The world is in a bad way. Wars, political polarization, wealth inequity, and environmental crisis threaten the creation that God gave humans to steward. Richard Rohr argues that in “age of outrage,” the Jewish prophets have something to say.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Rohr identifies a progression in prophetic thought through three phases:

My major thesis in this book is that most prophets invariably start with legitimate but righteously dualistic anger at the sins and injustice in the world. As they pursue their calling to teach what they think is God’s truth, they confront confusion, denial, doubt, love, and most especially epiphany. Maturing prophets let these experiences change them, allowing themselves to evolve into non-dual and compassionate truth-tellers. (81)

In The Tears of Things, Rohr traces these three phases in the lives of the prophets. Along the way he offers some stunning insights, birthed of a life of contemplation. For example:

Please remember that certainty—not doubt—is the opposite of faith. (154)

In a Western church that tends to equate belief and faith, Rohr’s maxim sounds foolish. But his point is apt. Certainty fuels polarization—us v. them—where humility leads to understanding and compassion, the final stage in the prophet’s journey.

As much as I appreciated the depth and insight of Tears, I can’t help but think that Rohr has projected his own existential journey onto the prophets. The biblical data he recruits for his argument is selective and does not fully account for the context of each prophet. Some situations today call for “dualistic anger at the sins and injustice in the world” (81) even after some metaphysical evolution into “non-dual and compassionate truth-tellers” (81).

The problem of the data comes to the forefront in chapter 6, “Unfinished Prophets: Elijah, Jonah, and John the Baptizer” (81–85). For Rohr, these prophets were “unfinished” because their ministry never progressed to his third-stage ideal. Rather than impose an evolutionary paradigm on the prophetic experience and judge prophets by that paradigm, I’d rather seek to understand the rationale for any prophetic behaviour as given.

Despite the methodological critique, I’d still recommend The Tears of Things for people seeking to inhabit the world of the prophets more deeply. Their wisdom is needed more than ever in today’s world.

Rohr, Richard. The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage. Convergent: 2025.