Original Sin, Positive Mimesis

This article highlights main features of two preeminent theological approaches to original sin inspired by Girard’s theory, which were independently developed in the late 1990s by James Alison and Raymund Schwager SJ—both standard works representing the “state of the art” within mimetic theory. Tracing also the quest for “positive mimesis,” the article considers ambiguous Girardian passages, features some arguments advanced in the controversy, and outlines a proposal for understanding positive mimesis beyond the Scylla of a “beautification of mimesis” and the Charybdis of an ontologization of violence.