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theemolibrocubicularist's review against another edition
5.0
Very mind boggling but very good! Because of this book it made me realize it was okay to question the Bible, what I hear and read about God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, otherwise my faith and spirituality isn't growing as much as it should.
lydiawesome's review against another edition
5.0
Challenging and thought-provoking. Rollins does not disappoint!!
ryberst's review against another edition
5.0
In this book, Rollins explores the nature of participating in the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. In the Crucifixion, Rollins sees Christ cry, “My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me” to be the removal and destruction of the deus ex machina, the structures and systems of comfort we create to reassure ourselves that everything will be ok. In the Resurrection we learn to live in the absence of said comfort. Like Sisyphus, we learn to live our lives, tedious and mundane as it may be, in joy. In the absence of meaning, comfort – God – that is lost in the Crucifixion, we embrace our life in the world in the Resurrection and find God here and not. Not as a comfort, but as a passion. Excellent.
allisonjpmiller's review against another edition
5.0
UPDATE: One of my favorite theology bloggers, Richard Beck, wrote up a great critique of Insurrection here. Well worth the read. I agree that Bonhoeffer presents a more consummate vision of etsi deus non daretur (living as if there was no God) than Rollins, one that does not exclude the importance of worship and prayer in private, and loving God-as-object as much as God-as-action. However, I know Rollins is writing another book that he claims "deepens and develops" some of the themes brought up in this one, so I'll have to see where he takes things.
***
Wow. This may be the most thorough and relentless breakdown of Christian psychology I've ever read.
Rollins' central thesis is dead-on, for my money: the modern church has become a security blanket for people, a comfortable construct that shields us from the world and prevents us from facing the true nihilistic devastation that is at the heart of the Crucifixion: a loss of God, a loss of meaning, and a loss of hope.
"Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani?" / "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34) – Rollins asserts that we have missed the profound implications of Christ's experience on the cross, of God being forsaken by God. Based on this assertion, he proceeds to systematically torch every lie Christians tell each other about God and about themselves: even the lies that feel so genuine when we're telling them. As he correctly points out, we are too often satisfied with the false God we've created for ourselves – an image that makes us feel better, a deus ex machina that is always there when we need our problems fixed. We essentially ignore Christ, no matter how much we profess him. We don't truly process the fact that he experienced the same dark night of the soul and loss of God that all of us do at some point. We miss the point that God himself embraced doubt as a human being, both in Gethsemane and on the Cross – and until we do the same, we have not truly participated in Crucifixion and Resurrection with him, and we can never really experience change.
Over and over again, the Scriptures tell us to die to ourselves in order to find ourselves, but most churches are structured to prevent us from doing this. They afford people no opportunity to face doubt – the divine catalyst – and therefore no opportunity to die to the comforts and masks that keep them afloat every day. Some communities do, of course, and those are the ones that contain world-changers. Because once you've faced your own fears and misgivings and wrestled with them, there's really nothing left to hide behind. And that's when we can love fearlessly, holding nothing back. And that's where God is.
Now, this has been my own takeaway. Did I agree with every word Rollins wrote? Certainly not. But I don't think he wants me to. As he points out toward the end, it's in the challenge and in the conflict itself that truth is unearthed and becomes visible – not in any pat answers or established systems. When the deus ex machina God of religion dies, Christ and the Resurrection remain, as confounding and unsafe as ever.
There is so much to digest and think about in this slim little volume that I couldn't possibly summarize it all in a review. Suffice to say, if you ever read it, I would LOVE to discuss it with you.
***
Wow. This may be the most thorough and relentless breakdown of Christian psychology I've ever read.
Rollins' central thesis is dead-on, for my money: the modern church has become a security blanket for people, a comfortable construct that shields us from the world and prevents us from facing the true nihilistic devastation that is at the heart of the Crucifixion: a loss of God, a loss of meaning, and a loss of hope.
"Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani?" / "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34) – Rollins asserts that we have missed the profound implications of Christ's experience on the cross, of God being forsaken by God. Based on this assertion, he proceeds to systematically torch every lie Christians tell each other about God and about themselves: even the lies that feel so genuine when we're telling them. As he correctly points out, we are too often satisfied with the false God we've created for ourselves – an image that makes us feel better, a deus ex machina that is always there when we need our problems fixed. We essentially ignore Christ, no matter how much we profess him. We don't truly process the fact that he experienced the same dark night of the soul and loss of God that all of us do at some point. We miss the point that God himself embraced doubt as a human being, both in Gethsemane and on the Cross – and until we do the same, we have not truly participated in Crucifixion and Resurrection with him, and we can never really experience change.
