So What?
The scapegoating mechanism, in order
to be effective in dissipating mimetic rage, must operate beneath the level
of consciousness. The Gospel disarms this mechanism by rendering it visible.
On this Sunday, we enter into a season
of repentance, of turning (again) from our violent gods to the God and Father
of Jesus. We do that by letting the Gospel open our eyes to our own participation
in the mechanisms that differentiate, that exclude, that starve and murder
the other.
Like Ebenezer Scrooge, we close our eyes
to the real costs of our choices because, like Scrooge and his “church,”
we believe neither in “interdividuality” nor forgiveness, and
because of this, we can’t stand what we might see. If only we believed
in the forgiveness of sin that results from God’s sacrifice on the Cross.
If only we could see the way that our self-blame just makes us into a new
generation of scapegoats for a deeper human sin that affects everyone, not
just us.
In our story today, Jesus does not condemn
himself, or even Satan. He simply makes (new) choices. He chooses to trust
God for his bread. He chooses to ascribe all power and majesty to God, and
not to a political system or himself. He chooses to believe in a God who does
not need to be tested. All positive choices, none that exclude or revile.
All positive mimesis, as he imitates the One he has come to know as “abba.”
Positive mimesis is possible for us,
too. We need not revile others who choose differently to make (new) choices
for ourselves. We need not revile ourselves for the choices we have made,
these things only add to mimetic contagion.
It is painful for us to have our own
participation in mimetic violence brought to consciousness, but only because
we are still caught up in the idea of a dualistic, localized kind of responsibility
that enables the scapegoating mechanism to function. The Gospel does not only
set us free from the death that goes with those old choices, it sets us free
to face them.
As preachers, bathe your congregations
in forgiveness, in newness, in possibility, then, and only then, invite them
to follow Jesus on this path to the Father.
Anthropological Reading
“The Bible is not like a book of
edification, telling us many stories of humanity’s temptations and their
overcoming. To be precise, the Bible tells only two temptation stories, the
temptation of the first man and the temptation of Christ, that is the temptation
that led to humanity’s’ fall, and the temptation which led to
Satan's fall. All other temptations in human history have to do with these
two stories of temptation. Either we are tempted in Adam or we are tempted
in Christ. Either the Adam in me is tempted – in which case we fall.
Or the Christ in us is tempted – in which case Satan is bound to fall.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Creation and Fall/Temptation (New York: Macmillian, 1978)
This is fundamental for understanding
today’s narrative. For here we have not do with temptation in general,
but specifically with the temptation put before God in Jesus’ relationship
with his ‘abba.’ Furthermore, there is something else going on
here that is easily overlooked when the temptation narratives are placed within
a moral framework, as simply the choice between good and evil. Our society
is oriented around the premise that because we are able to discern good from
evil, we are responsible for our choices. The Scriptures point us in another
direction. It is precisely the knowledge of good and evil that is the problem,
not the solution to our dilemma. Why is this so?
We recall that the victimage mechanism
generates ‘human culture’ and that law as ritual and prohibition
are generated by the mimetic mechanism. Furthermore, the victim, when sacralized,
generates a dualism, which is nothing more than the knowledge of good and
evil. And as Bonhoeffer has pointed out and the apostle Paul long before him,
humanity tends to look a lot more like Adam when tempted than Jesus.
In addition, the Christian church has
long wrestled with problems associated with both Augustine and Calvin that
play a significant role in how we understand temptation, namely the doctrines
of (so-called) election and free will. Paul Sponheim has clearly articulated
this in Christian Dogmatics. He points out that there are three essential
elements which a purely monistic reading of the biblical text misses. The
first is that God is for us as sin is not, the second is the ‘against-Godness’
of sin. Third, faith recognizes that sin is not only something I do against
myself but that ‘it is also by me.’ The value of Sponheim’s
discussion in terms of mimetic theory is that it addresses the critical problem
of the origin of evil in anthropological terms.
If we do not insist in playing our anthropology
on the Cartesian (Platonic) keyboard we observe that we are no longer enslaved
to the notion of ‘individuality’ that seems to underlie so much
of the discussion from Augustine to Calvin and Descartes and all the way into
the 21st century. Rather, we shall be able to see the ‘interdividual’
character of human relations and the corporate character of human personality.
Yet all of this is in the context of the revelation of mimesis in the cross
and resurrection of Jesus, thus also showing us that there is a positive way
to relate to God, the creation and others. Or as the apostle Paul might put
it, the only real ‘I’ is the ‘I’ created in me in
Christ. The ‘I’ that I think I am is really just a mimetic phenomenon.
So Bonhoeffer is correct in this regard
to observe that it is essential to place the temptation story of Jesus next
to that of Adam. We are suggesting that Adam’s temptation and sin are
the story of negative mimesis, while that of Jesus is one of positive mimesis.
Jesus does not engage in a moral conversation with the devil; he chooses the
Father’s will.
There is a certain analogy we would like
to introduce into the discussion of Jesus’ temptation. From this analogy
we may be able to focus the issues behind the temptations and we shall also
be able to demonstrate the rejection of the deus ex machina by Jesus.
