Peter Rollins - The Archive: Recent Episodes
Peter Rollins
This is an archive of various talks and reflections that Peter has given in recent years. The archive is constantly being updated with old and new material, so subscribe to be kept up to date.
I wanted to share with you the audio from the first half of The Death of God Supper Club. The second half wasn't recorded, as it was an interactive circle.I want to thank the following people:Gene and Deedie Street for providing food and financial support for the event. Alec Ekvall for creating a live soundscape, Lisa Gungor and James Spaite for their musical performances and Maggie Rowe for her spoken word.The song that Lisa plays here is only one movement in a larger piece.
In this talk I clarify the theory and technology of Pyrotheology using the Lacanian ideas of Demand, Desire and Drive
The Positive Side of Negativity | Nothing Lives, Nothing Binds, Nothing Saves by Peter Rollins
Don't Steal What You Don't Understand: Religion as Belief and Function by Peter Rollins
Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/7DFNLJZv5YUSee the Kickstarter here: https://www.stephenwilsonphotography.com/liminal-book-k
This was a talk as part of an event to mark the launch of a zine from Everyday Analysis on Religion, Marxism and Psychoanalysis. Everyday Analysis produces digital interventions that aim to tactically sabotage the prevailing ideological edifice in the name of a negative universal that undermines identitarian discourse.This latest publication marks their first printed intervention and features articles by Slavoj Žižek, Peter Rollins, Cadell Last, Julie Reshe, Matt McManus and Mark Murphy.In this talk I outline what I argue in the zine.
An event in LA with special guests Elliott Morgan, Ryan Nicodemus, Lisa and Michael Gungor and James Spaite
This is the first talk in my Pascal Course. Here I outline what Pascal is setting out to achieve in his famous Pensées. The course starts on 25th June and is open to everyone signed up to Blaze on my Patreon.
This is a conversation I had with philosopher Cadell Last, exploring the world of psychedelics.
Every month on my Patreon, some of us watch a movie and discuss it. This month I facilitated a conversation on the excellent action comedy Riders of Justice.
On this livestream I'm joined by various people who have been involved with Wake to discuss the unknown in politics, culture and religion. Joining myself and Adam is author and speaker Jay Bakker, author and public intellectual Alfie Bown, artist Jonny McEwen and writer, director and public intellectual Helen Rollins.
In this Pyroseminar I look at tradition ideology, its critique and the the critique of critique. Sadly some of the seminar was lost due to an audio issue, but I recorded most of it.
Every month I run a Coffee and Concepts event on Patreon. In this one we discuss the nature of desire, its connection to religion and how all this connects with the work and world of Pyrotheology
Every Sunday on Patreon I run different events. One of them is Coffee and Concepts, where I take a concept from me previous seminar and discuss it. This is part of a conversation on the Superego. The first 10 minutes was not recorded. Jojn my Patreon to get 100's of hours of talks, courses and discussions, as well as access to all the live events.
This is a clip from a book study on my Patreon about the book The Lacanian Subject by Bruce Fink
In this segment from Wake 2021, I answer some questions from people taking part in the event.
Coffee and Concepts is a monthly Patreon event. In this one we talk about Desire and the Master's Discourse
In this snippet from day three of Wake 2021 I chat with Adam Turkington about all things pyro.
In this segment from day 3 of Wake 2021 I introduce a critique of our modern secular purity culture.
In this segment from Wake 2021 I talk about Transformance Art with the sociologist Gladys Ganiel.
In this segment from Wake 2021 I talk introduce the theme of the night by talking about the profane temple.
This is the first talk from Wake 2021 in which I explore the nature of trauma and the trauma that is the Death of God.
Every month on Patreon there is a movie discussion group called Exposure. Exposure is a monthly film club where we use movies as a lens through which we can look at some important but difficult concepts from philosophy, theology and psychoanalysis.