Over and over again, the Scriptures tell us to die to ourselves in order to find ourselves, but most churches are structured to prevent us from doing this. They afford people no opportunity to face doubt – the divine catalyst – and therefore no opportunity to die to the comforts and masks that keep them afloat every day. Some communities do, of course, and those are the ones that contain world-changers. Because once you've faced your own fears and misgivings and wrestled with them, there's really nothing left to hide behind. And that's when we can love fearlessly, holding nothing back. And that's where God is.
Now, this has been my own takeaway. Did I agree with every word Rollins wrote? Certainly not. But I don't think he wants me to. As he points out toward the end, it's in the challenge and in the conflict itself that truth is unearthed and becomes visible – not in any pat answers or established systems. When the deus ex machina God of religion dies, Christ and the Resurrection remain, as confounding and unsafe as ever.
There is so much to digest and think about in this slim little volume that I couldn't possibly summarize it all in a review. Suffice to say, if you ever read it, I would LOVE to discuss it with you.
vanitar's review against another edition
4.0
This book challenges some of the basic assumptions and practices that we at times fall into by rote. It invites the reader to truly reflect on what it means to participate, not only in the resurrection but also in the crucifixion. What does it mean to live beyond religion. His invitation is similar to Bonhoeffer’s and I appreciated the wrestling it provoked within. The stories at the beginning of each chapter were a helpful way to get into each theme/thought being presented.
raoul_g's review against another edition
5.0
By now Peter Rollins has clearly established himself as one of my favorite writers writing on the topics of religion and faith and their intersection with philosophy.
I resonate deeply with his understanding of God and of what the meaning of Christianity is (or what it could be). By now I have read all his books, and watched quite a few of his online seminars or book discussions, but it seems to me that his perspective is outlined more clearly here, in the second part of this book, than anywhere else. This is still not to say that he has a very straightforward way of explaining it (but I mean it in a good way and will explain this later!)
I read this book together with my friend, and we met a few times to discuss the chapters we read before. This was a truly enriching experience, and the creative writing of Rollins really helped with sparking off interesting conversations.
So what is the book about? Basically, Rollins looks at the Christian events of Crucifixion and Resurrection through the lens of Pyrotheology, which is how Rollins' calls his theological perspective.
In this understanding, Crucifixion, for example, signifies an experience of dissolving of one's constructs of God and oneself (Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani) and the experience of anxiety in all its forms. When talking about different forms of anxiety, Rollins draws heavily on the work done by Paul Tillich in 'The Courage to Be'. Without going too much into details, it can be said that anxiety appears as an existential condition related to guilt and condemnation, fate and death, and emptiness or even meaninglessness. Crucifixion in this sense is the first part of the Conversion experience that Rollins deems central to the Christian faith. The author criticizes that for many, religion is a way of protecting themselves from these forms of anxiety, as God is made to address all of them. Pyrotheology instead, encourages people to resolutely confront their brokenness and courageously face their anxieties.
While the conversion to the Christian faith in a more traditional understanding is always connected to the reward of an eternal life after death, what matters for Rollins is the possibility of an eternal life before death. By this he means a transformation of the way we exist in the present, which is signified by the Resurrection. As mentioned above, in this mode of being anxiety is not taken away, but rather it is robbed of its weight. One's life and the whole world can be affirmed despite suffering and pain.
What role does God play in all of this? The first thing that must be said is that Pyrotheology is not in the least interested in whether God exists as a supernatural force or being. Here God is not understood as a being or a divine personality, rather "God is the name we give to the way of living in which we experience the world as worthy of living for, fighting for, and dying for". Or to put it in the words of Leo Tolstoy: "Where Love is, God is". Rollins posits that the only way in which one can truly believe in God is by manifesting love in one's life.
What I love about this book is its creativity. Each chapter starts with a short story or a parable. Additionally, Rollins adds insights from a psychoanalytical perspective, offers insightful interpretations of movies or cites various philosophers. He also has a very poetic and figurative way of writing. He does not define all his ideas in the most straightforward way (as I already mentioned above). Instead, he is able to create insight at a deeper level through the use of parables and by creating what I would call visions of possibilities. It's kind of hard actually to describe this, so I will end this review by just recommending you to read this or another of Rollins' books for yourself. I'm sure you will not regret it.
I resonate deeply with his understanding of God and of what the meaning of Christianity is (or what it could be). By now I have read all his books, and watched quite a few of his online seminars or book discussions, but it seems to me that his perspective is outlined more clearly here, in the second part of this book, than anywhere else. This is still not to say that he has a very straightforward way of explaining it (but I mean it in a good way and will explain this later!)
