Editorial Reviews. From Publishers Weekly. Rollins possesses the freshest theological voice of Fidelity of Betrayal - Kindle edition by Peter Rollins. Download.
Table of contents
- See a Problem?
- Peter Rollins, The Fidelity of Betrayal: Towards a Church Beyond Belief - PhilPapers
- What Would Judas Do? … The Fidelity of Betrayal
In this case our understanding of the Word, the Being and Event of God all come under suspicion. The chosen subtitle offers some help. A church beyond belief would be the church willing to betray its certainty for confidence in the not mysterious revelation of God.
Consider Rollins following after the way in which Jesus exploded the paradigms of his day. Here we need to consider the ways our practice of the faith has itself been a betrayal of the costly call to follow Jesus. In the end, we may need to renounce our beliefs to find what we believe. For today what Rollins offers is a way to think about an apologetic for our faith in Jesus that moves along the lines of a different foundation than what we are accustomed.
Daddy to Kimberly and Tommie.
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Pastor to Snow Hill Baptist Church. The views and opinions expressed here are my own and should not be construed as representing the corporate views of the church I pastor. How about Church disruptors? The story is told of a pastor who, while preaching, noticed his son chewing gum. More than 50 years later, gum is the least likely disruption in a Sunday worship gathering.
Feb 01, Ryan rated it liked it. A must-read for anyone for whom Christianity has become too small. I found this to be a very enjoyable and accessible exploration of the paradox of faith. Rollins has a gift for balancing a rich intellectualism with humility, humor, and vibrant sorry-telling. I very much appreciated the parables too! Jan 09, Jason Hathaway rated it it was ok. I really wanted to love this book, because I really want to love Rollins. Having began with a bang, it just kind of fizzled out into a long and meaningless rant about unknowing and angst.
Tries too hard to be clever. Jun 11, Caleb Ausbury rated it really liked it Shelves: I really enjoyed Rollins' Fidelity of Betrayal.
It is very philosophical in nature, and challenges us on how we approach our "Christian" faith. The book rests on the idea that the nature of Christianity is betraying out perception of faith. In layman's terms, sometimes we need to go against the Church in order to keep with the nature of the Church. Our faith is not a solid, objective truth to be defended at all costs, but rather a perceived, subjective truth that ought to be reflected on and cha I really enjoyed Rollins' Fidelity of Betrayal. Our faith is not a solid, objective truth to be defended at all costs, but rather a perceived, subjective truth that ought to be reflected on and challenged, so that new understanding of God can come into our life and continue to transform us and allow us to grow.
In the last chapter, he tried to show a way a Christian community could thrive by limiting its structure. After all, it is structure that keeps stale ideas trapped in tradition, which may need to be betrayed to live in Jesus' teachings. However, structure also is efficient. I like his ideals, and would be interested in seeing a community thrive with these values, but I don't know how realistic it is.
I especially liked his chapter on the Word of God. He challenges the modern biblical literalist by pointing out the ancients did not interpret the bible like this, and by trying to mesh the books into one canon we are clouding the author's intent with the canon's overall intent. He also shows that the search for historicity of the bible in our faith is fruitless.
While important for scholarly work, no one is transformed by pure, objective truth. It's the message behind the words, despite the errors or unlikelihoods, that hold the essence of God. Overall a really good book, but may not be appreciated by fundamentalist Christians. Dec 27, Paul rated it it was amazing. So many conclusions that I agree with, come at from completely different angles than I have ever thought of or sometimes just told in a more modern way than I have every heard , and combined beautifully in a way to challenge most anyone who can read it.
I'm part way through another of Rollins' books, and in comparison this is less accessible to those without at least an introductory background to theology and philosophy. But worth reading for the critiques it brings to theology reminded me of So many conclusions that I agree with, come at from completely different angles than I have ever thought of or sometimes just told in a more modern way than I have every heard , and combined beautifully in a way to challenge most anyone who can read it. But worth reading for the critiques it brings to theology reminded me of George Fox , and the updated description of one of my favorite stories from the Babylonian Talmud when I share that, students stare in confusion; this they may get on the first pass , and the idea that it doesn't matter if God exists, it only matters what God said.
I need to read it again in a year. This is an important book. Don't be put off by the somewhat revisionist readings of Judas Iscariot in the first section of the book. Even if you disagree with his exegesis here, the author's subsequent sections on the nature of Christian truth, God, the Word, and church although he avoids that term are extremely good.
And to illustrate his points the author sprinkles in a few parables, some old and some new, which is a nice touch. I will almost certainly have to re-read this book again, since This is an important book. I will almost certainly have to re-read this book again, since the author's prose is quite philosophically heavy at times.
But I would still recommend this to anyone who wants to approach their faith in God without turning off their brain. This book really helped me to see that Christianity is a critique of all religion, including itself. I will be thinking about this stuff for a long time to come! Well done, Peter Rollins. Aug 19, Matthew O'Neil rated it it was ok. I bought and read this book under the assumption it would be focused predominantly on betrayal. I specifically assumed it would be focused on Judas and other, similar, circumstances.
Sadly, only a select few passages involved what I was hoping for. Instead I was met by a long diatribe arguing for certain tenets of the Christian faith to be accepted as fact. The author, not only assumed Christian theology to be fact, but expected the reader to assume the same. It's also clear he's never taken a h I bought and read this book under the assumption it would be focused predominantly on betrayal. It's also clear he's never taken a historically critical class or perspective on scripture, seeing as he thinks all the writings attributed to Paul were actually written by him.
