How (Not) to Speak of God - Marks of the Emerging Church (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: emerging conversation, emerging community, Holy Saturday, Heretical Orthodoxy, Towards Orthopraxis (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the first half of this powerful but frustratingly opaque book, debut author Rollins summarizes some of the theological ideas that the so-called emerging church is currently exploring: the importance of doubt and silence, the limits of apologetics, and the idea that God is concealed even as God is revealed. He skillfully scrutinizes Christian teaching though the lens of postmodern (especially deconstructionist) theory, and argues that Christians should both affirm their views of God and recognize that those views are inadequate. The second half comprises a set of liturgies that Rollins's religious community, an Irish group called Ikon, has employed. One service explores "divine absence" through a parable and a reading from Pascal. A ceremony for Advent uses sackcloth and ashes to highlight the penitential nature of the season. If most of these liturgies are affecting, some are a little hokey—in a concluding service called "Queer," for example, participants wrap stones, representing their prejudices, in Bubble Wrap. While this may prove an important book for some younger Christian leaders, dense prose will limit its audience: "God's interaction with the world is irreducible to understanding, precisely because God's presence is a type of hyper-presence." Nonetheless, a very enthusiastic foreword from Emergent elder statesman Brian McLaren will help create buzz. (Aug.)
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Review

The emerging church is not just a term to describe a new movement for congregations that are just beginning; every congregation should see itself as emerging into the next stage of its journey, and this book will be an important tool on our journey as we think of how we speak or do not speak of God in this time in which we live. Congregations , 2007

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Product Details Paperback: 144 pages Publisher: Paraclete Press (August 1, 2006) Language: English ISBN-10: 1557255059 ISBN-13: 978-1557255051 Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #67,384 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #58 in  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Ministry & Church Leadership > Church Institutions & Organizations

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
emerging conversation, emerging community

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Holy Saturday, Heretical Orthodoxy, Towards Orthopraxis, Word of God, Meister Eckhart, Old Testament, Inhabiting the God-shaped, The Menagerie, Second World War

