René Girard, Unlikely Apologist

René Girard, Unlikely Apologist PDF Author: Grant Kaplan
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN: 0268100888
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
Since the late 1970s, theologians have been attempting to integrate mimetic theory into different fields of theology, yet a distrust of mimetic theory persists in some theological camps. In René Girard, Unlikely Apologist: Mimetic Theory and Fundamental Theology, Grant Kaplan brings mimetic theory into conversation with theology both to elucidate the relevance of mimetic theory for the discipline of fundamental theology and to understand the work of René Girard within a theological framework. Rather than focus on Christology or atonement theory as the locus of interaction between Girard and theology, Kaplan centers his discussion on the apologetic quality of mimetic theory and the impact of mimetic theory on fundamental theology, the subdiscipline that grew to replace apologetics. His book explores the relation between Girard and fundamental theology in several keys. In one, it understands mimetic theory as a heuristic device that allows theological narratives and positions to become more intelligible and, by so doing, makes theology more persuasive. In another key, Kaplan shows how mimetic theory, when placed in dialogue with particular theologians, can advance theological discussion in areas where mimetic theory has seldom been invoked. On this level the book performs a dialogue with theology that both revisits earlier theological efforts and also demonstrates how mimetic theory brings valuable dimensions to questions of fundamental theology.

René Girard, Unlikely Apologist

René Girard, Unlikely Apologist PDF Author: Grant Kaplan
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN: 0268100888
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 222

Get Book

Book Description
Since the late 1970s, theologians have been attempting to integrate mimetic theory into different fields of theology, yet a distrust of mimetic theory persists in some theological camps. In René Girard, Unlikely Apologist: Mimetic Theory and Fundamental Theology, Grant Kaplan brings mimetic theory into conversation with theology both to elucidate the relevance of mimetic theory for the discipline of fundamental theology and to understand the work of René Girard within a theological framework. Rather than focus on Christology or atonement theory as the locus of interaction between Girard and theology, Kaplan centers his discussion on the apologetic quality of mimetic theory and the impact of mimetic theory on fundamental theology, the subdiscipline that grew to replace apologetics. His book explores the relation between Girard and fundamental theology in several keys. In one, it understands mimetic theory as a heuristic device that allows theological narratives and positions to become more intelligible and, by so doing, makes theology more persuasive. In another key, Kaplan shows how mimetic theory, when placed in dialogue with particular theologians, can advance theological discussion in areas where mimetic theory has seldom been invoked. On this level the book performs a dialogue with theology that both revisits earlier theological efforts and also demonstrates how mimetic theory brings valuable dimensions to questions of fundamental theology.

René Girard and the Nonviolent God

René Girard and the Nonviolent God PDF Author: Scott Cowdell
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN: 0268104565
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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Book Description
In his latest book on the ground-breaking work of René Girard (1923–2015), Scott Cowdell sets out a new perspective on mimetic theory and theology: he develops the proposed connection between Girardian thought and theological dramatic theory in new directions, engaging with issues of evolutionary suffering and divine providence, inclusive Christian uniqueness, God's judgment, nonviolent atonement, and the spiritual life. Cowdell reveals a powerful, illuminating, and life-enhancing synergy between mimetic theory and Christianity at its best. With religion widely seen as increasingly violent and intransigent, the true Christian emphasis on divine solidarity, mercy, and healing is in danger of being lost. René Girard provides a countervailing voice. He emerges from Cowdell's study not only as a necessary dialogue partner for theology today, but as a global prophet offering hope and challenge in equal measure. René Girard was a Catholic cultural theorist whose mimetic theory achieved a powerful symbiosis of social science with scripture and theology, yielding a unique perspective on humanity’s origins, violent history, and future prospects. Cowdell maps this synergy, revealing theological themes present from Girard’s earliest writings to the latest, less-familiar publications. He resolves a number of theological challenges to Girard’s work, engaging mimetic theory in fruitful dialogue with key themes, movements, and thinkers in theology today. Bringing a distinctive Anglican voice to a largely Catholic debate, Cowdell gives an orthodox theological account of Girard’s intellectual achievement, bearing witness to Christianity’s nonviolent God. This book will be of great interest to theologians, seminarians and clergy of all traditions, Girardians, and Christian peace activists.

Wandering in Darkness

Wandering in Darkness PDF Author: Eleonore Stump
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191056316
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 688

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Book Description
Only the most naïve or tendentious among us would deny the extent and intensity of suffering in the world. Can one hold, consistently with the common view of suffering in the world, that there is an omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly good God? This book argues that one can. Wandering in Darkness first presents the moral psychology and value theory within which one typical traditional theodicy, namely, that of Thomas Aquinas, is embedded. It explicates Aquinas's account of the good for human beings, including the nature of love and union among persons. Eleonore Stump also makes use of developments in neurobiology and developmental psychology to illuminate the nature of such union. Stump then turns to an examination of narratives. In a methodological section focused on epistemological issues, the book uses recent research involving autism spectrum disorder to argue that some philosophical problems are best considered in the context of narratives. Using the methodology argued for, the book gives detailed, innovative exegeses of the stories of Job, Samson, Abraham and Isaac, and Mary of Bethany. In the context of these stories and against the backdrop of Aquinas's other views, Stump presents Aquinas's own theodicy, and shows that Aquinas's theodicy gives a powerful explanation for God's allowing suffering. She concludes by arguing that this explanation constitutes a consistent and cogent defense for the problem of suffering.

