Peter Rollins - The Archive

Desire, Happiness and Hoping Against Hope by Peter Rollins

The Zizek/Peterson debate is one of the most controversial and talked about events in the intellectual world since Foucault sat down with Chomsky. Whether it's outrage, anticipation or confusion, this event has caught the attention of millions. While both engage in the same trinity of issues: Christianity, Politics and Subjectivity, their perspectives are profoundly different. On one side we have Peterson's Clinical Psychology reading - influenced by Jung - while Zizek represents a Dialectic approach that brings together Hegel, Freud and Marx. This is the second part of the pyroseminar on that debate. In this talk I offer a commentary.

This is an introduction to the Zizek/Peterson debate that I did live on the night. I should point out that I tried not to engage in any personal reflections on how I rate the intellectual status of the thinkers. But that could lead people to think that I place them on the same level. I should say that this is not the case. Zizek is a first rate, multilingual philosopher who has written over 50 books in various languages, many of which have contributed significantly to the fields of philosophy, political theory, theology and psychoanalysis. In contrast Peterson is a college professor with two books (one academic, the other self-help), who came to prominence because of his stance on Identity Politics. They both have significant platforms, but they should not be seen as comparable regarding their contributions to the academic world.

In this talk, I look at Pyrotheology as a theory and technology of fundamental transformation. I dig deep into what it means to undergo the death of God objectively, subjectively and unconsciously, before exploring what is born in the aftermath of this event. This talk explores what it means to undergo a fundamental shift in the way that we desire, a shift that enables us to live in the world without being of the world.

This is a chance to get a basic introduction to Peter’s work. While other people will be off on a tour of the city, you can get the chance to sit with Peter and talk about the basics of pyrotheology. The material will be old hat to those who have been following him for a while, but great for people who are just kicking off.

I Must Die in You by Peter Rollins

God of the Gap | Peter Rollins by Peter Rollins

Every month, for over two years, I offer seminars on my Patreon page. This is a recent one that explores a number of integrated themes that explore what the word salvation refers to. In it I present what it means to enter into a different type of desire/being in which we are able to experience true joy that is freed from a frantic pursuit of some object that will complete us. It's a mix of philosophy, theology and psychoanalysis that might help contribute to your personal well being. And, if nothing else, you'll learn about some interesting concepts! If you'd like to get access to the rest of the seminars, visit pyrotheology.com

The Magic Trick of Christianity | Pledge, Turn and Prestige by Peter Rollins

Here I talk about some dangers within the new spirituality industry. I look at Splitting, the Beautiful Soul, Reaction Formation and new fundamentalisms. I touch on the popular move from Confessional Religion to New Age Spiritualities and the idea of The Last Guru. For more content, visit pyrotheology.com

This is a talk I gave at conference is Boise University that aimed at exploring the work and world of popular speaker Jordan Peterson. In contrast to the growing body of work that shows how Peterson misunderstands and misreads many of the theorists he references, I want to concentrate on one of the people he reads well: Carl Jung. I aim to show that Jungian theory lies at the very heart of Peterson's understanding of subjectivity, his views on religion and his political orientation. In this seminar I'll be showing how Jung's fundamentally religious orientation differs from the central insights of psychoanalysis, and how it leads to Peterson's conservative understanding of Christianity and reactionary political vision. A vision that ultimately sustains the very progressive politics he fights against.

It could be argued that the central question throughout the history of Christianity has revolved around the best way to interpret the Crucifixion. Yet this discussion has by no means been restricted to the confessional church. Indeed many prominent philosophers have taken a deep interest in the Crucifixion and reflected on its significance. In contrast to religious interpretations - that connect the atonement with theism, meaning and reconciliation - this Seminar explores a pyrotheological approach that sees the Crucifixion as expressing a form of life marked by the end of religion, the loss of meaning and the embrace of the absurd.

To compliment the short film Making Love, we created a 40 minute commentary in which I explore the philosophical and theological themes that animate the movie (along with the relevant clips). This is the audio from that commentary. To see the video, visit my youtube page. While commentaries are often optional extras in movies, I see this as a vital, enmeshed, part of this project. Our aim is for the movie and the commentary to work together in enriching and deepening the insights of the viewer. It’s a model I’ve tried to use in my books, especially How (Not) to Speak of God - which played on the movement between the intellectual and existential dimensions of Pyrotheology.

