New Publication: Girard, Sacred Violence, and the Apocalyptic Choice
My latest article, “Girardian Perspectives on Power and Kenarchy in the Apocalyptic Age,” has just been published in The Kenarchy Journal.
Hey everyone,
I am excited to share that my latest academic paper has just been published in the newest issue of The Kenarchy Journal (Volume 8.5).
This article represents a deep dive into themes that have long preoccupied my thoughts: how we understand power, why our modern political and social narratives feel so deeply fractured, and how the anthropological insights of René Girard intersect with a theology of kenosis (self-emptying love).
We live in an age where the old ways of uniting communities—usually by finding a common enemy or a “demonic other” to blame—are breaking down. Our accusatory narratives aren’t bringing us together anymore; they are just escalating our divisions. In this paper, I explore how the revelation of Christ fatally wounded these ancient power structures, leaving humanity with an urgent, apocalyptic choice: do we continue down the path of self-destruction, or do we embrace the kenotic imitation of Christ?
You can read the full abstract below to get a better sense of the scope of the study.
Abstract: Girardian Perspectives on Power and Kenarchy in the Apocalyptic Age
There was a time when we could veil our violence as sacred, uniting our society against a demonic other. That epoch has come to an end, for the aura of religiously justified violence has been eroded beyond repair. Our sacrifices and myths no longer have the magical power to unite our communities. We are no longer fully convinced of the guilt of our victims, the innocence of our community, or the divine inspiration of our myths. As a desperate last resort, we may multiply our sacred sacrifices and flood our communities with bewildering narratives, but the miracle of unanimous condemnation of an evil other escapes us. Our accusatory narratives only serve to further divide us and energize an escalation toward extremes.
According to René Girard’s anthropological insights, archaic human society was founded upon the magical efficacy of sacred violence, where communal unity was achieved through the expulsion of a demonic other. The transformation of primal, uncontrolled violence into ritualized sacrifice marked the very genesis of civilization and religion. Warriors became worshippers, and savages became civilized through this process. However, it’s not only in the birth of cultures that violence shapes our humanity, but in their disintegration also, as worshippers are tempted to become warriors once again.
As a critical framework, Girard’s mimetic theory has become indispensable for analyzing contemporary acts of violence, yet popular analytical readings often miss the theory’s profound historical trajectory. This study argues that the power of archaic structures was fatally wounded by a seed of awareness planted in human consciousness through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The Christian revelation unveils sacred violence; we can no longer be unconscious of what we do. The historic trajectory of mimetic realism—from an unconscious concealed event of violence, becoming ritual, developing into religion and culture, complemented by sacred narrative (myth), culminating in its exposure by Christ—has stripped archaic power structures of their efficacy, limiting humanity to an apocalyptic choice between self-destruction (profane violence) and the kenotic imitation of Christ.
Read the Full Paper
The Kenarchy Journal is an open-access platform dedicated to the politics of love, combining rigorous academic research with grassroots relevance.
If you want to read or download the full paper (Pages 50-62), you can access it directly via the links below:
View the Journal Page: Kenarchy Journal Vol 8.5
Direct PDF Download: Read the Full Article Here
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts. If you read it, please come back to this post and leave a comment. How do you see Girard’s “apocalyptic choice” playing out in the culture around us today?
Thank you for your continued support of my work and writing!
Warmly,
Andre