This month Peter Rollins talks about the movie Pig, directed by Michael Sarnoski and staring Nicolas Cage, through the lens of Levi-Strauss' famous work on myth. He argues that Pig offers us one of the best cinematic examples of a 'complete' narrative arc. It is a story that revolves around the question of mourning; offering an answer through a ‘double twist’ in which the problem itself is not overcome, but integrated.
My Truth or The Truth | The Stoic, the Skeptic and the Sinner in Hegel by Peter Rollins
As Claude Lévi-Strauss famously demonstrated in his seminal essay ‘Do Duel Organizations Exist?’, one of the issues that faces a society involves the fact that different groups map social conflict in radically different ways. It’s not the case that opposing political groups agree about the basic issues that face the world they inhabit, then line up on different sides; rather they inhabit different worlds. Worlds that are incommensurable in regards to the other. The result is constant misunderstanding and misrecognition that generates little more than a cottage industry of Youtube videos where different representatives of a group claim to ‘own’ the other. One of the areas where there is a fundamental disconnect relates to questions concerned with racism. In this pop-up seminar, I want to introduce a basic matrix that might help us begin to understand why the political discourse around race is so divisive. I’ll be concentrating on the two forms that racism takes - Supremacy and Orientalism - showing how these both feed on each other and how they misunderstand each other. In doing so, I’ll attempt to show how their relationship mimics the complex relationship that exists between Sadism and Masochism.
In this talk from Revolution I explore the dangers - and possibilities - located within the new Purity Culture.
Coffee and Concepts is an online interactive event that takes place on the first Saturday of every month. Each session begins with the introduction of a philosophical concept that is then dissected and discussed. These morning events (depending on where in the world you are) are designed to help kick your day off with an important idea picked specifically to offer insight into how we might live well. A concept that will also connect with the work and world of pyrotheology.
This C&C explores the meaning of Enjoyment in psychoanalysis.
If you'd like to join me for this year's Atheism for Lent (starts 17th Feb) visit peterrollins.com
The Anthropologist Lévi-Strauss famously analyzed a situation in which two groups within the same tribal community drew a map of their village in radically different ways. Their understanding of the objective village layout being directly connected to their social standing.
Instead of taking a relativistic stance - with the village layout being seen as purely subjective - or taking the position that an objective mapping was possible - viewing one of the maps as more accurate, or reconciling them in a more exhaustive drawing - Lévi-Strauss argued that this phenomenon hinted at an unsymbolized antagonism in the community. One that prevented the social organization from achieving some kind of some simple, symmetrical, non-antagonistic equilibrium. However, for Lévi-Strauss, it was precisely this antagonism that simultaneously produced and maintained the very system that it distorted and threatened.
In this pop-up seminar I use Lévi-Strauss’ reflections - employed by Lacan and, more recently, Žižek - as a jumping off point for examining the current unrest in America. In the seminar I look specifically at the political significance of taking seriously the radically different ways in which social antagonism is mapped out by members of society. Along the way, I draw out the meaning of the Real as a political category, describe how ideology functions and outline a way in which the present social antagonism might be mobilized.
Recommended Reading
- 'Do Dual Organizations Exist' By Lévi-Strauss (Vol 1, Structural Anthropology)
- 'The Matrix, or, the Two Sides of Perversion' By Slavoj Žižek (online)
It’s very easy for us to question the possibility of experiencing a lasting happiness.
Can we really find it?
Is it something that we can hold onto for prolonged periods of time? The answer is likely ‘yes’. Indeed there are many who have dedicated their entire lives to cultivating it, even creating retreats and seminars designed to help others realize it.
However, in psychoanalysis there is a price to pay for happiness: the fundamental compromise of your desire. The more that happiness pervades ones life, the more that individual becomes estranged from their unspeakable passion.
