Book Review: How (Not) to Speak of God

"That which we cannot speak of, is the one thing about whom and to whom we must never stop speaking."

This central theme of Peter Rollins' How (Not) to Speak of God resonates in each provocative, unnerving, and insightful chapter.  With a rich background in both philosophy and the evangelical charismatic movement, Peter bravely enters into the sensitive and dangerous territory of theology.  At least once in each chapter I found myself squirming in my chair as Peter's compelling parables, images, and ideas challenged my traditional understanding of what it means to be a Christian.

To read this book is to enter into an experience.

I cannot sum up or regurgitate that experience in a review or blog post.  But I can give a small sampler plate of the ideas he introduces in his book to entice you to sit down for a meal. 



He explores the relationship between idolatry and ideology, explaining how graven images and ideologies designed to help us reflect on God, often times end up taking God's place in our worship.  He then encourages an iconic perspective in our limited thoughts about God.


Our unimaginable God is both transcendent and immanent, and instead of viewing God as anonymous and absent, God overloads our circuitry with hyper-presence.  (For more on this I blogged on it here)

Christianity is simultaneously theistic and atheistic (the accusation of the early Romans), and Peter explores what it means to embody a Christian a/theism. 

Pascal's God-shaped hole imagery claims that only God can satisfy the void in us, but Rollins argues that a genuine seeking to grasp God is the very evidence that an individual has been grasped by God.  The God-shaped hole is evidence of the hyper-presence of God, and we are nourished by our hunger.

If you're already uncomfortable with the idea of an un-graspable God, fearing that it leads us down a road to theological and interpretative relativism, Peter offers a droplet of comfort through an interpretive-range limiting distinction between infinite and transfinite readings.


I could probably continue trying to provide a revelation of the paradoxical mind of Peter Rollins, but it would probably be better if you explored it yourself. 

The second half of the book provides examples of services that embody the ideas presented in the first half of the book.  The working out of these ideas in the community experience of Ikon (the group that gathers for these services) is not only thought provoking, but shocking. 

Shocking in a good way.

If you are strong-hearted and need a good mind-stretching experience... read this book.