For years I have studied a concept called “mimetic theory”. Perhaps the key concept that Rene Girard came up with was ‘we don’t desire anything until we see that someone else desires it.’. and thus we have the key to advertising, captalsim, violence and just about anything else you can think of. When we allow ourselves to be manipulated by the desires of others – eventually – when we can’t have what we want – rsentment grows – resentment that needs only a small “scandal” to destroy someone, or some country or some segment of society. In the 70′s, resentment grew around caring for the poor and now we can demonize them to our hearts content. We are currently demonizing homosexuals, uppity women like me or even more uppity women like Hilary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi. Eventaully there is a sacrificial even. It can be an impeachment, a war on a country that has a particulary distasteful leader, a show on TV called ‘stalking the predator.” If we only get the bad guys, then our country, our neighborhood will be clean and this resentment we carry around won’t both us so much. We’ll all get along. Wrong. You get rid of one scandalzied scapegoat and another is there almost instantly. The resentment, the mimetic envy – that ‘s the problem. Most of the victims we choose are guilty of something but structurally innocent of the kind of venom we put upon them. They really are designated to carry the sins of the world. Now Jesus – he tried to tell us all about this – And he became the ultimate innocent victims of people determined to find scandal and stop the unrest by destroying him. Look at the cross. Really, really look at it. Ok, I just tried to explain a theory that it has taken me 10 years to understand in one blog entry and I failed, but…. When we feel rage, resentment etc. it does not necessarily connect to the object of our rage and resentment. It is about desire for something that someone else has. Does this mean we should not be furious with Bush, with those who have demonized the poor and the ignorant. No, but it does mean that we must take a harder look at our own insides. Impeaching Bush (something I advocate by the way) won’t fix the problem in the long run. A profound conversion away from coveting, from needing scapegoats will. Impeaching Bush or Cheney – will only helpl for a bit – just like the war made many feel like something had been done about 9/11. It’s bigger than Bush and requires us to hear Jesus again for the first. time.

Sorry, my ADD took me from the original topic of the thread. I saw the words compare to one another and took off., But – I do recall several years ago there was flood in my city. It destroyed an area of the city is that primarily poor and African American. Many applied for aid and they were indeed devastated. Later I was in a baseball shop with my son and two older white guys were talking about how they had applied for flood aid, They were both driving expensive trucks, had wads of cash and laughed about having rooked the government. The clerk asked them – why – and the answer was, “They don’t deserve anything. they’ve always lived like that (referring to the poor neighborhoods). If I can get something out of this – they won’t get it all. Total resentment toward the poor. It is in private conversations rather than public discourse that we get this sometimes. However, with the kind of public discourse we currently have – even there – such conversations are held. The poor are not an enemy and our conscience should be awake to that. We have been numbed to it for over 30 years. But the poor have no voice on Fox News, no lobbying on Capital Hill, nothing except those prisons where we send many of them and the churches. The churches should be be the voice of the poor. Not the voice of the Reppublican party.

I don’t see how it is an injustice for a wealthy person to become more wealthy. Certainly it is unjust to become wealthy through unjust means, like oppressing slaves. But you don’t have to oppress anyone to be wealthy or become wealthier in our society. And it isn’t an injustice to be poor. It is an injustice to not have an opportunity to provide for your family, but solving that problem doesn’t require social re-engineering. It could be solved by God’s people, if they would get out of their comfort zones and get involved with people who need help seeing how to provide for their own, who need a hand getting started.

Thinker, when I was in college I helped a friend, a Minister, illustrate his PhD thesis on Girardian mimesis and the role of faith in mediating intra-racial violence. I don’t understand it, but I became an excellent technician of shaded triangles. On to the point, I’m uncomfortable with the idea that wealth is distributed by society rather than by individuals. It’s not clear to me how Christian justice is a specific economic regime, rather than the way we approach one another with compassion and assistance. Even the uppity ones. Especially those who suffer.

Doug, you feel that way because redistribution of wealth is an act of charity on the part of the government only.

Starrs, I’m not sure I take your meaning. Is one of us a communist?

“The church should be the voice of the poor. Not the Republican party.” There are some (relatively few) faithful wealthy. The church can also speak for and to them. It should also avoid becoming the voice of the Democratic party.

No, Doug, sorry, I was referring to your post: “…I’m uncomfortable with the idea that wealth is distributed by society rather than by individuals.” I was reaffirming your point in toto. cs, I’d love to know where you get that information on the wealthy faithful!

Jesus did say it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. However, there were also a few relatively wealthy members of the early church. There are some wealthy Christians today who live apparently godly lives. And, biblically speaking, Abraham and Joseph weren’t exactly paupers. I’m not denying what is clearly a bias toward the poor in scripture, because the love of money is clearly a corrupting influence. However, it is a bit simplistic to say poor=godly, rich=evil.

The social ills of the poor, in America at least, are NOT the responsibility of anyone but them. What is making the poor in America suffer (in America) is the lack of morality of those living in the poorest enclaves in the US.Being poor does not mean having to celebrate and encourage whoredom, promiscuity, prostitution, hedonism, criminality and drugs. Have you ever seen or heard what the poor in poor neighborhoods sell to each other? People from the hood, are smart and talented. There is no good reason why debauchery defines the American poor. Let’s stop blaming people that rise above their basic instincts to gain success in honest, moral and sound endeavors, for those that do not. Why do we keep perpetuating excuses for un-excusable choices and behaviors? Sorry guys, it is because this society has bought into the lies of progressives and liberals and the Democrat party that sponsers them. I thought Christians faced the truth David?

Now Donny, we know that you are familiar with the God of the Old Testament. But apparently you missed the prophets? I have a friend who insists that because Jesus knew nothing of economics, we must ignore all the words of Jesus concerning the poor. He actually went to Assissi where his irriation towards the poor kind of ruined his trip. I mean – he was pissed at the poor in Assissi. Much more of Jesus’ words were about the poor, the powerless than about anything else. I don’t recall him saying a single word about homosexuality – the litmus test you keep proposing to prove that we are true Christians. We are to care for our neighbor – we are to forgive those who need forgiving and ask forgivness when we need to. We are to look within our own hearts instead of accusing the heart of another. You might look at Micah, or Jeremiah, Amos, Matthew, Luke, the Acts of the Apostles. I just can’t figure out what Bible you are reading. I’m looking at the original languages in some cases and can find nothing to support you view of the Gospel. Nothing.

the Church should challenge any political party – the difference between the two at this point seems to be how loud each will allow thier bigotry to become. Republicans are winning right now, but Dems can certainly catch up. My point is that the poor, the sick, the homeless have no voice among the politics of the world. There was once Mother Theresa who shamed powerful people gently. And there was for a moment Martin Luther King. The mark of our humanity is that we have the capacity to be concerned for the welfare of others. Read a study this weekend about the beginnings of moral thinking – it begins with empathy. How do you think that made her feel? How do we care for the little boys and girls who don’t have what you have? Those are mother questions (and father questions) and they begin to make us tune into the mercy and compassion of God. Neither party is very good at it – Republicans seem to tune on those poor rich people who are being taxed to death and Dems tune into the oddest of situations. but they both carefully and deliberately avoid the thing Jesus talked about more than just about anything. The poor.