Five hundred years ago the Protestant Reformation claimed the Bible as the authoritative guide for Christian living (“Sola Scriptura!” Only Scripture!). In this groundbreaking work, Emily Swan and Ken Wilson claim the authority of the church is shifting back to where it should be: in Jesus (Solus Jesus!). As co-founders of Blue Ocean Faith, Swan and Wilson are pioneering what it means to be post-evangelical—post-Protestant, even—in a time when such re-imagining is desperately needed.
Solus Jesus not only grapples with the authority question in Christianity, but also provides a massive re-think of traditional atonement theories. Leaning on the work of René Girard, they conclude that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus together reveal a completely good, non-violent God who is on the side of the oppressed and scapegoated of this world. As a work of queer theology, the book is intersectional in its understanding of justice, and invites readers to reconsider our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.
This book is timely, to say the least. For Christians looking for guidance on how to address distressing issues of injustice; for help understanding how they can faithfully follow Jesus and love their neighbors as themselves; and for practices for how to experience the living Jesus and his Spirit of love—Solus Jesus is the book for you.
Solus Jesus: A Theology of Resistance is a book I have been looking forward to since I first heard that Ken Wilson and Emily Swan, the co-pastors of Blue Ocean Faith Ann Arbor, were working on it. I have already done some writing on how the concept of Solus Jesus has been of significant benefit to my theology and life as a whole, so it should not be surprising to hear that I was thrilled to hear that Swan and Wilson were working on a full book on the subject. There is a LOT going on in this book. It certainly did not disappoint, but it did surprise me—in a remarkably encouraging way.
When I sat down to read Solus Jesus: A Theology of Resistance, I was expecting an extended explanation and defense of what Blue Ocean Faith people mean when talk about the concept. As someone who has been hanging around the fringes of the Blue Ocean Faith community (and cheering it on) for a while now, I was already familiar with the idea in broad terms. Essentially Solus Jesus is a riff on, and reaction to, the reformation credo "Sola Scriptura". Inspired by Phyllis Tickle's suggestion that the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, will begin to work in a fresh paradigm every five hundred years or so, Solus Jesus recommends a decentering of the Bible as a source of certainty and instead placing our confidence in the person of Jesus Christ. Ken Wilson and Emily Swan are both post-Evangelicals who were put through the ringer by the Evangelical "machine" over the issue of full LGBTQ+ inclusion (Ken Wilson tells the story of this in his previous book A Letter to My Congregation). It was probably for that reason, as well as the general timeliness of the subject, that I expected this book to be that defense and explanation.
It turns out that the vision Swan and Wilson had for their book was much bigger than mine. While there is some defense of the concept (I found Chapter 4: In Defense of Experience—Wilson and Chapter 5: The age of the Spirit—Swan particularly helpful here) the greater portion of the book is devoted to a theological and practical working out of what Solus Jesus can look like in the contemporary world. In essence, the Authors delivered to my expectation in Part 1 (Solus Jesus) of the book, and then went well beyond, bringing the titular concept into conversation with Girardian scapegoat theory to recommend a more developed and ambitious theology in Part 2 (A Theology of Resistance), and then working though some of what an application of this theology might look like if implemented by the contemporary Church in Part 3 (A New Way Forward). While all three cohere nicely and the chapters all build effectively on one another, each part really could have been its own work. In fact, the only critique I can think of for this book is that I would have really enjoyed a bit more of each section, so maybe a trilogy would have worked well.
Both Swan and Wilson have engaging and complementary writing styles and they are both up-front with their backgrounds and perspectives. As a result, Solus Jesus is both accessible on a popular level and "challenging and thought provoking" as a book of theology. The co-authorship takes the form of independently written chapters with Wilson and Swan each writing from their respective strengths.
In terms of the actual ideas presented, Solus Jesus represents a serious candidate for a Girardian post-evangelical (and possibly renewed mainline Protestant) theology. Taking the title to represent the two major themes of the book in conversation: First Solus Jesus as a re-centering of Jesus and de-centering of the Bible-as-source-of-certainty in the life of the Christain, then A Theology of Resistance built on the foundation of Solus Jesus and complimented by Girardian mimetic and scapegoat theory. In both cases, Swan and Wilson come across far more as offering, than as arguing, their ideas.
The Solus Jesus thesis is grounded, not in a rejection of the Bible as such, but in a rejection of the Bible as a source of certainty, first, because certainty isn't turning out to be a realistic demand, and second because the Bible itself points more to Jesus of Nazareth than to its self as a source for confidence. While the book does lay out a case for this, it strikes me that Wilson and Swan are writing this book at a time when the evangelical (and post-evangelical) case against rigid understandings of Biblical authority and infallibility have already been made (Pete Enns' The Sin of Certianty is both referenced and relevant here). Swan and Wilson are, I suspect, largely done with attempting to justify their Christianity to the Evangelical machine and have moved on to offer their insights to those who are already searching for something more.