The analogy is from the story of Grandfather,
the Apache shaman who taught Tom Brown Jr. (Grandfather). Grandfather taught
that there are three demons, self-doubt, the distractions of the logical mind
and ego. Each of these has an apparent analogy in the three temptations of
Jesus. The temptation to turn the stones into bread can be seen as the temptation
of self-doubt regarding empowerment. Failure in this case becomes the act
of self-preservation, success, the trusting God who feeds even the sparrows.
The temptation to receive the kingdoms of the world then tests Jesus’
ego. It questions how highly he values himself over others. Failure here would
be for Jesus to accept power within a mimetic system, to acknowledge that
negative mimesis, rivalry, violence and scapegoating were to be given ultimate
honor. Success is Jesus’ decision to live and speak as though nothing
else but his abba’s honor was important.
Interestingly, the temptation to prove
God is a hermeneutic test. Satan has a view of God that he would like Jesus
to consider. He even quotes Scripture to support his assertion. The attempt
is to create a distraction for Jesus. The distraction diverts Jesus’
attention from his abba to a false god, a deus ex machina. This distraction,
this false god Jesus utterly ignores; he knows the Creator abba is not like
the gods of religion. This is completely consonant with our understanding
of Jesus’ peace orientation throughout his ministry.
It should not surprise us to find such
a close analogy in a shamanic tradition. Whether or not Jesus'’ temptations
actually occurred in the manner narrated is not as important as recognizing
the three archetypal temptations that beset humans. They run far deeper than
we know or imagine. In every case, Jesus is being tempted to reconsider who
he believes the Creator abba to be. In every case, for Jesus, there is an
implicit rejection of the deus ex machina, the god of power and might, the
god(s) of religion.
We may find that over time, we too can
begin to see the pattern of testing that lies before each of us. We may find
that we are more Adamic than we may think or wish. But for Luke, we are also
given the possibility of becoming Adamic, truly human once again, as bearers
of the Spirit.
Historical/Cultural
In the story of the temptation of Jesus
we are faced with the historical conundrum: did it happen this way? Or do
we have here an idealized portrait? For the Evangelical, since the Bible is
God’s Word, the story happened exactly as it is told, these are Jesus’
real temptations. For Evangelicals, the point of the temptation narrative
is that Jesus uses ‘God’s Word’ to combat the devil. The
success of the temptation narrative proves Jesus divinity. For scholars, on
the other hand, the temptation narrative is an idealized portrait which may
(or may not) assert Jesus’ sinlessness. Again, the success of the temptation
narrative proves his divinity (which in turn “proves” it is a
community saying).
More discerning scholars will find that
it is of a piece with Jesus’ exorcisms and mission, and that while crafted
by the community, it nonetheless retains a consistency with the rest of the
Jesus tradition. Jesus temptation has nothing to do with his divinity and
everything to do with his humanity. To assert otherwise is to begin with gnostic
presuppositions and thus falsify the purpose of the story.
There is a category in which to place
the temptation narrative that is rarely used in biblical scholarship: the
testing of the apprentice shaman. Jesus, who will receive the power of God
in fullness, evidenced by the gift of the Spirit, will undergo his ‘final
exam’ to see if he is ready. All other tests he may have faced before
this were trial runs for what he would face in the desert.
Western scholarship and the church would
do well to become acquainted with what Native Americans would call a Vision
Quest, it’s purpose, it’s function and it’s value. They
would find that such as Jesus experienced is not out of the ordinary, they
would find that it is perfectly human.
Finally, we observe that Luke also views
the temptation narrative this way as his geneology of Jesus stretches all
the way back to Adam. It is Jesus the second or new Adam that is being portrayed.
Either
this page has not yet been completed, or we have not found any significant textual
issues in the lectionary texts for this Sunday.
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"
"Mimesis"
"The
Scapegoat"
"The
Pillars of Culture"
"Jesus"
"The
Four Gospels"
A Brief Introduction
to Luke
What's New: (Hover your mouse over to pause cycling)
New Piece
"Does The
Passion of the Christ Preach the Gospel?"
Dt 26:1-11
Ps 91:1-2,9-16
Rom 10:8b-13
Lk 4:1-13
(Deuteronomy 26:1-11)
When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an
inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take
some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the
land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket
and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his
name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to
him, "Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the
land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us." When the priest
takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD
your God, you shall make this response before the LORD your God: "A wandering
Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien,
few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When
the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor
on us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our
voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The LORD brought
us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying
display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this
place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I
bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me."
You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD
your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among
you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given
to you and to your house.
(Romans 10:8b-13)
"The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart" (that is,
the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips
that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart
and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The
scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame."
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of
all and is generous to all who call on him. For, "Everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord shall be saved. "
(Luke 4:1-13)
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the
Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.
The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone
to become a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written,
'One does not live by bread alone.'" Then the devil led him up and showed
him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him,
"To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been
given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship
me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Worship
the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" Then the devil took him to Jerusalem,
and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you
are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, 'He
will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' and 'On their hands
they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"
Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the
test.'" When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him
until an opportune time.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright
1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches
of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
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
Michael's Response to Willard Swartley's Covenent of Peace at the November Colloquium and Violence Meeting
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
"Jesus and the Gibeonites: Reading the Bible from the Perspective of the Hidden Victim" by James Warren.
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