I was disappointed, and found this just to be apologetics written for an audience that already accepts Christianity as fact. Feb 25, Austin Sill rated it it was amazing. Rollins continues to turn the western elevation of intellection on its head. The dignity of man is not found in our artistic or intellectual potential, but in out ability to be transformed.
For in the midst of that transfiguration we encounter God, in a way that transcends knowledge or belief. Here we are able, through faith, to supersede the wisdom of the world-- to become ignorant and unreasonable in the eyes of the world by living lives which have been infused with love, hope, and forgiveness Rollins continues to turn the western elevation of intellection on its head.
Here we are able, through faith, to supersede the wisdom of the world-- to become ignorant and unreasonable in the eyes of the world by living lives which have been infused with love, hope, and forgiveness which are manifested in what would seem irrational, self-deprecating ways.
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And in our act of betrayal, we find faith This is the sophomore effort from a guy who is completely changing the game of theology. I know what to do with Pete—invite him to Birmingham for some conversation. Sep 20, Laura rated it it was amazing Shelves: His books really do turn modern Christianity on its head, yet at the same time interpret Jesus' message in a beautiful way.
The idea of belong, behave, believe makes so much sense to me. I also love when he says that "The Christian 'system' can thus never take power for, by definition, it is always that which stands against power, seeking to identify with the powerless and the voiceless. Pretty powerful stuff, at least to me. Jul 06, John rated it it was amazing.
He was all over the map, but he succeeded in pushing the envelope for me on lots of things like scripture, belief, the nature of God, you name it Nov 09, Morgan rated it really liked it. I think people that like philosophy or kierkegaard should just read this.
Peter Rollins, The Fidelity of Betrayal: Towards a Church Beyond Belief - PhilPapers
But there are a few who betray Christianity, not because they no longer believe in it, but because they believe in it so deeply, because they understand that unless the seed of our Christianity falls to the ground and dies it will remain a single seed, but if it is allowed to die it will produce many seeds. Or rather, to be more precise, I am asking whether Christianity, in its most sublime and revolutionary state, always demands an act of betrayal from the Faithful.
In short, is Christianity, at its most radical, always marked by a kiss, forever forsaking itself, eternally at war with its own manifestation. First, we are led to embrace the idea of Christianity as a religion without religion, that is, as a tradition that is always prepared to wrestle with itself, disagree with itself, and betray itself. Second, this requires a way of structuring religious collectives that operate at a deeper level than the mere affirmation of shared doctrines, creeds, and convictions.
It involves the formation of dynamic, life-affirming collectives that operate, quite literally, beyond belief. The story of Jesus healing the blind man is used as an example of this. When questioned by the Pharisees if Jesus is a sinner, the blind man replies: In this way a distinction is set up between the subject the one who thinks and the object that which is being thought. The problem with this arrangement was that, as time passed, some priests became concerned that the community had stayed too long.
While we must help our Jewish friends, we cannot allow them to settle here. If the rabbi won, the community would be able to stay as long as they desired; however, if he lost, the community would have to pack up their possessions and move on. The chief rabbi agreed, and a date was set for the great debate. The only problem was that there was a language barrier, and both the pope and the rabbi wished to debate in private, so it was decided that the debate would be held purely with hand signals.
What Would Judas Do? … The Fidelity of Betrayal
The rabbi immediately responded by holding up one finger. The pope hesitated and then put his hand in the air, waving it in a large circle. Again, without hesitation the rabbi pointed to the ground. Finally the pope stood up and went over to a large table upon which lay some bread and a silver chalice full of wine. Picking these up, he showed them to the rabbi with a smile. In response the rabbi reached into a bag beside him and pulled out a luscious red apple, holding it aloft, before leaving.
As soon as he had left the room some priests ran up to the pope and asked who had won. The pope was visibly shocked and weakened by the debate. The rabbi had an answer for everything. Finally, I showed him the bread and wine as the body and blood of Christ, the second Adam, but my rabbi friend, second-guessing me at every point, had known to bring in an apple, reminding me of the fall and the first Adam who preceded the sacrifice of Christ. At the same time some of the Jewish leaders rallied around the chief rabbi to hear what had happened.
First he tells me that we have three days to leave, but I signal that not one of us will go. Then he says that he is going to round us all up, but I told him that we are staying rooted to the spot. The reason this anecdote works is that it capitalizes on a misunderstanding generated by the contrast between a Christian doctrinal emphasis concerning faith with a more Hebraic emphasis upon the lived outworking of religious conviction in concrete existence. However, this traditional understanding makes more sense, not if we see one as a Christian approach and the other as Jewish, but rather if we see this as a tension that is opened up by and operates within the traditions themselves.
While certain beliefs are affirmed as a means of reflecting upon the faith of Jesus, these beliefs can never take the place of, or fully describe, that faith. A metaphor that may help to illustrate this relationship concerns a beautiful, bright-white dove that, one day while flying through the air, imagines how high and fast she could soar if only the air, with all its resistance, did not exist.
Never did this dove realize that it was the air she cursed, with all of its restrictive forces, that allowed her to rise up in the first place. It is only by locating oneself in a narrow particular site, perceived as such, that one can gaze beyond it. There was once a fiery preacher who possessed a powerful gift. When he prayed for people he found that they would often walk away having lost all of their religious beliefs, beliefs about the prophets, the sacred Scriptures, and even God.
