Synopses & Reviews
In this incendiary new work, the controversial author and speaker Peter Rollins proclaims that the Christian faith is not primarily concerned with questions regarding life after death but with the possibility of life
before death.
In order to unearth this truth, Rollins prescribes a radical and wholesale critique of contemporary Christianity that he calls pyro-theology. It is only as we submit our spiritual practices, religious rituals, and dogmatic affirmations to the flames of fearless interrogation that we come into contact with the reality that Christianity is in the business of transforming our world rather than offering a way of interpreting or escaping it. Belief in the Resurrection means but one thing: Participation in an Insurrection.
"What Pete does in this book is take you to the edge of a cliff where you can see how high you are and how far you would fall if you lost your footing. And just when most writers would kindly pull you back from edge, he pushes you off, and you find yourself without any solid footing, disoriented, and in a bit of a panic…until you realize that your fall is in fact, a form of flying. And it's thrilling."
--Rob Bell, author of Love Wins and Velvet Elvis
"While others labor to save the Church as they know it, Peter Rollins takes an ax to the roots of the tree. Those who have enjoyed its shade will want to stop him, but his strokes are so clean and true that his motive soon becomes clear: this man trusts the way of death and resurrection so much that he has become fearless of religion."
--Barbara Brown Taylor, author of Leaving Church and An Altar in the World
“Rollins writes and thinks like a new Bonhoeffer, crucifying the trappings of religion in order to lay bare a radical, religionless and insurrectional Christianity. A brilliant new voice—an activist, a storyteller and a theologian all in one—and not a moment too soon.”
--John D. Caputo, Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion Emeritus, Syracuse University
“What does it mean when the Son of God cries out, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me’? Brilliantly, candidly, and faithfully, Rollins wrestles here with that question. You may not agree with his answers and conclusions, but you owe it to yourself and to the Church at large to read what he says.” --Phyllis Tickle, author, The Great Emergence
"Excellent thinking and excellent writing! I hope this fine book receives the broad reading it deserves. It will change lives, and our understanding of what religion is all about!"
-- Rohr,O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation; Albuquerque, New Mexico
Review
"What does it mean when the Son of God cries out, 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?' Brilliantly, candidly, and faithfully, Rollins wrestles here with that question. You may not agree with his answers and conclusions, but you owe it to yourself and to the church at large to read what he says."
Review
"Peter Rollins is the Anti-Christ for all fake Christians." Creston Davis, Professor, Rollins College, Department of Philosophy and Religion
Review
"Peter Rollins is the Anti-Christ for all fake Christians."
Synopsis
Rollins shows readers that when we identify with Christ’s sense of abandonment on the cross we are finally ready to believe and be transformed.
Synopsis
Theological firebrand Peter Rollins boldly asserts that Christianity is the religion of doubt.
Through a skillful blend of parables, theology, and anecdotes, Peter Rollins offers a radical thesis: that Christianity, from its very inception, has been a protest against religion. Far from being a faith that celebrates knowledge, dogma, and certainty, Insurrection develops the concept that participation in the death of Christ involves participation in Christ’s experience of abandonment.
Building on the foundation that popular emergent church leaders have laid, Insurrection explores the explosive question of whether Christianity can exist in a religionless manner. Yet Rollins does not stop there—he goes on to show that doubt, complexity, and ambiguity are necessary elements of a mature and healthy faith. Authentic faith does not exist in traditional mandates but in a life lived for others.
Whether readers are devout believers or seekers, Insurrection shows that when we lay down our certainties and honestly admit our doubts, we most identify with Jesus as he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It is only then that we truly open ourselves to experience a transformed life.
About the Author
Peter Rollins has been praised as possessing one of the most provocative and thoughtful theological voices of our day. An author, lecturer, and storyteller, he is renowned for his dynamic and winsome speaking. He is also the founder of ikon, a faith group that has gained an international reputation for blending live music, visual imagery, soundscapes, theatre, ritual, and reflection to create what they call "transformance art." Rollins received his higher education in Queens University, Belfast, where he earned degrees (with distinction) in Scholastic Philosophy (BA Hons), Political Theory (MA), and Post-Structural Religious Philosophy (PhD). He is currently a research associate with the Irish School of Ecumenics in Trinity College, Dublin, and is the author of the much talked about How (Not) to Speak of God, The Fidelity of Betrayal and most recently, The Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but currently resides in Greenwich, CT.