Evolution and Conversion

Evolution and Conversion PDF Author: René Girard
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350018244
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
Evolution and Conversion explores the main tenets of René Girard's thought in a series of dialogues. Here, Girard reflects on the evolution of his thought and offers striking new insights on topics such as violence, religion, desire and literature. His long argument is a historical one in which the origin of culture and religion is reunited in the contemporary world by means of a reinterpretation of Christianity and an understanding of the intrinsically violent nature of human beings. He also offers provocative re-readings of Biblical and literary texts and responds to statements by Daniel Dennett and Richard Dawkins. Including an introduction by the authors, this is a revealing text by one of the most original thinkers of our time.

Evolution of Desire

Evolution of Desire PDF Author: Cynthia L Haven
Publisher: MSU Press
ISBN: 1628953306
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
René Girard (1923–2015) was one of the leading thinkers of our era—a provocative sage who bypassed prevailing orthodoxies to offer a bold, sweeping vision of human nature, human history, and human destiny. His oeuvre, offering a “mimetic theory” of cultural origins and human behavior, inspired such writers as Milan Kundera and J. M. Coetzee, and earned him a place among the forty “immortals” of the Académie Française. Too often, however, his work is considered only within various academic specializations. This first-ever biographical study takes a wider view. Cynthia L. Haven traces the evolution of Girard’s thought in parallel with his life and times. She recounts his formative years in France and his arrival in a country torn by racial division, and reveals his insights into the collective delusions of our technological world and the changing nature of warfare. Drawing on interviews with Girard and his colleagues, Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard provides an essential introduction to one of the twentieth century’s most controversial and original minds.

Continental Philosophy and Theology

Continental Philosophy and Theology PDF Author: Colby Dickinson
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004376038
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 111

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Book Description
Continental Philosophy and Theology illustrates the perceived tension between these fields: one is seemingly concerned with destroying normative, metaphysical order and the other with preserving religious identity in the face of secularism. He calls for a nondualistic theology concerned with complexity and comparative inquiry in order to realign their relationship.

An Atheist's History of Belief

An Atheist's History of Belief PDF Author: Matthew Kneale
Publisher: Catapult
ISBN: 1619023717
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
What first prompted prehistoric man, sheltering in the shadows of deep caves, to call upon the realm of the spirits? And why has belief thrived since, shaping thousands of generations of shamans, pharaohs, Aztec priests and Mayan rulers, Jews, Buddhists, Christians, Nazis, and Scientologists? As our dreams and nightmares have changed over the millennia, so have our beliefs. The gods we created have evolved and mutated with us through a narrative fraught with human sacrifice, political upheaval and bloody wars. Belief was man's most epic labor of invention. It has been our closest companion, and has followed mankind across the continents and through history.

Édith Piaf

Édith Piaf PDF Author: David Looseley
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 1781388598
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
The world-famous French singer Édith Piaf (1915-63) was never just a singer. This book suggests new ways of understanding her, her myth and her meanings over time at home and abroad, by proposing the notion of an ‘imagined’ Piaf.

Rene Girard

Rene Girard PDF Author: Chris Fleming
Publisher: Polity
ISBN: 9780745629476
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
In recent years there has been a renewed interest in the work of Rene Girard, thought by many to be one of the most important, if controversial, cultural theorists of the twentieth century. Girard's work is extraordinarily innovative and wide-ranging, cutting across central concerns in philosophy, psychoanalysis, literary theory, anthropology, theology, and sociology. In this much-needed introduction, Chris Fleming traces the development of Girard's thought over forty years, describing the context in which he worked and his influence on a number of disciplines. He unpacks the hypotheses at the centre of Girard's thought - mimetic desire, surrogate victimage and scapegoating, myth, ritual, and the sacred - and provides an assessment of Girard's place in the contemporary academy. Comprehensive and clearly written, this book constitutes an excellent overview of Girard's work and is essential reading for students and researchers in continental philosophy, theology, literary studies, French studies, and cultural studies.

Theology of Revelation

Theology of Revelation PDF Author: Rene Latourelle
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1608991423
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 521

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Book Description
For fruitful discussion within the Church, for a meaningful dialogue with other Christians, for the renewal of the theology of preaching--for these and many other reasons, we need a new understanding of the nature of revelation. The usual apologetical treatment of revelation, bent on proving its existence, touches but the fringe of the reality. Our day and age needs a theology of revelation which probes the nature, depths and dimensions of the mystery. Father Latourelle's study is a significant contribution in this unfurrowed field, and may well be recognized as a landmark for years to come. His treatment of scriptural data on the notion of revelation is grounded on the advances of twentieth century exegesis. He admirably handles the multifaceted Old Testament notion of revelation; and his detailed study of the Synoptics, Acts, Paul, and John heightens the point that the Old Testament's revelation foreshadowed the New, and the New is only intelligible against the background of the Old. His summary of the patristic idea of revelation is erudite and stimulating, and probes the thoughts of twenty writers from the Apostolic Fathers to Augustine. The richness of patristic insight contrasts sharply with later theological studies of the nature of revelation. His study of the theological thought of the scholastic and neo-scholastic schools is critical and informative. Their approach culminated in overstressing the apologetical aspects of revelation--a course which modern theology is abandoning to re-discover a theology of revelation that is Christ-centered, Scriptural, historical and interpersonal. In treating of the magisterium, the author presents a splendid analysis of official documents from Trent to Vatican II, and his summary underscores the point that the Church documents present a view of revelation that closely resembles that of the biblical and patristic sources. The author's personal reflections enable us to view many aspects of revelation in a new light. He draws on the insights of modern linguistics to give a new dimension to revelation's traditional definition, locutio Dei. He elucidates the point that revelation is neither event alone nor word alone--its structure is sacramental and consists of events interpreted by word . . . In dealing with preaching, miracles and other themes, Father Latourelle combines wide erudition and lucidity, and his work stands as a major contribution to modern theological thought.