Tag: Syrian refugees

Scapegoating our Muslim Brothers and Sisters: An Example from Girardian Theology

Since his death a few weeks ago, I have found myself drawn to the theology and writings of Rene Girard. If you are unfamiliar with his ideas, I highly, highly recommend Richard Beck’s recent 7-part series at his excellent Experimental Theology blog that explains very well Girard’s mimetic theory and scapegoating. This is a series I wish I had written.rene-girard-scapegoat

I just want to use this as a prompt for a quick social commentary piece. The plight of Syrian refugees and Muslims in general has dominated much of the recent news, and much of my thought. I find it very interesting, in light of reading Girard, that 2015 America is reverting to a scapegoat mentality towards the minority among us.

In short, Girard’s theory says that for many thousands of years, human civilization used collective violence aimed at a minority or marginalized group, in the form of a sacrifice, to act almost as a “pressure-release valve” for human society. Beck summarizes Girard in this way:

1. Sacrifice was a real solution to communal violence.

2. But for that “solution” to work the truth about the sacrifical mechanics have to be systematically obscured.

3. Religion, via its mythical structure, provided this obfuscation.

4. The obfuscation was this: The voice of the scapegoat, the very personal cries of the one being murdered, had to be silenced. Thus, scapegoats were chosen (and are still chosen) from marginalized groups, powerless people. Further, the murder of the scapegoat must not be seen for what it is (i.e., a murder). It must be a divinely sanctioned “sacrifice.”

5. This scapegoating mechanism–rationalized, sanctioned, “religious” violence–still defines the human condition. Our collective Sin is this machinery of violence.

6. Thus, in order to save us, the scapegoating mechanism must be exposed.

The progression of Judaistic monotheism slowly unveiled this hidden mechanism by initiating a move towards identification with the scapegoat. The death of Jesus was the final act in the revealing, showing the ultimate futility of the sacrificial mechanism by disclosing the inherent innocence of our scapegoats.

We seem to have lost this conclusion. In a rush to assuage the primal fear we feel in the world, a fear of the different and of death, we have seized upon a voiceless and minor victim, that of the small Muslim community in America, and the innocent refugees fleeing violence elsewhere, and made them our scapegoat. And as the rage and anger and hate builds to a breaking point, we get closer and closer to that moment of collective violence that relieves the great societal tension that has been building for years and years.

The death of Jesus, of the innocent scapegoat, reveals the futility of such violence. It shows that safety and security, the future of society, our own personal well being, is not achieved by violence. Violence only begets more violence, until we have all operated as the scapegoat. Instead, by identifying with those we oppress, we can begin to feel compassion, and we begin to heal our world by striving for the betterment of all peoples.

We are at a crucial juncture in history. The revelation of violent futility in Jesus’ death did not end the scapegoating mechanism by any means. Many times in the subsequent 2000 years has collective violence been used to pacify the anxiety of society for a short time. We are dangerously close to living through another one of those moments, if we have not already crossed that event horizon.

May we find the clarity and sanity to recognize our trajectory towards death. May we find it soon.

America Can Be Home For Syrian Refugees

syrian children
Refugee Syrian children

In the wake of the terrible tragedy in Paris Friday night, some have decided this is a good opportunity to rally public support behind anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric. The trend this first Monday after the attacks is for governors to issue public statements declaring that their states won’t accept any refugees from the war zone in Syria. At the G20 summit this morning, President Obama said, “The people who are fleeing Syria are the most harmed by terrorism … they are parents, they are children, they are orphans. It is very important that we do not close our hearts to these victims of such violence and somehow start equating the issue of refugees with the issue of terrorism.”

Already, the governors of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, and Illinois have issued statements declaring their intentions to turn away refugees at state borders. I fully expect a multitude of other governors to follow suit.

Jesus was clear on our duty to the immigrant and the stranger. “I was a stranger and you welcomed me,” he taught. “Blessed are the merciful,” and “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you” also encompass how Jesus implored us to treat others. The Judeo-Christian tradition is one of welcome and radical hospitality, stemming from the Jewish people’s status as dispossessed and transient people throughout various times in their history. The tradition that Jesus grew up in, that he passed along to us, was one that realized that any of use, at any time, could become displaced and homeless, and we would others to take us in and show us mercy and hospitality.

Likewise, America is a land of immigrants and refugees. We have a history of taking in the people the rest of the world didn’t want, of creating a nation molded from innumerable peoples and backgrounds. Our Statue of Liberty, gifted to us by the French, proclaims this at our borders, saying “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breath free.”

The ordinary people of Syria, women and children and grandparents, are being oppressed and terrorized by the evil of ISIS. They have been subject to four years of civil war and seen their homes and businesses and all they know and love destroyed. They no longer have homes. And naturally they turn to the nation that they hear constantly is the most free in the world, that offers the most hope. We have a duty to honor their struggle and their trust by standing with open arms. More importantly, as Christians within this nation, we have a duty to embody the radical and beautiful message of Jesus, and welcome the stranger, clothe them, feed them, love them.

I implore the governor of my home state, Mary Fallin, to not let politics cloud your judgment. You proclaim your faith in Jesus, your commitment to Christianity. Now is a perfect opportunity to live that out in the position of great power and privilege you have been granted. Be an example to your fellow governors, who also like to proclaim their Christian bona fides. Instead of leaving them to the mercies of ISIS, instead of watching their children wash up like trash on the beaches of the world, grant them safety and security here, in the middle of our great country. Let Oklahoma be a home for those fleeing terror and oppression around the world.