How (Not) to Speak of God
How (Not) to Speak of God by Peter Rollins, is a great book to read for those of us "old folks" who don't quite "get" this whole "postmodern" thing, specifically as it relates to the emerging movement. Wendy has tried for a while to beat it into my head, but it never quite "sunk in." This book helped with some of that.
The book is divided up into two sections. The first is something of a theorerical primer on some theological concepts that are key to understanding emergent, at least as far as Peter is concerned. His primary attitude seems to be what Wendy is always classifying as "both/and" rather than "either/or." That is, points of view that we would tend to think of as mutually exlusive (conservative/liberal, orthodox/heretical, concealed/revealed, present/absent) he views as parts of a greater whole. Sometimes I think he had to take some pretty convoluted twists to achieve his goal, but, in general, I found a lot of good in what he had to say. Even in the more convoluted sections, I found it to be very readable.
The second section is more practical than theoretical. He is part of a group in Ireland called "Ikon," and part two of the book is a description of ten different Ikon services. These are presented in an attempt to illustrate how the concepts of the first part have been implemented in one specific setting/context, and not as a "cookbook" on how others should do so. I personally found this section less valuable than the first, but I'm sure others would have the exact opposite reaction.
Now that I've made it through the entire book, my plan is to read back through part one again, a little slower. I also plan to post thoughts on each chapter as I go. I would welcome anyone else who has read the book (or even if you haven't) to follow along we me, posting your comments, but my primary reason for doing this is to force myself to analyze and internalize what I'm reading, rather than act as a guide for people reading along. Of course, that may change if enough people start following along, posting comments. We'll see.
Links to posts on the chapters (I'll update as I write them. ;) )
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Comments
I particiapted in a worship experience by Ikon at the Emergent Conference in Nashville last year. It was a very very different experience from the traditional worship we're familiar with. I didn't understand it all, and it was a stretch, even for me. But it was good.
Thanks for the link to Ikon, Wendy. I've added it to the post.
I think you might enjoy reading part two of the book, which describes the services, as well as providing a bit of background to each.