Fr. Richard Schenk on Mimetic Theory, World War 1, and “Battling to the End”

Last updated on: July 18, 2014 at 10:09 am by Adam Ericksen

Fr. Richard Schenk on Mimetic Theory, World War 1, and “Battling to the End” 2014-07-18T10:09:06-05:00 Adam Ericksen

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The annual conference of the Colloquium on Violence and Religion begins next week! This conference will be especially interesting as it commemorates the 100th anniversary of World War 1 and relates that war to mimetic theory. The conference is titled, “Battling to the End 1914-2014: The Escalation of Violence and Victimization: Rene Girard and Jean-Luc Marion.” Suzanne and I had the opportunity to interview the organizer of the conference, Fr. Richard Schenk. Fr. Schenk is a priest of the Dominican Order and is President of the Catholic University of Eichstatt-Ingolstadt, the only Catholic University in the German speaking world and the site of this year’s conference. As you will see in the video, Fr. Schenk has been a student of mimetic theory for many years and is an excellent teacher of the theory.

This year’s conference is particularly intriguing for me as it explores Girard’s latest and arguably his most controversial book among Girardians, Battling to the End, which leads me to three thoughts. First, if you are like me and you love all things related to mimetic theory, but can’t make it to Germany for the conference, you are so bummed. I feel you. We are connected in our shared desire to attend, a desire that is only escalating as I write this and as you read it. Ahh, mimesis.

Second, if you are not like me and you are going to the conference…CONGRATULATIONS!!! (Hope you didn’t catch any envy or resentment in that sarcasm…I am not at all envious or resentful that you have what I want…And no…my resentment and envy will not escalate as I see you post pictures of the conference on Facebook…Not. At. All.)

Third, if you can’t make it to the conference, Fr. Schenk provides excellent commentary on the theme of the conference in the interview above. If you are going to the conference, Fr. Schenk provides an excellent introduction for what you will be discussing next week. (AND I HOPE YOU HAVE FUN!)

Fourth, along with Fr. Schenk, we were also fortunate to interview Jeremiah Alberg. Dr. Alberg is Professor of Philosophy and Religion and Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at International Christian University in Tokyo. He is also Executive Secretary of the Colloquium on Violence and Religion. Dr. Alberg is the author of an important Girardian book, Beneath the Veil of Strange Verses: Reading Scandalous Texts. Fr. Schenk and Dr. Alberg provide wonderful commentary in the video on mimetic theory. We hope you enjoy it!

Uncategorized

colloquium on vioelnce and religion

Previous Post

July 12, 2014

Jesus is at the Border: Immigration, Barriers, and God’s Economy

Next Post

July 17, 2014 Why I Hope Ann Coulter is Right: Soccer and the Moral Decay of the United States

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atonement and Current Events Curriculum Faith and Families Interviews Jesus the Forgiving Victim Lent Montessori politics Reviews The Bible Explained Uncategorized Valentine's Day Wednesday Sermon Who is God?

Select a Month July 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 January 2014 December 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz