The Divine Magician: The Disappearance of Religion and the Discovery of Faith

More-traditional Christians will undoubtedly find Rollins’s book a theological provocation, as he takes familiar parables, characters, and terms—in this case, the Crucifixion of Jesus and the tearing of the curtain in the temple—and rewrites their conventional interpretations. Yet Rollins (The Idolatry of God) also disturbs the theologically liberal, and even the avowedly secular, revealing that behind the “magician’s curtain” Jesus is a trickster who rebels against rules and revolutionizes religion. While affirming the Crucifixion and its language of faith, hope, and love, Rollins also exposes its limitations. He redefines these concepts to a degree, but he is not in the business of total reconstruction; he leaves that to the reader. He is philosophical throughout, and at times enigmatic, but he clarifies his points with pop-culture references, everyday parables, and illustrative diagrams. This book is unsettling, as intended, but anyone who wrestles with big theological questions in a post-secular world will find Rollins’ work as exhilarating as it is disquieting. Agent: Greg Daniel, Daniel Literary Agency. (Jan.)