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Would you recognize Jesus if he returned today?
Dear Friends,
 Years before I had ever heard of the name René Girard, I had pondered the question that if Jesus returned today would I recognise him? I have to be quite frank with you, I am honestly not that confident that I would. I'm not sure that any of us would. The other questions I pondered along with that hypothetical were the questions of who was responsible for the execution of Jesus: was it the Jews, was it the Romans? Or was it "the mob"? In the end I concluded it was "the mob" and wrote a number of articles suggesting that in the mid-1990s. By "the mob" I didn't mean the mafiosi but that "mob mentality" that we see erupt so often in societies, in police forces, in the judicial system, in the media, in parliaments, in schools, in work places, in families that ends up "crucifying" individuals who are somehow "different". At some time or other I suspect we're all on the receiving end of "mob mentality behaviour" and, at other times, we engage in it ourselves dishing it out to some other unfortunate who "the mob" has singled out. Since then I've learned that some of my ideas I'd probably picked up indirectly from the philosopher, René Girard. Today's commentary by Dr Andrew Kania explores this fascinating territory of the role scapegoats play in society, and in our own behaviours (even if we might not like to admit it). <Read Dr Kania's commentary>
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