Salvation Story [Hardcover]

Salvation Storyresponds to Douglas John Hall's claim that the world is waiting for gospel. Humanity needs a clearer understanding that the gospel has come to redeem. The work of ReneGirard, an anthropologist, demonstrates that our human culture is founded on the concealing ofits ownviolence in religious myths and symbols. Girard had hoped to enter into dialogue with Richard Dawkins, whose expertise is evolution, but this encounter never happened. Dawkins observedhow evolution is blind, not unlike the blindness created by human myth and religion. Bringingtogetherthe work of Girard and Dawkins provides a lens for reading scripture. Salvation Storyis written to challenge religious fundamentalists and atheists alike, as well as the rest of us--all those who realize that our current approaches to the Bible are woefully inadequate. This bookdigs into these ancient texts to discover what we have been hiding from regarding our own evolutionary inheritance, in order to discover the God who comes to save us from our own self-destruction. Using the mimetic theory of Rene Girard, and basing his discussion on illuminating biblical texts, David Froemming invites us to rethink 'the salvation story' in an intriguing way that can both reveal and transform the human condition and enliven the Christian witness. It is an honor to commend his work. --Douglas John Hall, C.M., Th.D., Emeritus Professor of Christian Theology, McGill University, Montreal Froemming's coupling of Dawkins' idea of 'the selfish gene' and Girard's mimetic theory for a more contemporarily persuasive theology is bold, smart, and necessary. It should catalyze a softening of the positions of materialistic evolutionary biologists andscientifically-unengaged theologians. Would-be peacemakers of all stripes looking for a unified theory, let Froemming introduce you to memes and mimetic theory in the figure of the Christ! --Duane Larson, Systematic Theologian; past President, Wartburg Theological Seminary Ilƒe