The Palgrave Handbook of Mimetic Theory and Religion draws on the expertise of leading scholars and thinkers to explore the violent origins of culture, the meaning of ritual, and the conjunction of theology and anthropology, as well as secularization, science, and terrorism. Authors assess the contributions of Rene Girard's mimetic theory to our understanding of sacrifice, ancient tragedy, and post-modernity, and apply its insights to religious cinema and the global economy. This handbook serves as introduction and guide to a theory of religion and human behavior that has established itself as fertile terrain for scholarly research and intellectual reflection.

Jesus the Forgiving Victim offers something quite fresh in the field of introductions to faith and Christian orthodoxy by restoring to the Christian life the wonder and transformative power of discovering not some new Biblical fact or church doctrine, but that you are loved far more than you know. In reading these four books of essays, you will undertake a journey of discovery that will open your heart and mind to discovering new things about yourself and your faith. It is a journey from fake goodness, from a false and insecure self, to relaxing into a goodness and security not your own, but in which you discover yourself held by God. And it is a journey from a unity that needs to create victims toward a unity received from the risen and forgiving victim in our midst. James Alison hopes Jesus the Forgiving Victim will be a meaningful part of your journey toward a deeper faith and fuller life in Christ.

This classic book asks what it is to know Jesus. It will enable thinking Christians to ask new questions about their faith, their reading of the New Testament, and the theology of redemption.

What do Rowan Williams, Stanley Hauerwas, Rene Girard, Richard Rohr, Timothy Radcliffe, Monica Furlong, Richard Rohr, Andrew Sullivan, and Mark Jordan have in common beside their Christian faith? Answer: the fact that they have all heaped praise on one or another of James Alison's books. "Intellectual dynamite and spiritual joy" (Rohr); "wit, clarity, depth and surprises" (Williams); "deeply moving and liberating" (Radcliffe). Perhaps James Keenan has put it most memorably: "Not since C.S. Lewis has an English Christian summoned his readers into such holy conversations." And Andrew Sullivan has spoken for the community most touched by Allison's work: "a rich resource for gay Catholics trying to reconcile their own deep and profound faith with the hostility of the hierarchy." About half of his new book deals with lesbian and gay issues, particularly in light of the the latest Vatican ukase banning gays from seminaries, and the rest with a variety of tropes central to Christian faith and life: reconciliation, the Eucharist, psychology and evil, worship in a violent world. But whatever the topic Alison turns to he writes with the edgy brilliance of a "break-in" artist who is always full of surprises.

With questions of religion and homosexuality on the front pages again, and debates raging about the nature of marriage and the ordination of priests, James Alison invites us into deep, lucid reflection about God, the wonder of creation, and the way that God not only loves but likes every one of us.

On Being Liked is the transforming and joyful sequel to Faith Beyond Resentment, which established James Alison as one of the most striking, original, and intellectually irresistible voices in the church. In this book he invites us to let go of a commomnly-held account of salvation and takes us step-by-step through a bold adventure of re-imagining the central axis of the Christian story, not as 'How does God deal with sin?' but as 'How do we take up God's invitation to sharein the act of creation?'.

Discrimination against gays and lesbians extends from the highest echelons of the Catholic Church to the pews. For James Alison, a gay Catholic theologian, the key to moving beyond resentment is a radical re-conversion to the gospel message of God's love and understanding that even those in power are our brothers and sisters.

This original work of theological anthropology looks at original sin in the light of the Resurrection. It is based on the conviction that the doctrine of original sin is a vital perspective on what it is to be human when seen with Resurrection eyes. From this point of view, one is able to read all the major doctrines of Christianity from the order of discovery, and forgiveness becomes the way of transformation.

"Raising Abel" is a theological exploration of a huge change of mind: the change which the apostolic group underwent as a result of the Resurrection--and how that paradigm can transform the world today. Making use of the thought of Rene Girard, the author shows how the God who was revealed by Jesus subverted the violent language, imagery and expectations of the early Christians.