Between Babel and Beast
(America and Empires in Biblical Perspective)

The Glory of Kings: A Festschrift for James B. Jordan

Fyodor Dostoevsky
(Christian Encounters Series)

Athanasius
(Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality)

The Four: A Survey of the Gospels

Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom

From Behind the Veil: The Epistles of John

Deep Exegesis:The Mystery of Reading Scripture

Jane Austen
(A Biography)

Solomon Among the Postmoderns

The Baptized Body

1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary

The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter

A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons

Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature

Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen

The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism

A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel

Against Christianity

From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution

Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy

Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper

A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament

Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature

Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays

Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life

The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church

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Bible: Girard’s limits

Godbout (The World of the Gift, 209-10) gives this searing critique of Girard.  For Girard, he says, “violence is primary . . . no love is possible.  There are only hatred and ‘desire.’”

Girard’s own analysis undercuts his theory: “In his discussion of the judgment of Solomon, Girard observes that the true mother explodes the infernal logic of mimesis by her lover for this dear being who is her child. But he does not recognize that the very condition for the effectiveness of King Solomon’s judgment . . . resides in the very fact that his theory does not apply. . . . The celebrated ‘wisdom of King Solomon’ is founded precisely on the wager he has made that the logic of love will triumph and demolish the Girardian logic he has proposed to the two women.  In this story, two people out of three adopt a non-Girardian position: the king and the ‘good’ prostitute, the true mother.  But Girard deals only with the third character, the false mother, who is, moreover, the loser in the story, and whose mimetic behavior conforms to his theory.  She loses precisely because her behaviour conforms to his theory.”