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
Creation
Alister McGrath (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005) 82 pages
If you have been searching for a book to use with a Sunday School class or a Bible Study group that treats the doctrine of Creation search no further. McGrath has written a brief but stimulating volume that more than adequately treats the subject of creation with acumen and piety.
McGrath, Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford, is well known for his many books. I recall devouring his work on both Calvin and Luther and his Christian Theology: An Introduction is as fine a text on the subject as is available today. In tandem with Fortress Press, McGrath is writing a series Truth and Christian Imagination of which Creation is the first volume.
Unlike so many dogmatic works on creation, McGrath is intensely interested in the aesthetic aspects of creation, including spirituality. Each chapter (seven of them) is a reflection that is biblical, theological, aesthetic and prayerful. Beautifully illustrated with the artwork of Blake, Rubens, de Flandes, Michelangelo and others, McGrath weaves a tapestry chapter by chapter, each of which invites the reader to consider the creation in the light of the totality of Scripture. Where most treatments of creation become bogged down in discussions of evolution or scientific minutiae, McGrath seeks to lead the reader from theology to worship. “We must do more than simply think about our faith. It needs to percolate throughout our minds, hearts and souls, saturating every aspect of our existence.”
Doctrine is more than just logic for McGrath it is also about imagination, indeed McGrath speaks of ‘the discipleship of the imagination.’ It is imagination ‘following Jesus’ that sets apart McGrath’s discussion of creation. In a bold stroke, McGrath has chapters that explicate this discipleship with regard to creation, chapters on human responsibility for the earth and developing a spirituality of creation. His appropriation of these themes echoes the work of Moltmann, McFague, and Douglas Hall among others.
Finally, each chapter ends with a brief prayer, a tacit acknowledgement that the discipleship of our imagination properly ends in gratitude and worship. This book is an excellent introduction on what constitutes a ‘Christian’ doctrine of creation and is especially recommended for clergy who seek worthy books to place in the hands of their parishioners. (If used in a study group we would recommend considering two sessions per chapter. It would be a pity to shortchange the discussion this volume will produce.)
Reviewed by Michael Hardin
www.preachingpeace.org
