How (not) to speak of God – Chapter 4: Inhabiting the God-shaped hole

Peter Rollins begins his book with setting up a dialectic between Ludwig Wittgenstein’s statement “What we cannot speak of we must pass over in silence.” and evangelical christianity’s approach which suggests “God is the one subject of who we must never stop speaking”. What results from this is an approach which suggests “That which we cannot speak of is the one thing about whom and to whom we must never stop speaking”. This dialogue between mysticism and dogmatism sets the scene for Part 1 of How (not) to Speak of God  and Rollin’s discussion of post-modern continental philosophy and theology. 

.

Chapter 4: Inhabiting the God-shaped hole

“Chapter 4 explores how the rediscovery of mystery, doubt, complexity and ambiguity in faith helps us come to a more appropriate understanding of religious desire” (p. xiii).

Religion and the absence of God

“[I]n Jesus I see not merely an individual who acted as a catalyst for a new religious movement, but also a subversive prophet who signaled the end of all religious movements.  To be part of the Christian religion is to simultaneously hold that religion lightly.” (p. 44). Jesus’ and Christianity’s deconstructive approach both affirms and critiques religion. To take a Derridian approach, “it is impossible to say what justice is, for as soon as we say what justice is, we are left with the law, and the law always falls short.” (p. 45). Similarly, religion tries to speak of God, but fails to make God present. “The Christian religion thus testifies to a relation with God that exists without religion, to religion as both im/possible and un/necessary.” (p. 46).

Desire for transformation and transformative desire

For Heidegger, “it is only in realizing that we are moving towards death that we become authentic human beings, for once we realize that we are going to die, we take more responsibility over our life.” (p. 47). It is through this realization that we engage in meaningful activities.

There was once a princess who grew up in a kingdom that had been ravished by decades of famines, war and plague.  One night, as the princess slept she had a dream.  In this dream she was walking through the market that lay by the sea, when a young beggar looked up, but before their eyes could meet the dream ended and the princess awoke.  As the dream faded a haunting voice arose in her mind that informed her that if she were ever to meet this young man, he would shower her with riches beyond her wildest dreams.

This dream etched itself so deeply on the princess that she carried the vision deep in her heart, until one day, years later, as she walked through the market, her gaze caught hold of the same man who had visited her in her dreams all those years ago.  Without pausing she ran up to him and proceeded to relay the whole vision.  Never once did he look up, but when the princess had finished her story he reached into an old sack and pulled out a package.  Without saying a word, he offered it to the princess and asked her to leave.

Once the princess reached her dilapidated castle she ripped open the package and, sure enough, there was a great wealth of pure gold and precious diamonds.  That night she placed the package In a safe place, and went to bed.  But her mind was in turmoil and the long night was spent in sleepless contemplation.  Early the next morning she arose, retrieved the treasures and went down to the water’s edge.  Once there she summoned all her strength and threw the riches deep into the sea.   After watching the package sink out of sight, she turned and without looking back went searching for the young beggar.

Finally, she found him sitting in the shade of an old doorway.  The princess approached, held out her hand and placed it under his chin.  Then she drew his face towards hers and whispered, “Young man, speak of the wealth you possess which allows you to give away such worldly treasure without a moment’s thought.” (pp. 47-8).

In the story, we do not hear the young man’s reply. However, we can imagine that no response is necessarily. He might verily ask the princess, ‘Tell me of the wealth that you possess which allows you to give away such worldly treasure without a moment’s thought.’ We see here that the princess’ desire for spiritual transformation was itself spiritually transformative. “Rather than being fulfilled in the presence of God, religious desire is born there. In short, a true spiritual seeking can be understood as the ultimate sign that one already has that which one seeks, or rather, that one is already grasped by that which one seeks to grasp.” (p. 50).

The God-shaped hole

The Pascalian notion of the God-shaped hole suggests that humans remain unfulfilled until filled by God. This idea is rejected by the character Meursault, in Albert Camus’ masterpiece The Outsider. Meursault, while on death row, is confronted by the chaplain. His response is not one of atheism but, rather, one of indifference. He is interested neither in Theism (which asks a meaningless question) and atheism (which takes the question too seriously). “In many ways this character can be taken to represent a contemporary response to religion, one which rejects the religious ‘answer’ as irrelevant precisely because the question is believed to be irrelevant.” (p51-2).

Nourished by our hunger

In a radical reshaping of the Pascalian idea, emerging communities suggest that “far from being something that exists until being filled, the God-shaped hole can be understood as precisely that which is left in the aftermath of God; “a hole that compels them to seek after that which they already have.” (p. 52).

Being evangelized

“This dialogue replaces the standard monologue of those who would wish to either clone the other, making them into a reflection of themselves, or exclude the other, making them into a scapegoat who embodies all our fears and insecurities.” (p. 53). In an open dialogue, individuals can meet and both learn from, and teach, each other.

.