So, too, with their Theology of Resistance. Swan and Wilson waste almost no time attacking or critiquing existing Evangelical theologies of ethics, politics, and atonement beyond sharing a few of their own helpful stories of times and ways in which those theologies came up short for them in the past. Instead, the authors work to interpret much of the (particularly Western) Church's crisis of being and failure through the lens of Girardian mimetic and scapegoat mechanics. While I don't find Girard to provide any sort of perfect, comprehensive model for human behavior or a theology of the atonement (nor do Swan and Wilson claim that he does), I was impressed with how well the model fit both the atonement and as an explanation for the repeated failure of the Church to take the side of justice as it has interacted with an unjust society throughout history. In line with the aphorism "all models are wrong, but some are useful", Solus Jesus: A Theology of Resistance demonstrates clearly that Girard's is a useful model in understanding God's actions in the world and through the church.
Ultimately I found Solus Jeusus: A Theology of Resistance both satisfying and challenging in all of the best ways, and I sincerely hope that it will have a place in determining the direction that post-evangelicalism will take at this juncture in history—it certainly deserves to.
I think this is a must read book for anyone who is interested in what the church might look like if it people worried more about what it means to follow Jesus in the age of Donald Trump, and MAGA Christians.
The books authors, for the most part, write chapters individually, telling their stories and reflecting theologically on them. Particularly drawing on the work of Rene Girard and Dietrich Bonhoffer, they critique the 500 year old motto of Sola Scripture, arguing that we need to replace this with Solus Jesus. They support their arguments well, both biblically, and from experience. They draw on Girard's concept of scapegoating and mimetic desire as a way of understanding atonement, in a way that really will make sense, in our world where much of the church seems to be rallying the mob to scapegoat the disenfranchised, when the Jesus we follow defeated the scapegoating mechanism with the resurrection.
This book will challenge instigators, and the mob, and bring hope to the scapegoats of this world.
This is a sound, well thought-out and researched proposal for an alternative to Sola Scriptura. A missionary told me years ago we don't worship the Bible, we worship Jesus, and that's the foundation of this work. Building off of Bonhoeffer and the work of René Girard and later James Allison, this theology of resistance is a must read for pastors and theologians.
When Emily Swan and Ken Wilson look at the landscape of a 500-year old Protestantism, they don't see much that encourages them. Yet when they examine and reexamine the good news of the rabbi Jesus of Nazareth living with us still by his spirit, they see enormous possibilities for mercy, for justice, and for resistance.
The first of the book's three sections is a call for a Jesus-centered, experience-affirming, humble approach to authority in religious truth. Drawing on history, philosophy, science, and their own experience of faith, Swan and Wilson sketch out some of the limits and frankly lack of integrity that on ongoing commitment to the Protestant rallying cry of sola scriptura implies. Sola scriptura argued that we matters of truth can be discerned by an appeal to the authority of the plain meaning of the Bible. While 500 years ago, this represented a reform from an authority vested in sometimes corrupt human rulers, it's no longer serving or working. The many thousands of Protestant denominations are sufficient proof that the meaning of scripture isn't self-evident. We also see the authority of scripture so often appealed to to justify unloving, harmful exclusion and oppression. Swan and Wilson's own experience of exclusion as a queer person and an advocate for full LGBT inclusion in the church in only the most current example. This first section is so important, so good, it was the highlight of the book for me.
In the second section, the authors review the work of Renee Girard and explore his insights on Jesus, scripture, rivalry and scapegoating. This helps them position Jesus as uniquely in solidarity with marginalized or oppressed victims, seeking to liberate humanity from our tendencies toward rivalry and scapegoating. Swan's summary of Girard's work and application of it to scripture is as clear and simple and compelling as anything I've read. Her work with Dietrich Bonhoffer is also fascinating and helfpul. Wilson's chapters on silence and privilege and his work with the stories of Peter and Paul is also compelling.
In the final section of the book, Wilson and Swan ask questions about the future of a "solus Jesus" spiritual and religious practice. Their conclusions here are almost by definition more tentative but are great beginnings to conversations we need to have. How does the cruciform center of the Jesus story make sense in our times? How can religion help people and societies flourish? What forms of spirituality will actually lead to more mercy and justice? And what does a Jesus-centered spiritual and religious practice look like in a robustly pluralist world? Wilson and Swan offer really helpful suggestions to each of these questions. I'm eager to talk about them among colleagues and friends.