In this way, people like Žižek refer to happiness as the category of the fool. It is the pursuit undertaken by one who would rather avoid confronting the contradictions and antagonisms that lie within them. Contenting themselves instead with a peace that is opposed to chaos, rather than a peace that is hard won via tarrying with the chaos.
In this seminar I explore the chasm that lies between happiness and desire via reference to an ancient Jewish parable and the Lacanian notion of the barred subject.
The is an except from part three of a ten part reading group I ran on the book Capitalism and Desire by Todd McGowan. In this clip I outline the main themes from the third chapter of the text. You can find the whole course on my Patreon.
Recently I joined Michael Gungor for a conversation about themes connected to projection, the Gaze and unhealthy trends in social media. This was part of a Liturgists episode looking at Cancel Culture, which you can find on their podcast channel.
The work of Paul Tillich and Slavoj Zizek criss-cross in a number of fascinating ways. While Tillich rightly passes as a theist, and Zizek rightly passes as an atheist, there is an atheistic dimension in the work of the former and a theistic dimension in the work of the latter. In addition to this, Tillich’s theological vocation is profoundly philosophical, while Zizek’s philosophical project has a deeply theological core. Both draw from similar intellectual sources (German Idealism, Psychoanalysis, Marxism), both wrestle with the nature of desire (Ultimate Concern, Drive) and both offer a reading of true religion as the revelation of a type of quantum indeterminacy at the heart of reality.
In this seminar, I will draw out the ways in which Tillich and Zizek orbit around a similar constellation of questions. Once we have seen how their work is complimentary in many ways, I’ll turn my attention to their differences regarding the ultimate aim of religion and the nature of salvation, or the cure.
All my lectures can be watched live or later via Patreon. To access this - and all other - pyroseminars, you just need to be signed up to the Flame level, or above, on Patreon.
The is an except from part two of a ten part reading group I ran on the book Capitalism and Desire by Todd McGowan. In this clip I outline the main themes from the second chapter of the text. You can find the whole course on my Patreon.
The is an except from part one of a ten part reading group I ran on the book Capitalism and Desire by Todd McGowan. In this clip I outline the main themes from the first chapter of the text. You can find the whole course on my Patreon.
In this penultimate seminar in my six part series on Pyrotheology, we look at the idea of a community that helps people affirm their individuality. A community that enables us to think for ourselves, take responsibility for our actions, and find freedom from the tyranny of utopia.
In my forth seminar from the six part Pyrotheology course, we delve into the meaning of Lack as a positive force. Here we touch on the idea of a community held together by a shared loss and how the sacred returns to us in a virtual form after its loss as a fantasmic, fictional object.
Get full seminars, book studies and courses by joining up at https://pyrotheology.com
In this third seminar from my six part Pyrotheology course, I turn to the theological dimension of the loss of the Sacred Object as described in the previous seminars. Here we turn to the relationship between the Pleasure Principle and the Reality Principle, the Object of Desire and the Object Cause of Desire and the difference between Loss and Lack.
Get full seminars, book studies and courses by joining up at https://pyrotheology.com
This is the second of six seminars introducing the theory and technology of Pyrotheology. In this talk, I explore the move from a sense that we are lacking some secret that would make us whole, to the the experience of lack as the secret itself.
Get full seminars, book studies and courses by joining up at https://pyrotheology.com
This is the first of six seminars introducing the theory and technology of Pyrotheology. In this talk, I use the structure of a traditional magic trick to outline the trajectory of pyrotheology.
Get full seminars, book studies and courses by joining up at https://pyrotheology.com
In this talk I outline what Marx means by Class Conflict and explore why he believed that this was the central antagonism within Capitalism.
Note: In the Q&A I said that I thought that the term 'Cultural Capitalism' was used by Angela Nagle on the podcast What's Left, but that's not correct.
This is from a live zoom meeting from one of my Pints and Parables lockdown events. Here I talk about the difference between Desire and Demand.
