Turning Toward the Victim

The Bible, Sacred Violence, and the End of Scapegoating from Quaker Perspective

It seems that scapegoating is currently “having a moment”! But in actuality, scapegoating is very much embedded in our prehistory, intrinsic to the birth of archaic religion, and to the very foundations of culture.

Many of you know that since my retirement two years ago, after 42 years as a family physician, I have been engaged in an ambitious book project, including a term in the Spring of 2024 at Pendle Hill as the “Kenneth Carroll Scholar for Biblical and Quaker Studies.” I now have a completed manuscript and am actively looking for a publisher.

The book is tentatively titled Turning Toward the Victim: the Bible, Sacred Violence, and the End of Scapegoating in Quaker Perspective.

Part primer on Rene Girard's groundbreaking mimetic theory, part Bible study (through the lens of mimetic theory), and part dialogue with early (and contemporary) Quakers, this work demonstrates how these three perspectives can mutually inform one another in unexpected ways.

Contemporary liberal Friends (Quakers), in common with other liberal denominations, have largely drifted away from the Bible, due in part to its seeming sanction of divine violence. Girard, by contrast, sees the overcoming of “sacred violence” as the central theme of the Biblical witness, and so can provide the means by which Quakers (and others) might reengage with the Scriptures. Girard's claim that the biblical God has "nothing to do with violence" will resonate with Friends traditional commitment to nonviolence and peacemaking. His insights into "the scapegoat mechanism" can also help us to understand the witness of early Friends, who functioned as "the scapegoat caste" in 17th century England. Using the traditional Quaker framework of conviction / convincement / conversion, this book explores the relevance of these concepts for Friends and others today.

My intention with this Substack is to publish selected chapters, both to build interest and to solicit feedback. The best way to help me is forward this on to folks you think might be interested.

First up will be the Prologue, “Scapegoating, the Cross, and the Lynching Tree.” Stay tuned!