In 2018 I joined Rob Bell on his Holy Shift tour. This is a recording from one of the stops. In my talk I explored the idea that the Holy can be approached as a wholly other dimension that cuts across our being. A dimension that we attempt to hide from and ignore. Yet the more we ignore it, the more this wholly other dimension creates unholy hell in our lives. In contrast, if we are able to turn our attention towards it, and orient ourselves to its tremor, it can bring new life to us. If you would like to support me and get more content, visit pyrotheology.com.

Once a month I give online seminars via Patreon. I occasionally put some up here. If you'd like the full set, visit pyrotheology.com. In this seminar I offer a framework that enables people to see how religious ideology functions, what a pyrotheological reading of Christianity entails, and how this is practiced in community. During the seminar I’ll be showing how religious ideology continues to function within secular spaces and offer a religionless reading of Christianity that aims squarely at eviscerating this way of operating in the world. In doing this I draw out the main difference between pyrotheology and things like Depth Psychology, the Enneagram, Humanism, Progressive Christianity and Liberal Christianity.

In April 2018 I was interviewed by the German theologian Peter Jost at my Wake Festival. For more content, jump over to https://www.patreon.com/peterrollins

This is part of a talk I gave at a live Fundamentalists event in LA. In it I explore the idea that we are strangers to ourselves, and often oblivious to our desires.

In this short reflection I use Tillich's idea of Ultimate Concern to introduce one of the basic aims of Pyrotheology. To learn more about Pyrotheology, check out the pyro-seminars on my Patreon. If you want to take a deep dive into Tillich's notion of Ultimate Concern, check out my course 'Find and You Will Seek' on my website. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/peterrollins Find and You Will Seek: https://peterrollins.com/advent

In this podcast I explore the roots of modern notions of romance, the impossibility of relationships, and how to turn that impossibility into something truly beautiful. I even give a little relationship advice at the end!

Does thinking get us anywhere? Is relativism possible? What can we know? In this seminar I explore Speculative Philosophy through the lens of Paul Tillich's book My Search for Absolutes. To hear my full set of lectures on this book, visit peterrollins.com and get my Find and You Will Seek course.

Here I take a look at Capitalism. In particular, I reflect on whether Capitalism is rooted in our natural tendencies, whether it is the final system, and what, if anything, might lie beyond it.

From a philosophical point of view, Advent can be seen as a time when we might open ourselves up to the thought of the Infinite erupting in the heart of Finite. Beyond its narrowly religious meaning, we can say that the word 'Incarnation' articulates the idea of Truth being enfleshed in the world. This provides the perfect opportunity for me to offer an Advent course on one of my favorite books by Paul Tillich. The book is based on a series of lectures that Tillich gave shortly before his death, and it represents his last important work. It also happens to be his most personal work, and one of the clearest overviews of his life project. The lectures explore Tillich’s lifelong search for the Absolute, and draw out how he viewed this passionate search as itself the evidence that the Absolute he sought had already been found. During this course we’ll confront a powerful argument, beautifully articulated, that explores how ‘seeking’ and ‘finding’ are intimately intertwined. An argument that provides a way to avoid both fundamentalism on one hand and relativism on the other. By doing this course, you will gain a powerful way of understanding the relationship between faith and doubt, grasp what Tillich means by ‘the God beyond God’, and gain an appreciation of how we might already be grounded in the truth that we seek. If you'd like to join me for this advent course, just jump onto my website or click peterrollins.com/advent

In this short reflection I outline one of the central differences between Jung's Analytical Psychology and Freud's Psychoanalysis. This is a reflection that is based on a talk I recently gave on a critical assessment of Jordan Peterson's work.

In this pyro-seminar I look at why oppressive systems work and what we might get out of their failure. To get access to all the pyro-seminars (and lots of other stuff) join my patreon.

This is the introductory talk from Wake 2018. In it I talk about how Pyrotheology relates to the notion of Lack.

Confronting the Holy: Whole or Hole by Peter Rollins

How does ideology prevent us from touching antagonism, how does it function in religion, and is there a religionless way of articulating faith. Click here to get the course I talk about in the video: https://peterrollins.com/beyond-belief

In this reflection I look at the structure of the Möbius strip, and what it can teach us about the structure of the Real, the Unconscious and the Holy.

