[easyazon_image add_to_cart=”default” align=”left” asin=”1451609043″ cloaking=”default” height=”160″ localization=”default” locale=”US” nofollow=”default” new_window=”default” src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51v1d3997AL._SL160_.jpg” tag=”douloschristo-20″ width=”105″]Kindle[/easyazon_image]Page 2: Peter Rollins – The Divine Magician
In the last few chapters of the book, Rollins goes on to describe what’s going on backstage within the ideologies of our beliefs. He claims that within the structures and systems of ideologies (both religious and secular), ideology functions as a cultural boundary system that governs who is in and who is out. In response, he describes the role of the radical church to be that which ruptures ideology (systems of meaning) rather than offering an alternative ideology or system. Claiming a community of neither/nor that transcends tribal identities (Galatians 3:28), Rollins suggests that Saint Paul is able to drain destructive acts of their power, such as tribal violence and scapegoating. In addition, Rollins emphasize that the what of belief is secondary to the how of belief by suggesting that a “focus on ‘correcting’ a religious belief that we think is incorrect…obscures the more important and difficult task of discovering why a particular belief is held in the first place and how it functions in our lives” ( 171).
Rollins’ solution involves the divestment of power within systems, structures, and communities by way of creating positions and structures that are organic enough to have a “sell-by” date. These point the responsibility of faith back upon the community rather than solely upon the pastor or those in power. Rollins advocates for the type of leader who is a “vanishing mediator that open[s] up the possibility of transition” and transformation (p. 179). Thus, “the leader’s final magic trick…must be to enact her own disappearance” in a way similar to the resurrection of Jesus (179) so that through the Spirit, we may come into the intimacy and maturity of embodying our own faith in a commitment to love the world.
Forcing us to dig deeper into our motivations for why we believe what we believe, Rollins opens us up to a truth that is too often masked by the content of our beliefs, a sleight-of-hand that calls into question what we thought we knew. And if we can stick with him through the loss of our sacred-objects of certainty and satisfaction, we just might be able to re-envision how Christianity can once again become a site of transformation that places us in and for the world in a radically practical way, a way that participates in the deconstruction of both psychological and systemic oppression. Rollins’ ability to weave philosophical symbolism in and out of practical parables as well as in-the-world stories makes his work a powerful force that influences both the head and the heart. And The Divine Magician is Rollins’ newest trick that, at its best, forces you to doubt your experience of belief in a way that opens the door for the mystery of faith.
C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com
 Reading for the Common Good From ERB Editor Christopher Smith "This book will inspire, motivate and challenge anyone who cares a whit about the written word, the world of ideas, the shape of our communities and the life of the church." -Karen Swallow Prior Enter your email below to sign up for our weekly newsletter & download your FREE copy of this ebook! |
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