Publisher's Synopsis
Mimetic theory is an account of how religion, culture and violence are interrelated. Its three principal parts consist of: an assertion of the 'mimetic' (i.e. imitated or derivative nature of desire); the function of 'scapegoating' as a means of achieving and maintaining social cohesion; the gospel revelation as the means by which these truths of the human condition are made known to us. A general introduction to his work will comprise an exposition of these three parts or phases in Girard's thinking. In Girard and Theology, Michael Kirwan looks at these ideas and their relevance to theology as well as their reception in the development of 'dramatic theology' and new theological concepts of atonement and sacrifice.