How (Not) to Speak of God: A Review
August 5, 2006
"How Not to Speak of God" by Peter Rollins
Published by Paraclete Press (book page here)
Author Pete Rollins: Peter Rollins has a B.A. in Scholastic philosophy, an M.A. in political theory and criticism, and a Ph.D. in postmodern theory. He is the founder of the Ikon community in Northern Ireland (a group which describes itself as iconic, apocalyptic, heretical, emerging and failing) and a working philosopher who has come to believe that the emerging church presents a singular, unprecedented opportunity to transform the theological and moral architecture of the Christian community [link].
Author page here (includes interview and US speaking tour dates) / Pete’s blog here
I was given a chance to read Pete’s book a few months ago, and I think it is one of the best books about the church emerging to come out recently. As it says on the back, Pete’s book explores the philosophical and theological underpinnings of the emerging church movement. I think if anyone asks me what "I" think (I use the quotes because what "I" think Emergent is about may be vastly different than what "you" think it’s about) Emergent is about. One of the things I like best about this is that it speaks directly from Pete’s experience - coming from someone who has been involved in things from IKON to YWAM, and from backgrounds as diverse as the Pentecostal tradition and a strong penchant for the writings and theology of the Christian mystics. After I had spent an entire semester studying the theology of Pseudo-Dionysius [paper here], it was exciting to see someone incorporating some of his theology in ways that I had been thinking about during the course.
The book is a wonderful balance between theology and philosophy and praxis. After developing what I believe to be some good philosophical & theologial foundations to Emergent, Pete shares how Ikon has incorporated these foundational concepts into their community life. Pete also has an incredible way with language, and you will be drawn into his world of language from the very beginning. I commend this book to anyone who is interesting in learning more about Emergent or the church emerging. If you’d like to give it a read, purchase it here. You should also look into the CD "Dubh" put out by IKON.
Below, I want to highlight a few concepts and quotes I particularly enjoyed from Pete’s book:
- Transcending the Binary
- "The reversal from ‘right belief’ to ‘believing in the right way’ is in no way a move to some binary opposite of the first…; rather it is a way of transcending the binary altogether. Thus orthodoxy is no longer (mis)understood as the opposite of heresy but rather is understood as a term that signals a way of being in the world rather than a means of believing things about the world" (3).
- Being & Becoming
- Pete emphasizes the need to reclaim the idea that we are constantly in a process of being saved, becoming Christian and becoming Church - but he does so in such a deeper way than simply saying "It’s not about the destination - it’s about the journey…"
- Evangelism + Answers
- "In contrast to the view that evangelism is that which gives an answer for those who are asking, we must have faith to believe that those who seek will find for themselves. If this is true, then the job of the Church is not to provide an answer - for the answer is not a phrase or doctrine - but rather to help encourage the religous question to arise. In contrast to the type of sermon that aims to answer thought by providing a clear explanation of a passage or area of Christian life, the emerging community is in a unique place to embrace a type of communication that opens up thought by asking questions and celebrating complexity" (40-41).
- Seeking
- One of the most interesting sections in this book was the chapter entitled "Inhabiting the God-shaped hole" in which Pete writes the following: "Rather than desire being fulfilled in the presence of God, religious desire is born there. In short, a true spiritual seeking can be understood as the sign that one already has that which one seeks, or rather, that one is already grasped by that which one seeks to grasp. Consequently a genuine seeking after God is evidence of having found" (50). I think this is a refreshing understanding to the concept of "seekers." Seekers are not the ones we should be trying to get to come to our churches so that we can "save" them - but rather, we are all called to be seekers. And perhaps, there are many seekers "out there" [i.e. not in the church] who are experiencing more of the Divine that many of us…?
- Believing in the Right Way
- Pete writes about the definition of orthodoxy traditionally meaning
"right belief." But he encourages us to look at an alternative
definition by thinking more in Hebrew-terms (more holistically) than in the way of the Greeks: "In order to discover this alternative reading, we must
break down the word ‘orthodoxy’ into its Greek roots, ortho (right) and doxa
(belief), and read them as if one were reading Hebrew - that is, from
right to left. Thus ‘right belief’ becomes ‘believing in the right
way’. Thus we break down the binary opposition between orthodoxy and
heresy by understanding the term ‘orthodox’ as referring to someone who
engages with the world in the right way - that is, in the way of love."
