René Girard and Christus Victor: Solving the Problem of the Cross

Abstract

This paper investigates René Girard's contribution to the theological debate on the meaning of the cross. The first section sets the scene and formulates the problem of the cross. It does this by introducing the problems connected to the dominant interpretation of the cross, the so-called ‘Anselmian’ model, which understands the cross in terms of satisfaction and substitution. The second section explores the interpretation of the cross before Anselm. It examines the so-called Christus Victor motif. The merits and shortcomings of this motif are explored and the question is raised of whether Christus Victor can answer the problem of the cross for today's world. The final and largest section of this paper rehabilitates the Christus Victor motif with the help of Girard. In this way, the paper shows that Girard fits into contemporary theological debates and that he matters for theology because his anthropological insights contribute to solving intra-theological problems, like the problem of the cross.

Notes

¹ Engaging Girard in the context of theological debates on the meaning of the cross is nothing new or novel. Scholars that have already done this include James Alison, Mark Heim, and Raymund Schwager. For an overview, see Kirwan 2009: chapters 6–7. The aim of the present section is not to examine Girard's contribution to this debate in its entirety, but to focus on one aspect that has received little attention until now, namely the attempts to formulate a contemporary version of the Christus Victor motif.

² This understanding of Satan was further developed by Girard in The Scapegoat (1986; French original in 1982) and I See Satan Fall like Lightning (2001; French original 1999). In Things Hidden, Girard also links Satan to the Biblical notion of skandalon (162, 416–31) and identifies him with ‘the mimetic process seen as a whole’ (162). Unfortunately, it was not possible to explore the concept of skandalon within the context of the present paper.