This book, more than any other I've read, suggests new and hopeful directions for a post-evangelical, post-patriarchal, post-modern expression of the Christian faith. I'm so grateful for it.
I've known a bit about Ken Wilson, the Vineyard Church in Ann Arbor, his dismissal and the start of a new church, Blue Ocean Faith, and through the book, learned a bit about Emily Swan, and what a partnership they've now formed as co-pastors and fine writers.
These two fire-tested pastors offer a way through the tight and tangled thickets of evangelicalism's sola scriptura, a 500-year old doctrine that now imprisons, rather than liberates, thought and faith. And not only for evangelicals, but mainliners, too, who are still burdened with "the Bible says." Well, it does, but that doesn't mean we a grasp of what it means, nor what God may be doing in our time. History makes it clear: those who thought they had a lock on truth, because of their foolproof source of "authority," created more harm than good.
Emily and Ken have done their homework ... they've read widely, experimented in their work, have tasted defeat and betrayal, shed tears and lost hope, and yet, in the strange ways of God, continued, believing that their inclusive sensibilities were God-wrought, Spirit-driven, something badly needed for the times, and, so, in spite of the pain and sorrow delivered upon them by godly people, Emily and Ken have crafted a theology for the day, and a theology, I believe that can liberate the church from doctrines that once held great power, but, now, aged, have grown hard and unyielding. Like the original creation moment, the Spirit continues to hover over the chaos, the darkness, the unyielding stuff, until such time as God can say, "Let there be light."
Basing their work, in large part, on Rene Girard and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, with tons of references to current writers in a variety of disciplines, Emily and Ken have produced a book that, for me, opened doors of understanding on Girard's theories of scapegoating and violence, and their own Pentecostalism. Neither of them reject their Pentecostal backgrounds, but affirm it's value, especially that for the day in which the Spirit has to be given its freedom, freedom from sola scripture, not freedom from the Bible, but freedom from a doctrine that long ago decided it had the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and that's that.
If you're looking for serious reading, you've got it here. If you wondering about inclusivity and how that might or might not work in the church, read this book.
If you want to understand Rene Girard and his work on scapegoating and violence, you have it here.
If you want to see Pentecostals at work, check out Emily and Ken.
The time couldn't be better for this book by co-pastors who continue to stand in solidarity regarding how to live in the example of Christ's message of love -- everyday and with anyone of any faith ( or none), rather than only on Sundays among people who call themselves Christians while professing judgmental exclusion based on their particular reading of Scripture.
I really.appreciated the annotations and supplemental suggested reading. Since I was raised Catholic, my grasp of the Bible beyond the Lectionary and dogma has plenty of room for growth.
Evangelicalism in North America is caught in a state of mimetic rivalry, tending to scapegoat vulnerable peoples in order to return to equilibrium. This book is written by two co-pastors who experienced this scapegoating when their church tried to fully include queer people in all aspects of its life.
They invite us to consider a theology of resistance that expects Jesus, our living rabbi, to speak to us, primarily but not solely through Scripture, and especially through the perspectives of those who experience scapegoating.
Those who want the full theological treatment of how Wilson and co. conducted full inclusion, see Letter to My Congregation, especially the second edition.
Very enlightening and encouraging. God is the God of love, not war ! We can engage with other humans on equal footing. Jesus was a scapegoat, there were/are many more in civilization. God has compassion on all victims, Jesus reached out to marginalized people and victims of cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.
In Chapter 12, “The Gospel for Modern Ears,” we step back to re-state the Gospel as we understand it through the lens of scapegoat theory—which we think offers an accessible and compelling message for modern people
This book caught me by surprise. It is remarkably good. it provides a good, digestible introduction to Rene Girard told in the context of painful growth by 2 pastors who faced important issues with integrity and honesty and were able to share their theological reflections with the reader.
Challenging yet positive perspective, I found this book created a language for something that had been bubbling up in me and in discussions with friends for the past while. Incredibly thankful for the steps that these authors take, it is reassuring to say the least.
This book should have been broken up. There are too many ideas flowing around. It’s easy to get lost and not remember what point the authors are trying to make. This is unfortunate, because they have a lot of interesting good ideas.
Great read for anybody who is attracted to Jesus and his advocacy for the oppressed, and who is simultaneously turned off by the Church and its complicity in oppression.
Finally! As a follower of Christ who has NEVER truly felt at home in “The Church” because my heart and the depths of my soul just refuse to subscribe to what I now understand to be “Sola Scriptura”, reading this book felt like a homecoming. This is the kind of theology my heart has been leading me to.