Truth Advances, Christianity Seemingly Declines, Globalisation Caused By Jesus!?

In this post are some ideas which seem extraordinarily at odds with how most people view the world. I know that they probably don’t make much sense, I can’t say that I understand them much myself after reading about 500 pages of Girard’s work, but there’s some truth here that if I can get anyone to start exploring I’d be thrilled – even if these words seem pure ludicrousness and offensive at first! The 500 pages, whilst I can’t write a persuasive summary in one blog post, are the MOST persuasive thing I’ve ever read. Maybe you should read ‘I See Satan Fall Like Lightning’ for yourself?

Check out these (seemingly) audacious claims:

Christian truth has been making an unrelenting historical advance in our world. Paradoxically, it goes hand in hand with the apparent decline of Christianity. The more Christianity besieges our world, in the sense that it besieged Nietzsche before his collapse, the more difficult it becomes to escape it by means of innocuous painkillers and tranquilizers such as the “humanistic” compromises of our dear old positivist predecessors.

Rene Girard, i See Satan Fall Like Lightning, 174.

So the core of Christian truth is the concern for the victim. Jesus exposes the lie of rivalry and scapegoating in his death and resurrection. Now that the entire world has seen it, they can’t ignore the innocent victim. The Christian revelation is the root of this concern which now pervades all of humanity. We’ve been hoodwinked to think that ‘Christianity’ is not essentially about concern for the victim, but more about victimisation. Sure the ‘religion’ that people have built in Jesus’ name has often perpetuated oppression and victimisation, but that’s not Jesus – that’s the lie that humanity has believed. So we continue perpetuating ‘mimetic rivalry’ and ‘scapegoating’ but we just make it about who can have the most concern for the victims instead! Whilst the ‘religion’ may be in decline, the truth of the Gospel is stronger than ever, in as much as what it exposes the world can’t deny – it’s the one thing that unites the globe together.

There were those who told us not long ago that human life existed in an absolute void of meaning. True enough, the old absolutes have collapsed – humanism, rationalism, revolution, science itself. And yet even today this absolute void does not prevail. There is the concern for victims, and it is that value, for better or for worse, that dominates the total planetary culture in which we live.

Rene Girard, i See Satan Fall Like Lightning, 177.

Postmodernism tells us truth is subjective. You have truth for you, I have truth for me. That we should tolerate everyone’s views, and by ‘tolerate’ they mean make sure your own views can be tolerated by the intolerant, which isn’t tolerance at all (woooo I’m heading off on a tangent!). Yet, from the study of human cultures, Girard’s shows that the absolute truth of concern for victims is something we all share. This concern for victims has become the idea that unites people all around the globe. It’s not technology, or the economy, but the concern for the victim:

The world becoming one culture is the fruit of this concern and not the reverse. In all the areas of activity – economic, scientific, artistic, and even religious – it is the concern for victims that determines what is most important. This new stage of culture has come about due neither to scientific progress nor to the market economy nor to the “history of metaphysics”.

Rene Girard, i See Satan Fall Like Lightning, 177.

This doesn’t mean that the one world culture is fundamentally ‘Christian’, but rather has its roots in Christian thought. The Judeo-Christian idea of truth has swept the globe. This doesn’t mean that the globalised culture is inherently Christian. In fact, it just perpetuates mimetic rivalry and scapegoating under the guise of concern for the victim (same old trick, same old lie – just with a reaalllllly convincing marketing campaign!). I think (!?) I could demonstrate how it’s just the same old lie and doesn’t match the truth of Jesus, although it seemingly does, but I think I’ve said more than enough confusing stufffor one post!

Some interesting thoughts though! What do you think? Would you dare to read his work?? I think his argument is utterly convincing – but I’ve just presented some of his conclusions here to hopefully pique your interest and get you thinking. His work is long, and pretty academic, so it’s not for the feint of heart, but if anyone is interested I’d love to talk through some of this stuff!

Advertisement