This is a small excerpt from one of the reading groups I run on Patreon. In this group we tackled Gabriel Marcel's essay 'On the Ontological Mystery' over 2 ninety minute sessions. In this excerpt I did a summery of the first half of the article before we dived into the second half.
To find out about future reading groups, visit https://peterrollins.com/calendar
Watching a movie is anything but a passive experience. What happens on the screen is not something we merely observe, but rather offers a mise-en-scène that hooks our desire. Movies show us something about the desire of the society from which they emerge, and something of the desire of the individual that enjoys them. Yet great movies can do more than simply express, incite and manipulate our desire. Some of the most critically acclaimed movies - such as Citizen Kane - confront us with the frailty, contingency and impotence of the objects that often fascinate us the most. This unnerving experience is something that Lacan referred to as an experience of the Gaze.
In this seminar, I be look at what this means via reference to some concrete cinematic examples and then connecting it to the work of pyrotheology.
It’s common for evolutionary psychologists to make comparisons between the animal kingdom and human society. One such area of comparison is in relation to the development of hierarchies. We witness hierarchies in the animal kingdom that rest upon some animals natural dominance over others. It’s said that we witness the same thing in human societies. Left to our own devices, we form hierarchies that reflect our respective strengths and weaknesses.
But is this really the way hierarchies operate in society? In this proseminar I’ll be looking at how we are never at one with the positions of authority that we inhabit. That they predate us and are never properly tailored to us. Facts that we often attempt to disavow.
I draw out how a proper understanding of how we inhabit our various social roles can not only give us insight into the nature of human subjectivity, but also help us understand childhood development, the nature of freedom and the subversive meaning of the Crucifixion.
In recent years Progressivism has developed into one of the most powerful political and religious forces in the contemporary world. Even within more traditionally conservative communities, Progressivism has made significant inroads.
One of the common phrases heard within Progressivism is that there is a ‘right side of history’. This idea captures the belief that there is a correct position to take on many contentious issues within contemporary society. Depending on where you locate yourself in relation to that position, defines whether you are a relic of the past or a citizen of the future. In this way, the Progressive appears to posses a type of clairvoyant ability to know the future, or at least, how the future should turn out if we heed their sagely advice.
But what if the future is radically undecided and all our visions of how things should be are in actual fact adaptations of our present worldview… much like animated sitcom The Jetsons offered a fantastical future that really just represented the ideals of the age in which it was made.
In contrast to Progressivism, I’ll be making a case for Apocalypticism. In Apocalypticism we do not pretend to know what the future will be like - or should be like - and instead concentrate on exposing the cracks within the present system. An approach that can open up the possibility of novelty in the world, and lead to the formation of previously unimagined solutions to the problems we face today.
In this seminar, I use the example of Northern Ireland to offer a critique of the Progressivism that dominates the contemporary religious and political landscape, exposing its implicit dangers and offering an alternative approach that can provide real solutions.
Get full seminars, book studies and courses by joining up at https://pyrotheology.com
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In this final seminar exploring Nietzsche's parable of the Madman, I look at what it might mean to be part of a community that helps people move through the experience of the 'Death of God'. As part of this, I look at the way an oppressive superstition remains effective today at an unconscious level and what a 'Cruciform' collective can do to overcome it. Get full seminars, book studies and courses by joining up at https://pyrotheology.com
This continues developing the themes from part 1. In this seminar I look at how we might understand what Nietzsche is referring to by entering into a higher stage of history. Along the way, we touch on Hegel's notion of contradiction, the meaning of Absolute Knowledge and Feuerbach's relationship to Humanism.
Here I explore Nietzsche's parable of the madman. I look primiarily at how the proclamation of the death of God is from the mouth of a religious figure, directed at a secular audience. For over 100 hours of lectures and courses, visit https://pyrotheology.com
Here I look at the critique of religion expressed in Feuerbach and Marx, before looking at a possible critique from Hegel.
