René Girard and secular modernity : Christ, culture, and crisis

274 Pages·2013·1.04 MB·English

by  Girard

RENÉ GIRARD AND
SECULAR MODERNITY
Christ, Culture, and Crisis
SCOTT COWDELL
René GiRaRd and
SeculaR ModeRnity

René GiRaRd and
SeculaR ModeRnity
Christ, Culture, and Crisis
Scott cowdell
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana
Copyright © 2013 University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
www.undpress.nd.edu
All Rights Reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Bible quotations are from the 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.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Cowdell, Scott.
René Girard and secular modernity : Christ, culture, and crisis / Scott
Cowdell.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-268-02374-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-268-02374-3
(pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-268-07697-9 (e-book)
1. Girard, René, 1923– 2. Secularization. 3. Violence. 4. Civilization,
Modern—20th century. 5. Philosophical theology. 6. Philosophy,
French—20th century. 7. Philosophy, Modern—20th century. I. Title.
B2430.G494C69 2013
194—dc23
2013000465
∞ The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council on Library Resources.
In Memoriam
Joan MeyeRS
1923–2009
Many waters cannot quench love . . .
Song of Songs 8:7

contentS
ix
Preface
1
Introduction
CHAPTER 1 17
Mimesis, Modernity, and Madness
CHAPTER 2 57
Violence, the Sacred Canopy
CHAPTER 3 83
Scripture and Secularization
CHAPTER 4 117
Modern Institutions and Violence
CHAPTER 5 143
War, Terror, Apocalypse
169
Conclusion
185
Notes
225
Bibliography
243
Index

PReface
I came late to René Girard, and after three false starts. In the early
1990s, when I was completing my PhD dissertation on the unique-
ness and finality of Jesus, I discovered and was much influenced by
Walter Wink on the New Testament “powers and principalities,”
though without appreciating Girard’s influence on Wink’s trilogy. In
the late 1990s I was asked to review Why Must There Be Scapegoats?
by the Girardian Jesuit theologian Raymund Schwager, but I could
make neither head nor tail of it. I attended a gathering of Australian
Anglican theologians where Girard’s work was introduced, and again
things failed to spark. What finally awakened me from my dogmatic
slumbers was an invitation in 2004 to review James Alison’s book On
Being Liked. The time was right, and I was hooked.
Here was an intellectual vision of great simplicity and power,
combined with a level of spiritual and psychological insight that has
helped me greatly both personally and professionally. Reading Alison
and Girard followed, then other Girardians. I advanced some way
toward my own Girardian synthesis in a 2009 book, Abiding Faith:
Christianity Beyond Certainty, Anxiety, and Violence, but it became
clear to me that I needed to learn a lot more about Girard before pro-
ceeding with my longer- term theological project. Hence this volume,
which undertakes a Girardian account of secular modernity.
I am grateful for a relatively new and (in Australia) rare oppor-
tunity to be doing this type of work more or less uninterrupted, so I
thank Charles Sturt University for a Research Fellowship in Public
and Contextual Theology. Within the life of our Research Center,
based in Australia’s national capital, I thank Rev. Prof. James Haire,
AC, our director, for his support and encouragement, along with my
colleague Wayne Hudson for valuable conversations. My thanks also
| ix