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What we believe emanates from who we are. And who we are is not about dogma, or even about moral behavior, but about dying to ourselves. This is part of the conversation between ThinkFwd host, Spencer Burke, and Pete Rollins, author of How Not to Speak of God and The Orthodox Heretic. They explore the ideas of truth and God, of resurrection and insurrection.
Truth, says Rollins, is not one extreme or the other; it’s not the middle of the extremes. Truth is at both extremes. While traditional Christians say, “God is present. God exists, and Christianity is true;” atheists say “God isn’t there and Christianity isn’t true.” These two extremes push Rollins to explore a 3rd position and he likens it to the story of Jesus on the cross, when He felt forsaken by God– God not present–and yet God was completely present. And so the 3rd position dwells in the very place in between. Rollins says Christians are called to dwell not on one side of the other, but in the very split that Christ opens up: between old and new; between Judaism and Christianity.
Rollins and Burke turn to the idea of self. What is our true self? Can we disagree ideologically and philosophically, and at the end of the day still be friends and go out for drinks together? Can we have a public and private profile that are at odds? Rollins believes the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves are a type of fiction. That our conscious self is an idealized representation of who we are.
We can say we believe certain things, but the truth of who we are plays out in the reality of our lives. And our goal is to bring the stories we tell ourselves (I’m a good person, I’m loving, I’m kind) in line with the reality of who we are. For Rollins, the truth is, he aspires to believe in God. To live a life of mercy, faithfulness, self-control. But we are not truly living Christian lives unless we are dying to ourselves—participating in the death and resurrection of Christ.
This Easter, Rollins is doing a pub tour, “I believe in the insurrection.” What is it about? It’s about being invited to transformation. Rollins thinks the apostle Paul had it right. Paul doesn’t talk about who Jesus hung out with. Or about Jesus’ miracles. He says that being a Christian is participating in the death and resurrection of Christ. You die, and you are reborn. You can say, “I believe x, y, and z” but if you don’t think about where you live, and the work you do, and how your consumerism affects others, then that is the truth of your life, not what you SAY you believe. And so the resurrection, the insurrection is about dying, being reborn, transformed, so we are no long the same.
Personal Reflections:
- Is doubt okay? Have you I ever felt closer to God, or found God, while doubting God?
- Do you feel as if your “Facebook” Christianity lives up to your private actions?
Group or Staff Questions:
- How can you live out the resurrection/insurrection in your community through participation and transformation?
- With multiple definitions of participation, in the past massive crowds equaled success. Will our future include those on the edges/fringes, bringing the “not-yet” into the “now.”
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February 2nd, 2010 at 5:10 pm
You guys are amazing. You actually got Peter to talk slow. That is awesome. And he just tears it up.
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:37 pm
Great interview. I’m super stoked about the Insurrection events.
February 2nd, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Great stuff!
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Thank you Spencer and Peter! It’s boggleminding.
February 3rd, 2010 at 12:00 am
Rock solid! Keep up the good work, both Pete and Spence!
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:05 am
Great stuff. Really enjoyed the love and belief in God talk at around 7:20, and the parts about seeking the few, and smaller venues.
February 3rd, 2010 at 4:57 am
[...] Burke spricht mit Peter Rollins, einem der m.E. originellsten Theologen derzeit. [...]
February 3rd, 2010 at 8:01 am
If I had to pick one sermon for my church to hear, it’d be this one.
gracias.
February 3rd, 2010 at 8:12 am
[...] Pete Rollins – Resurrection as Insurrection | :: TheOoze.TV :: Emerging Church Video Podcast Posted in 1 by reubsy on February 3, 2010 Pete Rollins – Resurrection as Insurrection | :: TheOoze.TV :: Emerging Church Video Podcast. [...]
February 3rd, 2010 at 9:01 am
“to explore a 3rd position and he likens it to the story of Jesus on the cross, when He felt forsaken by God– God not present–and yet God was completely present.” Thank you for saying this! This is a new thought for me, but one that completely resonates in me. I love it that you say I’m not really believing in God if I’m not dying and being born again all the time. Perfect. Thank you, thank you.
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:53 pm
man! that was fantastic! yes! yes! yes!
February 3rd, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Amazing. To live in that place where Jesus is dying on the cross, to carry our cross in a sense, means that we bear with the worlds pain and sorrow. And if that’s the case, then we all can hope that we too will be raised to new life. Oh man I’m about to jump out of my skin!
February 5th, 2010 at 12:17 am
this is the first vid from OOze.tv that’s changed me. Thanks.
February 5th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
radical thoughts. I’m on the trail.
February 5th, 2010 at 7:37 pm
[...] as Insurrection Spencer Burke’s interview of Peter Rollins offers a nice introduction to Rollins’ thought for those unfamiliar with [...]
February 10th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
[...] now. So apologies if you saw a blog post in your reader and it is now gone. Here is a great video I watched by Peter [...]
February 16th, 2010 at 4:01 am
The stuffPete says makes me want to be a better person.
February 16th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
[...] watch THIS and let me know what you [...]
February 22nd, 2010 at 1:46 am
At the end, in your “Personal Refections” section you pose the question:
Is doubt okay? Have you I ever felt closer to God, or found God, while doubting God?
My problem has never been doubting God. God makes sense to me. It seems utterly silly to me that this world would exist in the form that it does without a higher power, a God.
I’ve been a Christ believer at times in my past. On again, off again, always struggling with the truth of Christ. I’ve had much council over the years explaining me their views and perspective. I constantly seek the answer, wanting to understand. It never fits for me. I cannot blindly just believe, that point where everyone seems to say I need to have faith. I have faith, faith that their is a God which I can’t see with my own eyes. Everything that I can see that amazes me and that is good in this world is easily explained by the existence of God.
Still, I feel am no closer at understanding Christ.
March 7th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Um…I love what’s happening here. But the reason he is not a liberal – to participate in teh death and ressurection of Jesus – is WHY I AM A LIBERAL.
March 14th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Jesus was not Buddah. He was a radical – an extremist who opposed many of the religious teachings of his day. You have to forsake ALL to follow him, and he did not tolerate sitting in the split! Check out Revelations 3:15-16 to see his reaction over lukewarm anything, even lukewarm tea, I guess? The tea should be iced or hot, not lukewarm. But he was love personified, expanding his embrace to include the very different other (your enemy). Love changes things, at least your view of things.
May 6th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Peter’s comment about Paul is simply brilliant. I know understand what Paul was doing.
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