Let Me Explain

Ummmmmm …..Ahhhhhhhhhh……..Well………..

That is sort of what goes through my mind while trying to explain Girard’s theory of mimesis, which often leads to rivalry…..which often leads to violence (whether verbal, emotional or physical) and why it matters. Trying to explain the scope of something that affects all areas of human interaction from full scale country to country (wars) to individual interactions with our friends, our families and those we come in contact with every day. It is so simple yet it is so complicated. An explanation requires so much background information to explain it properly. It runs DEEP all the while pointing out the shallowness of man. In my heart, I know it to be true but when I try to explain it, I am at a loss for words. The words seem so flat, almost two dimensional. And no matter how eloquent the explanation there must be a willingness on the part of the listener to look at things from a totally different paradigm. If one is steeped in their belief in “righteous wars,” penal substitutionary atonement and “God is a Replican” this is almost incomprehensible. God must do a work in the heart to be ready to accept this….because with acceptance comes the inevitability of having to change. Who wants that responsibility? Yet there it is in Scripture. Ephesians 5:1 states it clearly

Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children;

Girard’s theory, with a more theological slant, declares that as mimetic creatures we are doomed/compelled to imitate; to take on the desires of another (although this process is entirely hidden to us) and who we choose as a model is who we imitate. We can choose to take on the desires of our neighbor with the new SUV or we can choose to follow Jesus with the example he sets for us in the Gospels. God seems to have emphasized the story of Jesus by including four different versions of it in the Bible. Four chances for us to get it right. Other verses that say the same thing include:

Matthew 5:48 "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Luke 6:36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (NASB ©1995)

Keith claims that he understands this theory and can actually see that it has some truth to it, but he thinks it focuses too much on the carnal man, the adamic man….and not enough on the spiritman. The Christman whom we are all destined to (eventually) become. He sees it along the lines of a self help message. In the words of Nike (?) a “Just Do It” kind of thing. Au contraire. Without the enlightenment and empowerment of God through the Holy Spirit, we don’t even have a snowball’s chance in hell (as if there is such a place :) of pulling this off. It is beyond our grasp, beyond our understanding, beyond our ability without divine intervention and empowerment. Paul understood this when he cried out in Romans “Oh wretched man that I am!! Who will save me from this body of death?” His answer is our answer. Christ Jesus.

Following are the links to the two other blog entries on this same subject which inspired these thoughts of mine. I’m not sure if anyone is actually reading this blog….but if you are, you should also check out the Beyond Rivalry blog and the Preaching Peace blog. They are both along the same line of thought as this one (although Beyond Rivalry focuses on a whole bunch more…Simple Living, Gardening, Cooking) and they have been at it a lot longer.

http://beyondrivalry.blogspirit.com/archive/2007/06/11/infiltration.html

http://preachingpeace.blogs.com/preaching_peace/2007/06/second_nature.html