|
|
|
|
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam > Blaise Pascal Instituut > Girard Studiekring > COV&R 2007 > Abstracts Papers
herman wiersinga
The Absolutism of the Christian Religion according to René Girard
Email - Profile - Subtheme # 3 - Paper (in Dutch)
ABSTRACT
Thesis 1: Girard polarizes between the Jewish and the
Christian religion on one side, and the archaic religions on the other side. He
confronts the masking of the innocence of victims in the myths with the
rehabilitation of scapegoats in the Bible (like Job and Jesus). The growing
awareness of the necessity to stop blood-revenge, already apparent within the
Greek tragedies, doesnt play any serious part in Girards work. At the same
time Girard lets many mythical elements in biblical texts unmentioned. The
ecclesiastical doctrine of retribution and atonement, however, can appeal to
many biblical references. In my opinion, also the Bible has not the monopoly of
Girards enlightened anti-sacrificial view.
Thesis 2: You cant call Judaism and Christianity monotheistic religions as such; they carry also polytheistic features. The central theme in Old and New Testament is not monotheism or polytheism, but the totally unambiguous, transparent character of the God of Israel and of Jesus: transparent in his goodness and solidarity. On the other hand, also the classical Greek world of Socrates knew about a daimonion, the unique, divine voice within ourselves. And nota bene: remember the danger of monophily of Mohammed in The Satanic Verses of Salman Rushdie!
Thesis 3: In opposition to Girard I would formulate:
human beings change, and God changes with them. The idea of a God who is
adapting himself to primitive or archaic people is based
on a manipulation of the texts. Girard reads the Bible selectively, and
at the same time he sees it as a description of a proceeding history of mankind,
with - separately a God immune to human concepts and behaviour.
Thesis 4: The dogmatical concept of an original
sin (French: un péché originel) is too much tainted to be used
in the detached way Girard does. Girard uses the term for the misuse of mimesis
(mimicry) and also for the collective mimetism of the crucifixion. The
ecclesiastical use of this technical term includes fatally all people,
while Girard urges us to resist the negative mimetism, refusing all transcendent
doom.
Finally:
My four theses criticize some assertions of René Girard about the uniqueness of Judaism and especially of Christianity. Speaking in such an absolute way, he evokes oppositions which turn out to be too exclusive. In my opinion the necessary dialogues between the different world religions and outlooks in life would be better served with a more modest and postmodern view on our religious convictions. An attitude of relativity can dispel violence and create tolerance.
NB I based this paper on the recent book of René Girard Les origines de la culture, Desclée de Brouwer, 2004, chapter III: Le scandale du christianisme, pp. 103-141.