The Voice of the Scapegoat Series

Dear Reader,
Have you ever struggled with the violence of the Old Testament? With the story of Abraham and Isaac? With how God treats Job? And with the whole idea that God demands the death of sinners, ultimatly calling for the death of Jesus to "take our place"? I have. All these things were stumbling blocks to my faith.

That is until I discovered the work of Rene Girard. Reading Rene Girard has transfomed my spiritual journy. However, reading Girard can be difficult. But recently S. Mark Heim's book Saved from Sacrifice: A Theology of the Cross has appeared which gives the church an accessible Girardian reading of the bible.

This series is a summary of both Girard and Heim's work. If you like what you find here, beyond Heim's Saved from Sacrifice: A Theology of the Cross, take up Girard directly. I would recommend the The Girard Reader. For a quick exposure to Girard, a summary of his work and a brief interview with the journal Touchstone can be read here

The posts in the Voice of the Scapegoat are:

Part 1: The Crisis of Penal Substitutionary Atonement
Part 2: Sacred Violence, Scapegoats, and Myth
Part 3: The Bloody Antimyth
Part 4: Whispers of Victims
Part 5: "Things Hidden from the Foundation of the World"
Part 6: "Surely this man was innocent"
Part 7: "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting"

Best,
Richard