Introducing the Scapegoat

Why do humans have such a violent streak, and why is it often targeted in such cruel ways at innocent people? In this second teaching in our Lenten series, Old Stories, New Lenses, Leah lays out the heart of René Girard’s theory on human behavior: the “scapegoat mechanism”. Here she explains his take on how violence is expressed in human societies and then uses that framework to look at the story of Joseph and his brothers in Genesis. This teaching provides the heart of the ideas we’ll be exploring through the rest of Lent.

Review Leah’s notes or listen to the teaching below.

Desire: It's Contagious

What motivates us to hurt each other? Actually... what motivates us at all?

This week, we look at Rene Girard's ideas on the origins of human violence, which he suggests come not juts from wanting what other people have--but also from seeing what they want and then wanting that thing ourselves. So we catch our friends posting about their vacation plans, desired purchase, or that new iPhone that they want, and pretty soon we're thinking... I want that too! 

So what do we do with all this wanting? And how do we channel it in positive directions, so that it doesn't lead to resentment or envy of others? For some ideas, listen to Leah's message below, or read her notes here.