Instead of religious discourse being a type of drink designed to satisfy our thirst for answers, Jesus made his teaching salty, evoking thirst. Instead of offering a scientific explanation that would convince, or publicizing the miracles so as to compel his listeners, Jesus engaged in a poetic discourse that spoke to the heart of those who would listen. In a world where people believe they are not hungry, we must not offer food but rather an aroma that helps them desire the food that we cannot provide. We are a people who are born from a response to hints of the divine. Not only this, but we must embrace the idea that we are also called to be hints of the divine.
Peter Rollins, How (Not) To Speak of God.
3 comments:
I have not read Rollins work yet, but from every Blog that has excerpted him, I think he must have sit the nail on the head.
When the political structure of our churches are dysfunctional we give off no aroma that even I as a believer really WANT to be a part of....
I have said to the leaders of my congregation before, that they work so hard to run me off, and I already believe, they have no chance of being attractional to an unbeliever....
Get the book, Kevin. Some of it you won't like, I suspect, but much of it will resonate with you.
What a fascinating concept! I have been struggling for weeks to think of ways that we can help people to spiritually feed themselves. This is a great place to start. Tell me that Rollins tells us HOW to get this done...
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