- Pete writes about the definition of orthodoxy traditionally meaning
- Queer
- The second half of the book is filled with examples of the way in which IKON has embodied much of the thoughts & theologies you’ll find in Pete’s book. One of my favorite services was one about sexual orientation called "Queer." Pete admits that IKON (much like Emergent) has no substantial doctrinal center, so there are people who have very different perspectives on the issue of sexual orientation. But during this service they listened to people’s stories, including an ironic story written by Jon Hatch about a young man who ‘comes out’ to his parents as a heterosexual (a great story!). The service ends with the following liturgy, written by Padraig Twomey:
In the Way Things Have Been
We have said:
we are gay
we are straight
we are queer
we are not
we are men
we are women
we have divided our Body into Us and Them.
We have believed lies
we have told lies.
And the Way Things Could Be:
Our God calls us to believe that
all men, all women, are human
equal in the sight of eternity.
We share the same breath
we inhabit our bodies
we are all fed by blood
and love
and food
and water.
We celebrate and mourn
we rejoice and we grieve.
We Search for a New Way of Being
We have been created with dignity
we have been created in love.
We respond to the call to return to who we truly are
who we were meant to be
in Community, in Diversity, in Conversation, in Love.
We are the Body of Christ.
The Body of Christ is queer,
is man, is woman,
is straight.
The Body of Christ is the people of God,
gathered here, and carried in our hearts.
This is the body we have, this is our body.
Posted in 
Adam Walker Cleaveland: 
August 6th, 2006 at 12:57 am
So, I’m struggling for four days already to write some sort of cohesive review of this book and then you come along with this. I’m going to go back to my blog page and write “Pete book good.” and link to you. How ’bout that?
August 6th, 2006 at 1:04 am
I am a little hesistant about anyone or group that identifies themselves with the word heretical. Granted we are all a little bit of heretic deep down within somewhere. Alot of individuals lately seem to be making the argument that in order to be relevant the church must become heretical. Why is this? I thought orthodoxy is what we were suppose to strive for. So if anyone here can indulge me I would be apprecriative why I should listen to a group or an individual as an authority who proclaims themselves to be heretical? I mean obviously you can learn from people you are different from… but I think you guys and gals get my drift in what I am saying.
Thank you.
August 6th, 2006 at 4:01 am
Ben, I think, by admitting to be “heretical,” many aren’t trying to be “edgy” or controversial, rather, honest. What is heresy, honestly? If there is truly only one “right belief,” I’d say we’re all screwed. I have yet to meet one other person who believes EXACTLY the same as myself. Thank God for that! But, as Rollins says, Orthodoxy is about living tightly in the world. Living a life of incarnational love. I think arguing about the terms used is not entirely pointless (I wouldn’t use the term “heretic” to definitively describe myself, although I am sure I do fit into that category to one extent or another) but our energies may be better spent elsewhere.
Good review, Adam! I look forward to reading the book!
Grace and Peace,
-me
August 6th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
Adam - I am going to get this book it sounds great.
August 7th, 2006 at 12:07 am
>>>>”How Not to Speak of God”
In other words, how to speak of God.
August 7th, 2006 at 3:53 am
i wrote a review a while back and now have anumber of friends reading it, it’s great to see a book that makes people’s head hurt…
August 7th, 2006 at 10:13 am
On the definition of “right belief” versus “believing the right way”:
Thus we break down the binary opposition between orthodoxy and heresy by understanding the term ‘orthodox’ as referring to someone who engages with the world in the right way - that is, in the way of love.
Where is Christ in this? I’m not trying to be trite, but what about this definition of orthodoxy necessarily includes the Incarnation and Resurrection? Virtually any religion includes some idea of “the way of love”, so where is the particularity of the Gospel? Based on what you’ve presented from the book, it seems entirely absent and as if “Christian” and “church” are merely convenient cultural labels for what is essentially a unitarian-esque philosophy.
August 9th, 2006 at 6:55 pm
I finished my review, it’s posted here.
August 15th, 2006 at 10:34 am
thanks for this…i have been looking forward to reading this book since i began hearing initial reviews. it still intrigues me, so maybe i need to move it up my big list of “books to read.”
September 10th, 2006 at 5:07 pm
Just finished it last night. I couldn’t put it down, I loved it.
September 11th, 2006 at 1:54 am
adam, I posted a semi-review here, check it out. Let me know what you think.