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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews 5 star:  (12) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:  (2) 1 star:  (2)           Average Customer Review 4.1 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 29 of 32 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful ideas are worth the effort, September 10, 2006 By  Kevin Holtsberry (Columbus, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    One of the problems with a book like this is that you wonder if it will ever be read by anyone outside the community it describes. Rollins is attempting to describe the philosophical underpinnings of the "emerging church" or the conversation that is taking place around the world about how to approach the Christian faith in a post-modern era. To do this he brings the work of deconstructionist theory, and the history of Christian mysticism, to theology and faith. In doing so he tries to avoid the dichotomy of fundamentalist faith on the one had and relativistic nihilism on the other. He wants to challenge and re-imagine the Christian faith without abandoning its core meaning. This is not an easy task. I have a feeling that a great many more traditional Christians will be turned off by 1) what they will perceive as a threat to orthodoxy; and 2) by its language rooted in post-modern criticism and theory. But I would recommend that this book be read in the spirit in which is written. Instead of viewing it as a threat to orthodox Christianity, view it as a challenge and a source of potential insight. Rollins certainly challenges traditional ways of thinking about theology and faith. His deconstructionist approach to knowledge and truth will feel awkward and potentially heretical to most Christians, and it isn't always easy to sift through the language, but there are a number of keen insights for those who put in the effort. 18 of 23 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars I totally get it!!!, May 2, 2008 By  Crisjunfan - See all my reviews I totally get it. I just disagree. The whole of Rollin's book amounts to this: When it comes to understanding theology, "a/theology", (his term), truth (big or little "t"), giving, love, salvation, orthodoxy, praxis, etc, don't believe them, believe me. I because of my proper understanding of Derrida, Neitzche, Foucault and other deconstructionists can now uplift the rest of you poor modernists. God is so oblivious as to who we, part of His creation, are as humans and what our limitations may be that he is incapable of breaking into our world through revelation and transcending all our cultural baggage so that we may, even in part, come to know Him in any way that is either meaningful or language independent. Big claim, eh? As much as post-moderns/emergents cry foul when it comes to apologetics or truth claims, they have their very own apologetic, as is evidenced by this book, as it meticulously lays out why its view is (drum roll) meaningful. At one point in the book, Rollins states why his views reject relativism. That being, that as a statement, relativism devours itself because the proposition "relativism is true" would make it an absolute statement. But then he refuses to go the extra mile (or 2 or 3) and apply the same criteria to his own philosophy, post-modernism, to see how it also refutes itself. The book is full of contradictions, false dichotomies, and straw men but I still think one should read it and here's why. Is everything that post-modernism teaches, or everything coming out of the emerging (emergent) conversation without value? Absolutely not. (Sorry for the absolute statement you pomo's.) Rollins and other emerging authors have done the church-at-large a tremendous service by pointing out grave wrongheadedness and blind spots within the church. It also does, I think provide on some level and in some areas possibilities to engage one's faith more deeply. I also do like how the examples of emerging worship from Rollins own church wrestle with themes that most churches don't touch. Doubt for example (although as in many areas of postmodernism I think they take a good idea or theme and then go too far and extoll it as a virtue rather than just acknowledging it as a normal part of the human condition and then working through it). So it's for these reasons, and not simply for the purpose of refuting them that I suggest one should read this book. And besides, conversation is a great thing. Regarding all the authors of books out there in the emerging conversation and the philosophy espoused therein, I think Rollins' goes deeper, stays down longer, but ultimately comes up murkier. 16 of 21 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Rollins finally provides clarity, October 29, 2006 By  Chet Harvey - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    In his new book "How (Not) To Speak of God," Peter Rollins finally provides some much needed clarity for the emergent church. This book should be read by anyone looking to seriously engage with the church in a postmodern setting. In comparing the emergent church to those within modern settings, Rollins writes, "This is not a revolution that seeks to change what we believe, but rather one that sets about transforming the entire manner in which we hold our beliefs." Rollins builds upon this idea for the rest of the first half of the book (the book is divided into two parts, with the first being theory and second being practice), relooking at such terms as orthodoxy, theology, atheism, truth, and idolatry, among others. The two most helpful parts of the book for me personally were the section on doubt as virtue and the section on orthodoxy as believing in the right way. Rollins shows a new way to hold beliefs and live out those beliefs within the church community. The second half of the book shows how some of these concepts have played out within Rollins' own church setting. It is not as inspiring as the first half of the book, but provides an interesting look at church done in a completely different way. This has been one of the more helpful books that i have read in a long time, and i really hope that it catches on with a mass audience.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 2.0 out of 5 stars A book with some illuminating shortcomings Peter Rollins has written an eminently readable, at times entertaining book on Christian spirituality (I'm not sure that he would be comfortable with the generic label of... Read more Published 2 months ago by J. I. Fowler 5.0 out of 5 stars postmodern (de/re)construction of christianity This is probably in the top five books I've ever read and probably one of the most inspiring, thought-provoking, disturbing, maddening, and wonderful books of theology I've come... Read more Published 5 months ago by S. Norris 5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, Emerging writing I can relate to Peter Rollins does a masterful job of examining the nature of belief and the role of doctrine in Christian faith. Read more Published 6 months ago by Rich in NJ 5.0 out of 5 stars Laborious, but worth it "How (Not) to Speak of God" is a difficult, difficult read. It is dense, packed with theological terms old and new and intensely circuitous. Read more Published 16 months ago by Peter D. Thompson 5.0 out of 5 stars creative, insightful, prophetic i don't say this lightly: this is one of the best books i've read on the emerging church (and i've read my share). Read more Published 17 months ago by Mark Oestreicher 5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightning Customer Video Review Length:: 2:14 Mins Published 17 months ago by John G. Kunkel 5.0 out of 5 stars A hopeful vision of Christianity's future "How (Not) to Speak of God" is one of the most thought-provoking and hope-filled books I've ever read. I know I will read this book over and over. Read more Published 18 months ago by Adam Moore 5.0 out of 5 stars excellent I really liked it. I liked the separation between the main exposition of the ideas and the examples of gatherins/liturgies he does in the book. Published on June 18, 2007 by Gustavo Frederico 5.0 out of 5 stars 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 June 11, 2007 by Adele Sakler 5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a book that runs from the sin of anti-intellectualism This book is one of the best I have read in a while. Rollins understands, unlike many believers in his time that "Love must be the first word on our lips and also the last, and... Read more Published on April 13, 2007 by Brady Loyd Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Paraclete Press (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557255059
• ISBN-13: 978-1557255051
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #67,384 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #58 in

  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Ministry & Church Leadership > Church Institutions & Organizations

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful ideas are worth the effort, September 10, 2006

By	Kevin Holtsberry (Columbus, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

One of the problems with a book like this is that you wonder if it will ever be read by anyone outside the community it describes. Rollins is attempting to describe the philosophical underpinnings of the "emerging church" or the conversation that is taking place around the world about how to approach the Christian faith in a post-modern era.

