Mimetic Theory and Biblical Interpretation: Reclaiming the Good News of the Gospel

by Michael Hardin

For close to two thousand years, Christian theology has been captivated by a sacrificial rendering of the Gospel that renders God as retributive, arbitrary, and Janus-faced. In the past fifty years a non-sacrificial way of perceiving the Gospel, God, and the mission and message of Jesus has challenged this sacrificial hegemony. Now what began as a trickle in the 1960s has burst the dam and the Gospel is on a collision course with Christianity. What are some of the implications of this moment? What is the integral cohesion in a non-sacrificial theology, ethics, and spirituality? What does Christian doctrine look like if one removes retributive economies of exchange? "The Gospel is on a collision course with Christianity, Michael Hardin says. It's time to leave the two-faced God of conventional Christianity behind and discover (at last!) the nonviolent character of God revealed in the one face of the crucified Christ. Sound intriguing? Don't miss Mimetic Theory and Biblical Interpretation. It's bold, clear, and needed now more than ever." --Brian D. McLaren, author of The Great Spiritual Migration   "One of Rene Girard's most capable and creative interpreters is Michael Hardin. In this gripping and succinct volume Hardin demonstrates that Girard's views of sacred violence, sacrifice, and the scapegoat were not original with him, but the Bible; Girard's nonviolent God and forgiving-victim Jesus are not contemporary innovations, but are deeply rooted not only within the scriptures, but orthodox Christian theology. This is a wonderful short introduction to the theological and biblical implications of Girard." --John E. Phelan Jr., Senior Professor of Theological Studies, North Park Theological Seminary   "This is a passionate statement connecting Girardian theory with the interpretation of the Bible in the modern US context, with a dash of Barthianism thrown in for good measure. . . . Hardin's uncompromising assessments will challenge some of his readers. But this book has a touch of the prophetic. Its exposes of violence are needed now more than ever."  --Douglas A. Campbell, Professor of New Testament, The Divinity School, Duke University    "What we think about God matters--a matter of life and death for many thousands throughout the centuries of Christian violence. . . . I sincerely believe that this book will shine a light on the path back home to God for those who are disenchanted, disillusioned, and dismayed by the contemporary church. In other words, Michael Hardin has given us back a God stolen from us by the church--a God of immeasurable, unfettered love, endless extravagant grace, and incalculable unbounded redemption." --Sharon L. Putt, Professor of Theology and Religion, Messiah College Michael Hardin is the cofounder and executive director of Preaching Peace, cofounder of Theology and Peace, and is the coeditor of Compassionate Eschatology, editor of Reading the Bible with Rene Girard, and author of the acclaimed The Jesus Driven Life, in addition to other books and essays. With his wife, Lorri, Michael has taken courses for the past decade on wilderness survival and Native American healing traditions. He is a singer/songwriter.

132 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 12, 2017

Reviews

[Naum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aptly titled -- is a splendid primer to mimetic theory & biblical interpretation -- a short, breezy, little over 100+ pages. A short concise summation of what mimetic theory is all about, then into subsequent chapters where biblical interpretation and how it's affected by the advances of mimetic theory. The author repeatedly draws out the distinction between a sacrificial (just like any other pagan religion) and non-sacrificial understanding of scripture and the Gospel narrative.

Accessible to lay audience though the text does dip into theological concepts/constructs of atonement and eschatology.

What's terrific are all the referential pointers for a reader to go deeper. Not just in the Bibliography, but sprinkled throughout text are blurbs that direct you to go deeper. And a nice Postlude with pointers on where to explore further, if the reader is interested in various aspects covered in this short volume.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good stuff here. Still wrestling with how to understand violence in the scriptures. This was a really helpful contribution to the conversation.

[Joel Aguilar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Hardin has done it again. This is an excellent overview of mimetic theory and biblical interpretation. The author gives us a brief encounter with mimetic theory in a way that people who are not familiar with MT can begin to learn about it. The point that I found extremely helpful was the ethics and spirituality chapter. Hardin's take on the eucharist is eye opening and challenging.

[Mark Wendland · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review of this book can be found at The Englewood Review of Books (http://englewoodreview.org/michael-ha...) and my WordPress blog (https://readingsinmoderntheology.word...)

[Jonathas Almeida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind-blowing. I lernt so much. The approach of taking communion is fascinating.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

very very good

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent "reclamation."