of worship' as 'weird but wondrous'. The emerging church is still an embryonic movement, yet it currently faces a serious challenge. How it responds will reveal whether it is little more than the latest re-imagining of the evangelical tradition, designed to address the decline in church attendance, or a radical re-envisaging of faith. Having been born out of a post-modern sensitivity, Peter Rollins believes the emerging church is in a unique place to acknowledge the long forgotten insight that revelation embraces concealment; that our various interpretations of revelation will always be provisional, fragile and fragmentary; that we speak always with wounded words about a wounded Christ. The emerging church thus has the potential to leave aside the security blanket of certainty and recognize that what is important is that we embrace the beloved rather than somehow agree about how we understand this beloved, acknowledging that the God we follow touches us in deeply personal ways that are singular and which cannot be dissected via some universal understanding. "How (not) to Speak of God's" sustained exploration of the theory and praxis of emerging church is firmly anchored in an analysis of twelve Ikon services, on topics such as: 'The Prodigal Father', 'Risk' and 'Advent'.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I loved this book. It's in two parts: the first looks at the nature of God and how we might know/encounter him; the second gives a number of 'scripts' from sessions of Ikon, an alternative worship community in Belfast, of which Rollins is a leader. Pete Rollins teaches philosophy and brings interesting insights to this book. Rollins starts with two epigrams, one from Wittgenstein, the other from his charismatic evangelical background: "What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence." and "God is the one subject of whome we must never stop speaking." He finds a resolution of these two apparent opposites in an apophatic approach to God--that we cannot ever know about God but that we can experience God. He sees Christianity as a/theistic, citing Anselm, amongst others, on his side: "Therefore, Lord, you are not merely that than which a greater cannot be thought: you are something greater than can be thought."
This sense of radically engaged unknowing pervades the book. Rollins dissolves the debate between the transcendence and immanence of God by asserting that God is immanent and it is the brilliance of his closeness which leads us to experience Him as transcendent, just a really bright light will blind us. There is much more to engage and startle the reader. You don't have to agree but if it doesn't make you think afresh I'll be surprised.
This sense of radically engaged unknowing pervades the book. Rollins dissolves the debate between the transcendence and immanence of God by asserting that God is immanent and it is the brilliance of his closeness which leads us to experience Him as transcendent, just a really bright light will blind us. There is much more to engage and startle the reader. You don't have to agree but if it doesn't make you think afresh I'll be surprised.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
A must read for church leaders who want to understand the postmodern influence on the emerging church.
13 Oct 2006
Format:Paperback
This is perhaps one of the most original and philosophical of books to come out of the `emerging church' in the last few years. Brian McLaren arguably the Father figure of the movement writing about it states:
`Reading it did good for my mind and for my soul. It helped me understand my own spiritual journey more clearly, and gave me a context for the work I'm involved with. In fact,I would say this is one of the two or three most rewarding books on theology I have read in ten years.'
Dr Rollins' `How (not) to Speak of God' certainly challenges those who read scripture with a `modern' mindset. This he does with both compassion and understanding having been previously an evangelist with a charismatic church for some years.
His original stories and parables, as well as his playing around with words adds to its charm. Nevertheless this is not a light read and is well worth rereading at least once.
The second part of the book entitled `Towards orthopraxis: Bringing theory to the church' consists of a series of services that were held by the `Church' Ikon that he founded some years back. Again these will challenge our preconceived ideas of God ,the Church and the world and hopefully cause us to reflect and become at least a little more humble when it comes to our belief that we hold the Truth and nothing but the Truth.This book I recommend for everyone involved in the `Emerging Church' Conversation and for those who wish to understand the philosophy behind it. For a more critical appraisal of the emerging church read D.A. Carson's 'Becoming conversant with the Emerging Church'.
`Reading it did good for my mind and for my soul. It helped me understand my own spiritual journey more clearly, and gave me a context for the work I'm involved with. In fact,I would say this is one of the two or three most rewarding books on theology I have read in ten years.'