To do this he brings the work of deconstructionist theory, and the history of Christian mysticism, to theology and faith. In doing so he tries to avoid the dichotomy of fundamentalist faith on the one had and relativistic nihilism on the other. He wants to challenge and re-imagine the Christian faith without abandoning its core meaning.

This is not an easy task. I have a feeling that a great many more traditional Christians will be turned off by 1) what they will perceive as a threat to orthodoxy; and 2) by its language rooted in post-modern criticism and theory.

But I would recommend that this book be read in the spirit in which is written. Instead of viewing it as a threat to orthodox Christianity, view it as a challenge and a source of potential insight. Rollins certainly challenges traditional ways of thinking about theology and faith.

His deconstructionist approach to knowledge and truth will feel awkward and potentially heretical to most Christians, and it isn't always easy to sift through the language, but there are a number of keen insights for those who put in the effort.

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I totally get it!!!, May 2, 2008

By	Crisjunfan - See all my reviews

I totally get it. I just disagree.

The whole of Rollin's book amounts to this: When it comes to understanding theology, "a/theology", (his term), truth (big or little "t"), giving, love, salvation, orthodoxy, praxis, etc, don't believe them, believe me. I because of my proper understanding of Derrida, Neitzche, Foucault and other deconstructionists can now uplift the rest of you poor modernists. God is so oblivious as to who we, part of His creation, are as humans and what our limitations may be that he is incapable of breaking into our world through revelation and transcending all our cultural baggage so that we may, even in part, come to know Him in any way that is either meaningful or language independent. Big claim, eh?
As much as post-moderns/emergents cry foul when it comes to apologetics or truth claims, they have their very own apologetic, as is evidenced by this book, as it meticulously lays out why its view is (drum roll) meaningful. At one point in the book, Rollins states why his views reject relativism. That being, that as a statement, relativism devours itself because the proposition "relativism is true" would make it an absolute statement. But then he refuses to go the extra mile (or 2 or 3) and apply the same criteria to his own philosophy, post-modernism, to see how it also refutes itself. The book is full of contradictions, false dichotomies, and straw men but I still think one should read it and here's why.
Is everything that post-modernism teaches, or everything coming out of the emerging (emergent) conversation without value? Absolutely not. (Sorry for the absolute statement you pomo's.) Rollins and other emerging authors have done the church-at-large a tremendous service by pointing out grave wrongheadedness and blind spots within the church. It also does, I think provide on some level and in some areas possibilities to engage one's faith more deeply. I also do like how the examples of emerging worship from Rollins own church wrestle with themes that most churches don't touch. Doubt for example (although as in many areas of postmodernism I think they take a good idea or theme and then go too far and extoll it as a virtue rather than just acknowledging it as a normal part of the human condition and then working through it). So it's for these reasons, and not simply for the purpose of refuting them that I suggest one should read this book. And besides, conversation is a great thing.
Regarding all the authors of books out there in the emerging conversation and the philosophy espoused therein, I think Rollins' goes deeper, stays down longer, but ultimately comes up murkier.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rollins finally provides clarity, October 29, 2006

By	Chet Harvey - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In his new book "How (Not) To Speak of God," Peter Rollins finally provides some much needed clarity for the emergent church. This book should be read by anyone looking to seriously engage with the church in a postmodern setting. In comparing the emergent church to those within modern settings, Rollins writes, "This is not a revolution that seeks to change what we believe, but rather one that sets about transforming the entire manner in which we hold our beliefs."

Rollins builds upon this idea for the rest of the first half of the book (the book is divided into two parts, with the first being theory and second being practice), relooking at such terms as orthodoxy, theology, atheism, truth, and idolatry, among others. The two most helpful parts of the book for me personally were the section on doubt as virtue and the section on orthodoxy as believing in the right way. Rollins shows a new way to hold beliefs and live out those beliefs within the church community.

The second half of the book shows how some of these concepts have played out within Rollins' own church setting. It is not as inspiring as the first half of the book, but provides an interesting look at church done in a completely different way.

This has been one of the more helpful books that i have read in a long time, and i really hope that it catches on with a mass audience.