I read this book together with my friend, and we met a few times to discuss the chapters we read before. This was a truly enriching experience, and the creative writing of Rollins really helped with sparking off interesting conversations.
So what is the book about? Basically, Rollins looks at the Christian events of Crucifixion and Resurrection through the lens of Pyrotheology, which is how Rollins' calls his theological perspective.
In this understanding, Crucifixion, for example, signifies an experience of dissolving of one's constructs of God and oneself (Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani) and the experience of anxiety in all its forms. When talking about different forms of anxiety, Rollins draws heavily on the work done by Paul Tillich in 'The Courage to Be'. Without going too much into details, it can be said that anxiety appears as an existential condition related to guilt and condemnation, fate and death, and emptiness or even meaninglessness. Crucifixion in this sense is the first part of the Conversion experience that Rollins deems central to the Christian faith. The author criticizes that for many, religion is a way of protecting themselves from these forms of anxiety, as God is made to address all of them. Pyrotheology instead, encourages people to resolutely confront their brokenness and courageously face their anxieties.
While the conversion to the Christian faith in a more traditional understanding is always connected to the reward of an eternal life after death, what matters for Rollins is the possibility of an eternal life before death. By this he means a transformation of the way we exist in the present, which is signified by the Resurrection. As mentioned above, in this mode of being anxiety is not taken away, but rather it is robbed of its weight. One's life and the whole world can be affirmed despite suffering and pain.
What role does God play in all of this? The first thing that must be said is that Pyrotheology is not in the least interested in whether God exists as a supernatural force or being. Here God is not understood as a being or a divine personality, rather "God is the name we give to the way of living in which we experience the world as worthy of living for, fighting for, and dying for". Or to put it in the words of Leo Tolstoy: "Where Love is, God is". Rollins posits that the only way in which one can truly believe in God is by manifesting love in one's life.
What I love about this book is its creativity. Each chapter starts with a short story or a parable. Additionally, Rollins adds insights from a psychoanalytical perspective, offers insightful interpretations of movies or cites various philosophers. He also has a very poetic and figurative way of writing. He does not define all his ideas in the most straightforward way (as I already mentioned above). Instead, he is able to create insight at a deeper level through the use of parables and by creating what I would call visions of possibilities. It's kind of hard actually to describe this, so I will end this review by just recommending you to read this or another of Rollins' books for yourself. I'm sure you will not regret it.
mattshervheim's review against another edition
Lots of thoughts on this, but for now I’ll just say that I’m shocked I haven’t come across Rollins before this. Anyone bringing together Kierkegaard, Zizek, Michael Mann, Nancy Meyers, and subtle circumcision jokes is someone I want to be reading.
ricefun's review against another edition
4.0
Read this as part of a book discussion group that met at the pub in Richmond, IN. I appreciate Rollins perspective on living a Resurrection lifestyle that does not neglect doubt and is fully aware of the pain and suffering in this world while still finding meaning in Jesus' life and actions. Our group had lots of helpful questions based on Rollins understand of the world and faith, and overall I think he puts forth a really great argument for living fully, in community, and questioning the basics of "Christianity" because of the value of questioning our faith. Like any book of theology, I think that Rollins ignores many things because he is so focused on getting a few specific points across, but overall it was a very engaging and faith-enriching read.
kath61's review against another edition
4.0
I found this very interesting although I confess the philosophy occasionally lost me. It was original and radical, the sort of book I would enjoy discussing with others of like mind. I felt reassured that the feeling of complete doubt and sense of meaningless could be a) experienced by far better Christians than me and b) regarded as a way of understanding the crucifixion in a deeper way. I also identified with his thoughts that engaging with others around us in love is a way of experiencing God.
It was illuminating how he demonstrated that church ministers and worship structures can subconsciously collude in a false certainty. However I hesitate at his possible conclusion which is that there is no external being that is God and wonder what the point of church and liturgy would be. He does suggest more room for expressed doubt and reference to suffering in church worship which I feel could be helpful to some but could disturb others.
Well written with many references to famous films and various fables to help illustrate certain points. Radical, but not for the sake of it, I felt his warmth and desire to engage with real people. This was not just an academic exercise.
It was illuminating how he demonstrated that church ministers and worship structures can subconsciously collude in a false certainty. However I hesitate at his possible conclusion which is that there is no external being that is God and wonder what the point of church and liturgy would be. He does suggest more room for expressed doubt and reference to suffering in church worship which I feel could be helpful to some but could disturb others.
Well written with many references to famous films and various fables to help illustrate certain points. Radical, but not for the sake of it, I felt his warmth and desire to engage with real people. This was not just an academic exercise.