Girard For Dummies...

I am on a "Girardian" list on ecu.net. I came across the rather scholarly list when Girard's teachings were a major focus for me and the group I hang out with in cyberspace. We even did a book study together on one of Rene' Girard's books. Brian, a friend from cyberspace, hosted the study on his message board, The Beautiful Heresy. You can find the thread, I See Satan Fall clear at the bottom of the page under Book Studies.

I am not sure how mimesis/mimetic rivalry fits together with "awakening" kind of teachings. Clearly, mimetic rivalry seems to be part of the egoic mind. Yet, it seems that mimesis is deeply ingrained in our beings for a purpose...be it the fleshly, the soulish or the spiritual part of us....I don't know for sure. Could mimesis be a path to awakening? Perhaps. I don't have it all figured out yet (and probably never will) but I will continue to ponder.

So anyway...the link on the scholarly Girardian list, led to the web site of an interesting guy from Australia...with many interests....all of which seem to be represented on his site. He has quite a few articles that he's written about mimesis/mimetic rivalry. Girard For Dummies was the article recommended on the list. (Note 3-7-10) The above link leads nowhere...but here is another link to a place called the Raven Foundation and a really good...concise, yet thorough..explanaiton of mimesis.

It is a bulleted list of one or two sentence facts, in a sequence, about mimesis which leads to rivalry. Some of the points he makes are:

• Humans are fundamentally imitating creatures. We imitate others. Girard argues that imitation (mimesis) is the most significant fundamental. It is how we learn and grow.

• We imitate the desires of other humans. We learn to desire (things, values etc) by imitating the desire of others. It is not merely that we desire the same things, it is that we imitate the desire. This is called mimetic desire.
• Mimetic Desire leads to rivalry (for the thing desired).
• Rivalry leads to conflict.
• Conflict leads to violence.
• Since we are essentially imitative creatures, we must ask whom we shall imitate? Whose desires shall we imitate? We are creatures who are constructed-by-another. Who will that other be?
• Is it the Father of Jesus Christ who makes us anew with peaceful and loving desire? Or is it the other of distorted desire which continues to enmesh us in pride, rivalry and scapegoating?

1 Corinthians 11:1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Joshua 24:15 Choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

• This is what the phrase in our mission statement – to follow Jesus – truly means. To allow our desires to be shaped through living in Him.

There's more to the list...check it out and check out his site. I think I have one more post in the queue about his writing.....