No Conviction
The following parable will be included in my forthcoming book The Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales (March 2009). A compilation of 33 parables and commentaries. This parable is called, ‘No conviction’,
In a world where following Christ is decreed to be a subversive and illegal activity you have been accused of being a believer, arrested and dragged before a court.
You have been under clandestine surveillance for some time now and so the prosecution has been able to build up quite a case against you. They begin the trial by offering the judge dozens of photographs which show you attending church meetings, speaking at religious events, and participating in various prayer and worship services. After this they present a selection of items that have been confiscated from your home: religious books that you own, worship CDs and other Christian artefacts. Then they step up the pace by displaying many of the poems, pieces of prose, and journal entries that you had lovingly written concerning your faith. Finally, in closing, the prosecution offers your Bible to the judge. This is a well-worn book with scribbles, notes, drawings, and underlings throughout, evidence, if it were needed, that you had read and re-read this sacred text many times.
Throughout the case you have been sitting silently in fear and trembling. You know deep in your heart that with the large body of evidence that has been amassed by the prosecution you face the possibility of a long imprisonment or even execution. At various times throughout the proceedings you have lost all confidence and have been on the verge of standing up and denying Christ. But while this thought has plagued your mind throughout the trial, you resist the temptation and remain focused.
Once the prosecution has finished presenting their case the judge proceeds to ask if you have anything to add, but you remain silent and resolute, terrified that if you open your mouth, even for a moment, you might deny the charges made against you. Like Christ, you remain silent before your accusers. In response you are led outside to wait as the judge ponders your case.
The hours pass slowly as you sit under guard in the foyer waiting to be summoned back. Eventually a young man in uniform appears and leads you into the courtroom so that you may hear the verdict and receive word of your punishment. Once seated in the dock the judge, a harsh and unyielding man, enters the room, stands before you, looks deep into your eyes and begins to speak,
“Of the charges that have been brought forward I find the accused not guilty.”
“Not guilty?” your heart freezes. Then, in a split second, the fear and terror that had moments before threatened to strip your resolve are swallowed up by confusion and rage.
Despite the surroundings, you stand defiantly before the judge and demand that he give an account concerning why you are innocent of the charges in light of the evidence.
“What evidence?” he replies in shock.
“What about the poems and prose that I wrote?” you reply.
“They simply show that you think of yourself as a poet, nothing more.”
“But what about the services I spoke at, the times I wept in church and the long, sleepless nights of prayer?”
“Evidence that you are a good speaker and actor, nothing more.” replied the judge, “It is obvious that you deluded those around you, and perhaps at times you even deluded yourself, but this foolishness is not enough to convict you in a court of law.”
“But this is madness!” you shout. “It would seem that no evidence would convince you!”
“Not so,” replies the judge as if informing you of a great, long forgotten secret.
“The court is indifferent toward your Bible reading and church attendance; it has no concern for worship with words and a pen. Continue to develop your theology, and use it to paint pictures of love. We have no interest in such armchair artists who spend their time creating images of a better world. We exist only for those who would lay down that brush, and their life, in a Christ-like endeavor to create it. So, until you live as Christ and his followers, until you challenge this system and become a thorn in our side, until you die to yourself and offer your body to the flames, until then my friend, you are no enemy of ours.”
October 8th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Provoking thoughts. This scored a direct hit on my tendency for thinking over action. Looking forward to your book release next spring.
October 8th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Peter, are you ok with the text of this post, of course including a link and credit to you as the author, being republished on other blogs? I wanted to ask before I went ahead and did it. Thanks.
October 8th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Absolutely Rozko. If you think it is worth republishing then please do so.
October 8th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
If you want to repost this to the God’s Politics blog or The Ooze, shoot me an email and I’ll ask my editors. Also, if any of your parables relate to “The Redemptive Power of Humor” holler and I can include it in the January 2008 issue of the Porpoise Diving Life (I agreed to guest edit an issue).
October 9th, 2008 at 12:55 am
Peter, this was my favorite story in your book. Thanks for reposting it. I love how it truly comes down to love.
October 9th, 2008 at 7:58 am
[...] recommend Peter Rollins: No Conviction In a world where following Christ is decreed to be a subversive and illegal activity you have been [...]
October 9th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Thanks for the parable Peter. Wow. I think of the lives of St Francis or Bonhoeffer, and my reading of Augustine or Kierkegaard, and I wonder whether I am really living the Christian life. Your writings are a great challenge to us traditionalists.
October 10th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
[...] * One of my favorite authros, Peter Rollins, has put up an excerpt of a forthcoming book entitled “No Conviction”. [...]
October 11th, 2008 at 12:53 am
nailed it.
October 13th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
[...] that blew my mind: This parable, called “No Conviction” by Pete [...]
October 14th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
[...] second place where I found this challenge was in a post by Pete Rollins, who constantly provokes and challenges with inicisive and thoughtful prose. The post was an [...]
October 14th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Challenging.
Theologically, you’re slightly off base. The cross doesn’t feature in the judgement of the court. As such, the righteous acts and deeds are in danger of being part of the means to God, rather than a celebration of the grace already given. (see Ephesians 1-3)
October 15th, 2008 at 11:59 am
The Court of Apophatic Judgement. Good essay.
I agree with you that Christianity, at its core, is a rejection of all man-made systems – that Jesus “set an axe to all religion.” That while the cross we celebrate is sufficient (per Tom, above), our grasp of it remains provisional and flawed.
Truth is indeed boundless and infinitely greater than our religious concepts of it, including our concepts of the cross. Belief has an important place, but, as you say, “it is ultimately subordinate to the reality it points toward.”
October 15th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Thanks for this Pete – it’s challenged my thinking today.
October 18th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
[...] “The court is indifferent toward your Bible reading and church attendance; it has no concern for worship with words and a pen. Continue to develop your theology, and use it to paint pictures of love. We have no interest in such armchair artists who spend their time creating images of a better world. We exist only for those who would lay down that brush, and their life, in a Christ-like endeavor to create it. So, until you live as Christ and his followers, until you challenge this system and become a thorn in our side, until you die to yourself and offer your body to the flames, until then my friend, you are no enemy of ours.” – Pete Rollins [...]
October 24th, 2008 at 1:09 am
[...] why we are not being challenged for our beliefs! The following is by Peter Rollins from his blog (which I recommend you add to your list of blogs to read, besides mine of course!) and I would ask [...]
September 15th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
[...] This book is worth its price and more just for the first story which is the point of this post. Rollins shares this parable over at his blog, which if you are interested in reading it you can read it HERE. [...]
January 14th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
[...] to this sort of religiosity in one of his parable’s from The Orthodox Heretic as “armchair artists who spend their time creating images of a better world,” but never actually change [...]