Posts

Barouk Almaw Gari Gives an Ethiopian View on Identity Politics and Rene Girard

Barouk Almaw Gari, an Ethiopian entrepreneur and Rene Girard fan, joins David Gornoski to discuss his introduction to the works of Rene Girard, his perspective on Ethiopian politics and history, and how Christianity has shaped Ethiopia’s culture. How does the gospel effect each culture in their tribal and sacrificial customs? Barouk takes us through the […]

A Great Anthropological First: An Honest Conversation About Race

This article originally appeared on The Aquila Report. It’s time to acknowledge simultaneously that we have come a long way from where we once were, and we still have a long way to go. These are not only consecutive narratives, they are concurrent narratives of the racial journey we are on in this country. If […]

The Exorcism of a Possessed Market

Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way […]

Justin Murphy, PhD on Jesus, Riot Carnivals, and the Origins of Our Civil Unrest

David Gornoski sits down with Justin Murphy, political scientist and former professor of the University of Southampton; and together the two discuss the reemergence of faith, the meaning of Christ’s love on an anthropological level, the current riots, socio-political turmoil, and Jesus-imitation in a post-Christian culture. Justin Murphy says, “The rioters are–in their own twisted […]

Patri Friedman on Return of City States, Rene Girard, and Economic Freedom Zones

David Gornoski sits down with economist and venture capitalist Patri Friedman, founder of Pronomos and the Seasteading Institute, for an exploration of liberty and the future of governance in our time. Will we see a return to local city-states and private enterprise zones around the world? Patri says that the Seasteading project, which is very […]

Metropolis – A Film Analysis

Very few films have defined a genre. One of these films is the 1927 German silent movie Metropolis. Directed by legendary filmmaker Fritz Lang, Metropolis is a dystopian sci-fiction movie that touches on important socio-political and even theological aspects of modern society. Made during the Weimar era—a time when Germany was in political and economic […]

Jordan Hall on Rene Girard, the Gospel Technology vs. Myth

Technologist and public intellectual Jordan Hall joins David Gornoski, host of A Neighbor’s Choice, for a journey through sense-making in 2020. The conversation starts off with Peter Thiel’s comments on humanity reaching a technological stagnation after the moon-landing mission. Could this be due to lack of innovation in the world of atoms? asks David Gornoski. […]

Anthropology from Trinity

Christian anthropology stems from theology. That is why it is important to note that the Christian God is a Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And it is also important to know that there exists within the Trinity, between the three persons of the Godhead, mutual glorification, submission and love. ‘God is love’, says […]

How to Survive Masked Chaos

In ancient times, there were often masked rituals, and in these rituals, boundaries and identities were blurred because the participants wore masks. But what would these rituals lead to and why was anonymity so important? David Gornoski gives us an earth-shattering explanation of this ancient ritual and how it is refined and imposed today under […]

The Plague in Literature and Life

According to Rene Girard, plague is an omnipresent theme in literature. It features prominently in the stories of the great bards of history: Homer, Sophocles, Boccaccio, Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, and Camus to name but a few. It spans the whole spectrum of literary genres: epic, tragedy, short story, sonnet, novels, history, science fiction, and science. In […]