Glossary
Clicking the words below(as will also happen when you click certain instances of them in other pages) will open a small window with a brief definition of the word or phrase. Where it seems helpful, we'll also refer you to other texts that discuss the term in greater detail.
Occasional Articles
As with the Introductory Articles, we will add other articles as time permits or as our readers request. If you have a suggestion for anything, please let us know.
Michael Hardin
Is the Apocalypse Inevitable?: Native American Prophecy and the Mimetic Theory presented to the Colloquium on Violence and Religion 2008
Michael's Essay for a Celebration Volume honoring Rene Girard
Does Peace Make A Difference? - Michael's essay in response to Rick Warren's P.E.A.C.E. plan (which somehow never mentions peace).
An Analysis of Rick Warren - Michael's response to "The Purpose Driven Life."
"The God of Pat Robertson" - a response to Pat Robertson's words to the people of Dover, PA.
"A response to Charles Stanley's "A Nation at War"
"Must God be violent? A Diagnosis and Prescription for Modern Christianity"
The Scapegoat: Christologies in Conflict - A Study in Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Biblical Testaments as a Marriage of Convenience: Rene Girard and Biblical Interpretation
Finding Our Way Home: A Brief Note On The Authority and Interpretation of Scripture
"Does The Passion of the Christ Preach the Gospel?"
A sermon for the holiday devoted to Dr. Martin Luther King. (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
GRASPING GOD: Philippians 2: 1-11 in the Light of Mimetic Theory
Rene Girard and the Recovery of Early Christian Perspectives (Brethren Life and Thought)
The Dynamics of Violence and the Imitation of Christ in Maximus Confessor (St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly)
"EcoSpirituality"
Or What Happens When You Sit Down With A French Literary Critic
Jeff Krantz
Mighty One or Crucified Messiah? Competing Christologies and the Chiastic Structure of Mark's Gospel
There's No Such Thing as the Rapture - A sermon preached at the Church of the Advent, Westbury (requires Acrobat Reader)
Holy Scripture and the Consecration of Gene Robinson - a response to the request of the Windsor Report for a Scriptural rationale. (requires Adobe's Acrobat Reader)
Worship - The Redemption of Desire by Jeff Krantz
Myth and Film - a piece written for the City of Angels Film Festival
The Stations of the Cross - Rewritten by Jeff Krantz
A Dramatic Presentation of the Stations of the Cross for Youth by Barb Fabijan-Waddell
Escaping the Power of "My" - A NonViolent Approach to Stewardship
Preaching Peace in Hollywood: The Theologies of Terminator, Lord of the Rings, and the Matrix
V for Vendetta - The Name Says It All A review of the movie.
Essays, Sermons and Liturgical Pieces by Friends of Preaching Peace
Mark Heim's "No More of This" - A hymn on Nonviolent Atonement
Kate Layzer's "No More of This" - A hymn on Nonviolent Atonement (and inspiration for Mark Heim's hymn!)
Alan Cork, "Transformation" in L'Arche: A Mimetic Account presented to the Colloquium on Violence and Religion 2008
"The Wisdom of God's Peace" a sermon by Jim Amstutz, co-pastor of Michael's church.
Girard's Christology - Per Bjornar Grande
Violence, Anarchy and Scripture: Jacques Ellul and Rene Girard - Matthew Patillo
Comparing Plato's Understanding of Mimesis to Girard's - Per Bjorner Grande
C. Frank Terhune, an Easter Sermon: "God's Big But" (no kidding!)
Gerald Biesecker-Mast's paper from Theologia Pacis on Pacifist Gospel Epstimology.
An essay by the Rev. John Hill on Mimetic Theory and Catechesis
The Scapegoat: Christologies in Conflict - A Study in Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Biblical Testaments as a Marriage of Convenience: Rene Girard and Biblical Interpretation
"A response to Charles Stanley's "A Nation at War"
"Must God be violent? A Diagnosis and Prescription for Modern Christianity"
Introductory Articles
We will add articles as we are able, or as users of the site request them, so if you have suggestions for additional pieces, please write to us!
"Introduction to Mimetic Theory"
"Jesus"
Finding Our Way Home: A Brief Note on the Authority and Interpretation of Scripture
Scholars have long struggled with the many sides of the legacy of Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, enough one might say that at times, the various portraits of Bonhoeffer
that have emerged make one feel as though the real Bonhoeffer may never be
known. Or it may well be that as one theologian has put it, “Bonhoeffer’s
writings are like a Rorschach ink blot test.” Apparently it is not possible
to exegete Bonhoeffer, only to engage in eisegesis.
Stephen Haynes book The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon tackles this issue head on. This is a book that will no doubt irritate many a Bonhoeffer interpreter, but if it shakes up the all too dominant articulation of Bonhoeffer by the ‘inner circle’ of Bonhoeffer scholars who make up the International Bonhoeffer Society then some good will come of it.
Many of us who have engaged Bonhoeffer or who have made academic careers becoming Bonhoeffer specialists do not like to be pigeon-holed. We prefer to see ourselves as objective observers. Yet with Bonhoeffer we may well face our greatest challenge. One of the assets of a book like The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon is that it challenges one to come to grips with the particular lens by which one tends to read Bonhoeffer.
Haynes categories belie the major trends in Bonhoeffer interpretation: Seer (the radical Bonhoeffer), Prophet (the liberal Bonhoeffer), Apostle (the conservative Bonhoeffer), Bridge (the universal Bonhoeffer), Saint (St Dietrich??), Cult (Bonhoeffer dramas, plays, movies and pilgrimages). Each chapter is loaded with references to those, who each in their turn, have taken a stab at Bonhoeffer; scarcely a scholar, writer or lecturer is spared (thankfully, perhaps, Haynes has not yet read our work on preachingpeace.org!). The extensive notes are worth the price of the book.
At times, we sensed that Haynes was writing tongue in cheek, but the wry wit and critical analysis of Haynes make a fine combination. We would recommend this book as a fine survey of approaches to Bonhoeffer and await the sequel.