Get full seminars, book studies and courses by joining up at https://pyrotheology.com
In this talk I outline Anselm's Ontological argument, and connect it with the tradition of theological atheism.
For over 100 hours of lectures and seminars, check out pyrotheology.com
Whether it is in the realm of the personal, the political or the religious, we are saturated with promises that we can overcome the seeming contradictions that we face. That there is a way for us to overcome the obstacles that are preventing peace, prosperity and fulfillment.
Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in the revival of non-dogmatic spirituality. In an age of anxiety, the promises of “Perennial Philosophy” are alive and well in the claims of various self-appointed gurus. Gurus who, with the air of humility and reticence, offer their help in penetrating the veils of illusion, so that we might (re)discover our oneness with the One.
However, the Perennial Philosophy is neither limited to the world of contemporary mysticism, nor is it at its strongest there. Beyond the territory of The Secret, Progressive Spirituality, the Enneagram, Psychedelic Enlightenment and the New Age, we find the same structures at work in the political economy and various self-help techniques.
This is the first lecture in a series called 'The Tyranny of Oneness'. You can get access to the whole course on Peter's Patreon or website.
This is a short introduction to the nature of Decentering Practices and Atheism for Lent. We look at what it means to embrace a type of dis-course that sends you off course, and the positive power of negative thinking.
In this third look at guilt I explore what it might mean to have a desire that isn't the desire of the Other. This leads us into an understanding of what freedom might look like. If you're interested in deeper explorations of these ideas, jump on over to my Patreon.
This is a second short reflection on the idea of guilt that I did in response to some questions I received. Here I talk about the nature of Law, the desire for transgression, and the possibility of moving beyond this dyad.
In this short reflection I give an introduction to Lacan's famous aphorism "The only thing of which one can be guilty is of having given ground relative to one's desire". If you'd like more in-depth seminars, please visit my patreon.
I'm joined by Sean McDonald, who is a Lacanian psychoanalytic psychotherapist with a private practice in Los Angeles. In this conversation we talk about Christmas and the oppressive injunction 'Enjoy!', what psychoanalysis offers as an alternative to this, and the relationship between clinical psychoanalysis and Pyrotheology.
This is the second seminar in my Dialectics of God course. Here I explore the Radical Theologian in William Hamilton's categories of Detective, Assassin and Artist. We look at what it might mean for God to die in a cosmic sense, and touch on the connection between Altizer's work and pyrotheology.
Here is part three of The Dialectics of God. In this seminar I look at an essay by Altizer that argues for a theological vocation that fully embraces the profane without limit. An embrace that affirms life. And one that will give birth to a new epoch in faith.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
In this video I talk briefly about the relationship between the Crucifixion, Resurrection and the Absurd.
Here I unpack Žižek's analysis of Jordan Peterson in The Independent, with reference to Peterson's Channel 4 interview with Cathy Newman
In this video I look briefly at week 6 of Atheism for Lent, which introduces how the previous material interacts with Pyrotheology.
In this session I look at week 4 of atheism for Lent. A week that focuses on Tillich, Daly, Bonhoeffer and the Radical Theologians of the 1960's.
In June 2014 gave a lecture where he offers some thoughts on modern Christianity and some of his theological explorations, followed by a Q&A time with Pete and Barry Taylor, Brehm Center professor of arts and culture.
Here I introduce the mystics and explore their understanding of atheism. I also touch on how the mystical system was the forerunner of many contemporary sciences.
Here I touch on the purpose of Atheism for Lent and some of the reflections that will be in week two.
Here I talk about the first week of Atheism for Lent with reference to a little known comic book called Knight and Squire
In this short reflection I explore the theological conception of Providence and attempt to excavate its existential meaning.
This is a short reflection I gave on desire at Sunday Service. A community in LA run by Barry Taylor. The music in this reflection is by Adrian Romero.
