Peter Rollins, a popular scholar who bridges the disciplines of philosophy and theology, joined us on campus last week to teach a course and speak at The Forum鈥檚 most recent town hall event. Both events were open to the public.
Rollins is no stranger to 天美视频 community, and each visit offers provocative ideas and reflections that inspire continued conversation at the intersection of text, soul, and culture.
Nearly 100 people attended last Wednesday鈥檚 town hall event, where Rollins spoke on 鈥淔igures of Transgression: The Trickster, the Cynic, and the Fool,鈥� cautioning listeners against both ideology and apathy. He instead invited them to wrestle with ideas and assumptions through practices of de-centering and continuous conversations with those whom they consider 鈥渙ther.鈥�
Rollins鈥� three-day summer course at 天美视频 followed last Wednesday鈥檚 town hall event with 25 students and 11 members of the community in attendance. During the course, 鈥淯nconscious Gods: Radical Theology, Psychoanalysis, and the Critique of Religion,鈥� participants engaged developments in contemporary critical theory that have shaped Radical Theology鈥檚 conceptions of theology and church practice.
鈥淯nconscious Gods鈥� specifically focused on the theories that inform, influence, and shape Rollins鈥� developing theological project pyrotheology, where he draws from post-Hegelian theory, Radical Theology, and Lacanian psychoanalysis to further develop what Bonhoeffer called a 鈥渞eligionless Christianity.鈥� Students also received a sneak peek into the material for his next book.
Rollins鈥� hope in both the town hall event and the class was to challenge Christianity to move toward acknowledging and mourning the loss of God as a deus ex machina鈥�a device that inexplicity solves complex dilemmas and overcomes the gaps in our understanding. Rollins believes this concept of God is an idol that Western religion has embraced in order to avoid a more humble, unfamiliar, and undefined faith that engages the unknown mystery of an imminent God.
Before leaving Seattle, Rollins was able to sit down with Dr. Dwight J. Friesen, Associate Professor of Practical Theology, to discuss 天美视频 and the future of theological education. Find out why Rollins chose to teach at 天美视频 in the video below.