---
title: "The Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales by Peter Rollins"
description: "Takeaway: We as Christians need to continually search for meaning in scriptures. This was a free book on kindle a couple months ago.  It has 33 short stories/parables with a page or so of explanation...."
url: https://bookwi.se/orthodox-heretic-rollins/
date: 2013-02-25
modified: 2026-07-27
author: "Adam Shields"
categories: ["Book Reviews"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# The Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales by Peter Rollins

![The Orthodox Heretic: And Other Impossible Tales](https://bookwi.se/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/cover-4798.jpg)

**Takeaway: We as Christians need to continually search for meaning in scriptures.**

This was a free book on kindle a couple months ago.  It has 33 short stories/parables with a page or so of explanation.  These are intentionally attempting to retell Jesus’ parables (or at least follow the form) in a modern form.  Some of them are good.  Some of them seem to be intentionally unorthodox to try get a reaction.

In general I approve of trying to find meaning in scripture. But there does not seem to be a lot of focus on trying to be true to the story as much as being true to the form.  When I finally got past the fact that Rollins was intentionally trying to give new meaning I got a lot more out of them.

There are a few that I really disagree with and I think verge on the unbiblical.  But the majority communicate orthodox Christian truth in a way I had not considered before.  I think that was the purpose of Jesus’ parables.  So Rollins should be given some real credit for both the attempt and the results.

Some of the explanations get a little heady and there were a couple that I thought the descriptions detracted from the story.  But in other cases I would have never understood what the story was about without the explanations.

I would really recommend this book if you find it for free like I did.  If you are paying for it…well, maybe try to borrow it first.  This book is lendable if you have a kindle, (and [Lendle.me has copies available to borrow](http://lendle.me/books/detail/B002BDUD06/)).

**Purchase Links: [Paperback](http://www.amazon.com/Orthodox-Heretic-Other-Impossible-Tales/dp/1557259208/), [Kindle Edition](http://www.amazon.com/Orthodox-Heretic-Other-Impossible-ebook/dp/B002BDUD06/)**

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