I recently finished a nine week book study on a text called Christ and the End of Meaning, by Paul Hessert. The book itself argues that Christianity, far from offering a set of beliefs about the meaning of the world, is a form of existence that embraces and celebrates the end of meaning. In this seminar I outline his argument and draw out how it has been important to the development of Pyrotheology.
In this FB Live, I introduce the concepts of Transference and Fantasy, as well as exploring how they can be overcome.
Here I explore how the doctrine of Predestination is one of the most powerful theological moves to escape economic forms of moral action.
Here I look at the concepts of Alienation and Separation and how they relate to Pyrotheology
Here I talk a little about how grace functions in the everyday sense, and how this needs to be distinguished from its offense theological meaning.
If you'd like to get more content like this and be involved in our "Non-Membership" community, click the link: peterrollins.com/patreon
In this FB live, I talk a little about the idea of coveting as inherently caught up in notions of the self, and contrast this with the idea of Soul..
With traumatic events like those witnessed in Charlottesville, we’re faced with the challenge of how to read, and respond to, the rise of right wing organizations. In the current climate of political unrest, there are groups who wish to mobilize discontent around the figure of a scapegoat. Some group that can be held responsible for real political, economic and cultural antagonisms.
In this seminar we explore a theoretical framework that can help us interpret the rise of extremism and understand how to develop an effective response. Beyond condemnation and calls for love, we look at how a pyrotheological reading of Christianity can help us actively forge micro-societies of resistance that can positively transform our political landscape.
In this live video I chat with Kent Dobson about disruption, Jung, Freud and his new book Bitten by a Camel.
In this Live video I look at what it might mean to actively desire what we don't have, and how this connects with Christianity.
This is an excerpt from the first week of my 8 week book study on Christ and the End of Meaning. Sign up to my book study via pyrotheology.com
In this talk I explore Tillich's idea that theology is a way of defending us against sacred and secular ways of trying to control the world.
This is a recording from a Pints and Parables event I did in Grand Rapids. Recorded by the [De]constructionists, with a score by Adrian Romero.
In this video I talk a little about the movie Making Love and the dilemma that lies at the heart of desire.
To find out more about the film, click the link: https://goo.gl/POZgSX
Here I look at C.S. Lewis' understanding of Joy and how it connects with the work of Pyrotheology
Here I talk briefly about the misperception that depression is something we subjectively feel.
Here I explore the idea that Jesus can be seen as a fundamentally immoral and anti-wisdom figure.
In this Facebook Live video I talk a little about how we want satisfaction and need lack.
This is an interview Peter Rollins did with his friend Drew Marshall on St Patrick's Day
This is a short reflection I gave in the Netherlands in December 2016 for a TV show exploring the meaning of Christmas.
Here I explore the meaning of spirituality and its relationship with the material world. One definition is more traditionally theistic, one ambiguous and one more atheistic.
Here I touch on two dominant types of universalism operating within Christianity, and contrast them with the type of universalism found in Pyrotheology.
Here I talk about some the theological and psychoanalytic insights embedded in the movie Prometheus, particularly around the themes of Death Drive and Sin.
Did God Kill Jesus, Or Did Jesus Kill God- Some Thoughts On The Crucifixion by Peter Rollins
Here I outline the structure of my 2017 Atheism for Lent course and talk about some of the themes.
Here I talk about the nature of melancholy in Freud and Lacan and how it might help us understand why their can be deadlocks in our desire.
Defence Mechanisms And Transfiguration- The Art Of Turning Pain Into Progress by Peter Rollins
Did God Kill Jesus, Or Did Jesus Kill God- Some Thoughts On The Crucifixion by Peter Rollins
The Most Beautiful Child In The World- The Objective, Subjective And Evental Dimension Of Theology by Peter Rollins
Christianity And The Absurd- Punk, Dadaism And The Foolishness Of Faith by Peter Rollins
In this talk I explore the riddle that Simone Weil wrote: What does the miser lose when he loses his fortune.