Search

The problematic assumption that biblical purity thematically represents life and death is commonly held within modern biblical studies. Building upon this assumption, many scholars have attempted to explain the treatment of the ṣāraʿat patient in Leviticus 13:1‐46 as a symbolic banishment of death. However, the current paper attempts to move beyond this reading towards a method of reconstructing the evolution of biblical rituals and practices. Through the utilisation of René Girard's four scapegoat stereotypes, the current paper identifies the scapegoat mechanism in Leviticus 13:1‐46, and reconstructs a proposed evolution of this ritual. This paper suggests that the ritual presented in Leviticus 13:1‐46 may have evolved from an earlier tradition, in which ṣāraʿat patients were executed to halt a mimetic crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay considers the work of G.K. Chesterton, and in particular The Everlasting Man, in relation to narrative theology. It discusses the apparent contradiction between Aidan Nichols' judgement that this book develops a 'Christocentric theology of history' and Chesterton's own assertion that its approach is 'historical rather than theological'. It argues that Chesterton employs both natural and narrative theology in The Everlasting Man, and these two forms of theology frame a reading of the book which resolves the seeming contradiction between Nichols' and Chesterton's views, while also challenging the conventional chronology used in discussions of narrative theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]