Dr Rollins' `How (not) to Speak of God' certainly challenges those who read scripture with a `modern' mindset. This he does with both compassion and understanding having been previously an evangelist with a charismatic church for some years.
His original stories and parables, as well as his playing around with words adds to its charm. Nevertheless this is not a light read and is well worth rereading at least once.
The second part of the book entitled `Towards orthopraxis: Bringing theory to the church' consists of a series of services that were held by the `Church' Ikon that he founded some years back. Again these will challenge our preconceived ideas of God ,the Church and the world and hopefully cause us to reflect and become at least a little more humble when it comes to our belief that we hold the Truth and nothing but the Truth.This book I recommend for everyone involved in the `Emerging Church' Conversation and for those who wish to understand the philosophy behind it. For a more critical appraisal of the emerging church read D.A. Carson's 'Becoming conversant with the Emerging Church'.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Here's an interesting book. Rollins is a philosophy lecturer and founder of the experimental worship community Ikon in Belfast, and this reads like a manual for doing theology in a postmodern world, although I don't think Rollins uses that term anywhere. It may be the first Christian book I've read that takes a postmodern context as given, which is refreshing.
Rollins is concerned with finding ways of presenting God within and through a climate of relativism and deconstructionism, rather than fighting it. He explores how we have considered orthodoxy to be right beliefs, rather than believing rightly. He talks about God as being subjective, not objective, and raises any number of other issues and paradoxes of faith that the church has traditionally been uncomfortable with, but that the emerging church welcomes and celebrates.
However, as with so many of these books, the practical outworking seems incomplete. The second half of the book is ten descriptions of services at Ikon, which are meant to demonstrate the theology in action. Intriguing perhaps, and highly creative, but I found this bit less useful, mainly because I can't imagine the model being useful outside of Ikon. Rollins also seems to be courting controversy a little on issues that the book isn't really about, and it seems a shame to forfeit the real debate by losing readers over details (See Steve Chalke and the `cosmic child abuse' debacle). I'd have valued some real discussion on the practical elements instead, which in my mind makes this a thought-provoking contribution, rather than a milestone, in this important debate.
Rollins is concerned with finding ways of presenting God within and through a climate of relativism and deconstructionism, rather than fighting it. He explores how we have considered orthodoxy to be right beliefs, rather than believing rightly. He talks about God as being subjective, not objective, and raises any number of other issues and paradoxes of faith that the church has traditionally been uncomfortable with, but that the emerging church welcomes and celebrates.
However, as with so many of these books, the practical outworking seems incomplete. The second half of the book is ten descriptions of services at Ikon, which are meant to demonstrate the theology in action. Intriguing perhaps, and highly creative, but I found this bit less useful, mainly because I can't imagine the model being useful outside of Ikon. Rollins also seems to be courting controversy a little on issues that the book isn't really about, and it seems a shame to forfeit the real debate by losing readers over details (See Steve Chalke and the `cosmic child abuse' debacle). I'd have valued some real discussion on the practical elements instead, which in my mind makes this a thought-provoking contribution, rather than a milestone, in this important debate.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
How (Not) to Speak of God
Excellent book that would also be very controversial to some. Evangelicals are as steeped in (their own) traditions as any.
Published on 8 Nov 2009 by Mr. Paul C. Purday
Great thinking on the church
Dr. Rollins blends a vast understanding of postmodern theory and praxis with a sensitivity to the Christian faith to create this useful tool. Dr. Read more
Published on 25 Nov 2008 by J. Mccormick
a new poet/prophet is born
this is an important and beautiful book. we are living in a fractured time. we do not yet know what we are let alone where we are going other than (in rollins' words)... Read more
Published on 27 May 2006 by Shane Magee
Confused and going nowhere-which is where I think he wants to go.
My respsonsibility is to review books from an emergent perspective for my org. I had anticpated liking this book more than I did, alot more. Read more
Published on 20 May 2006 by Timothy W. Wright
Deep and profound!
Pete Rollins is a great friend from my time of living in N. Ireland and is one of my heroes in emerging church theology and philosophy. Read more
Published on 15 May 2006 by Adele Sakler
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