This is part of an interview I did with the writer, performer and cult leader Maggie Rowe originally done for my Patreon page. Maggie is an actress, writer and performer. Maggie has written screenplays for films including Bright Day! and Out West, for TV shows such as Flaked and Arrested Development, and created the stage productions for Hollywood Hell House, Hollywood Purity Ball, Lawyer Cop Doctors, and Pretty Good Show). She has also edited a book of personal essays called Dirty Laundry, and even founded a satirical religion called Pyrasphere. In addition to all this she has produced and regularly performed in the spoken word show sitnspin (created by Jill Soloway) at the Comedy Central stage. Her latest book is called Sin Bravely: A Memoir of Spiritual Disobedience.

This is a recording from my Pints and Parables event in Santa Barbara, May 2017

One of C.S. Lewis’ most interesting and intriguing works is a short story entitled ‘Light’. A huge amount of controversy and mythology surrounds the text itself, and it was never published in his lifetime. Indeed, its final form wasn’t published until two decades after his death. This is a dark story that reads like something penned by Jean-Paul Sartre or Camus. In this seminar I offer a close reading of the story and use it to unpack the nature of desire, the madness that comes from certainty and the nature of the Sublime. I’ll employ the story as a means of shedding light on Lacan’s enigmatic statement, “do not give way on your desire” and draw out the difference between fundamentalist fanaticism and a healthy celebration of the Sublime.

Power and Resistance are often thought of as antagonistic opposites that confront each other. However Power often covers the entire field of Power and Resistance. Here I explore how.

Often we attempt to minimize our discontent rather than mobilize it. In this short reflection, I outline the difference and talk about some events that I run which aim at the latter.

What is ideology? Here I look at five features that can help us understand this term

In this reflection I explore the how we might come to glimpse what we believe through our symptoms rather than our conscious beliefs and actions.

In this reflection I look at Jordan Peterson's genealogy of marxism and explore his view of post-structuralism as advocating a multiplicity that undermines authoritative readings of a text.

In 2017 Peter was a guest on Moshe Kasher's Hound Tall, along with Nick Thune, Sara Schafer and Kurt Metzger. It's a pretty crazy interview with some magical moments sprinkled through the comedy chaos.

One of the greatest comedic characters to come out of the UK in recent years is undoubtably David Brent. Created and performed by Ricky Gervas, Brent is a pitiful character; constantly hiding from his self-loathing by unsuccessfully trying to play the part of a successful, funny, attractive and popular Renaissance Man. In the figure of Brent, Gervas has been able to create a character who manifestly wrestles with repression, neurotic symptoms, and eruptions of the unconscious. However, while the character is largely comic, there is a tragic element to him that is fleshed out at the end of The Office and at the conclusion of the movie David Brent: Life on the Road. In this Pyro-seminar, I’ll be using Brent as an example of the universal struggle that is human existence. Not only that, but I’ll be showing how Brent can show us how to bear the weight of that struggle and find a depth of meaning. With the help of Brent, I'll attempt to delineate the type of freedom that a pyrotheological community offers.

In this short reflection I look at the pleasure we can get from self-sabotage, and how we might sabotage our self-sabotage.

In this seminar from 2014, Peter explores how the categories of Idiot, Imbecile and Moron can give us insight into different ways of engaging with the social order, and touches on the theological significance of this in relation to the theme of conversion

This is an interview from December 2014 that Peter did with Pete Holmes. The cover ghosts, suffering, loss and love.

This is a talk I gave at my Wake festival in Belfast. Here I look at idolatry and its relationship to both fantasy and self-sabotage. For more information about Wake 2019, visit my website.

This is the introductory talk from Wake 2018. In it I talk about how Pyrotheology relates to the notion of Lack. It deals with some of the material I wanted to cover, but I never got to the theme of Idolatry that was my original aim, so I'll cover that at a later date. I also thought I'd give you a little taste of Adam at the beginning (the friend who I run Wake with).

What if the problem with meditation as it's mostly practiced in contemporary society, isn't that it doesn't work, but that it does. That it helps us to integrate more seamlessly into our world, minimizing our discontent, rather than helping us mobilize and enjoy our discontent.

This is an early Pyro-seminar that explores the relation between pyrotheology and atheism. For lots more seminars, sign up at pyrotheology.com

This was the first ever pyroseminar, from 2016. In it Peter explores the idea of the absurd and religionless Christianity. For over 30 hours of pyroseminars (video and audio), become a Flame at pyrotheology.com.

This facebook live reflections on Rudolf Otto's notion of the Holy and connects it with the Freudian unconscious

Lack and the Social Bond by Peter Rollins

In this video I talk briefly about the relationship between the Crucifixion, Resurrection and the Absurd.

In the video I talk about the end of worlds and the beginning of new ones.