The Raven Foundation

The Raven Foundation is developing a video that explains our mission and mimetic theory. Under the skilled direction of Gerard Jamroz, the amazing actors Molly Brennan and Adrian Danzig of 500 Clown created the roles of the Raven and the Narrator, respectively. Cameraman John Boston and Sound Engineer Jude Lemrow rounded out the crew. Suzanne Ross and Gerard Jamroz wrote the script. Maura Junius was the producer, costumer and gofer.

The working title is A Higher Cawing. Enjoy some photos from the filming.

A Call for Nuclear Disarmament

Sixty-five years ago on July 16, 1945, the first atomic device was detonated at Alamogordo, New Mexico. The time has come to take a stand for nuclear disarmament!

Attend one of the premiere showings of the highly acclaimed documentary Countdown to Zero at the Landmark Century Theatre (2828 N. Clark St.) July 30-August 1, 2010. The film, produced by Academy Award winner Lawrence Bender (An Inconvenient Truth), makes a compelling case that total nuclear disarmament must be put back on the national agenda. Peace groups are hoping for a huge turnout, giving the film a huge boost when it opens nationally.

MOVIE SHOW TIMES: July 30, July 31, and August 1 at 1:30pm / 4:10pm / 7:00pm / 9:45pm

Fall 2010

Australia

10th - 18th September, Charles Sturt University, Canberra 

For additional information, contact Scott Cowdell: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

19th - 22nd September, Sydney - various engagements

For additional information, contact Rod Pattenden: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

23rd September,  Sydney

Eremos presents - The Challenge of an Opening Horizon at Paddington Uniting Church. Additional details.

24th September,  Sydney

Eremos presents - The Shape of God's Affection at Pitt Street Uniting Church, Sydney. Additional details.

25th September,  Sydney 

Eremos and the UTC present - Undergoing God at the Centre for Ministry, North Parramatta. Additional details. 

26th September - 2nd October, Perth

For information, contact Sr Mary Engelbrecht, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

3rd - 9th October, New South Wales

For information, contact Br Peter Carroll, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

South Africa

10th - 15th October, Johannesburg

African Leadership Academy

Enjoy the Trickster Artwork of Susan Drawbaugh.

Artwork by Susan Drawbaugh of Wee Five Designs

Peace will not be possible until we see it as a legitimate choice in dangerous and threatening situations. At the Raven Foundation, we work to expose the truth that violent methods cannot be anything but destructive. No matter the justification, violence will always provoke more violence and poison human relationships with hatred, resentment and a desire for vengeance. When faced with the question of how to defuse a violent situation and restore peace, peaceful methods must be become a legitimate option. Peace will become a possibility when we recognize the limits of violence as a tool for peacemaking and seek workable alternatives.

The upcoming workshop we are sponsoring, Making Peace with Revelation, will explore the tools for peacemaking. Please join us.

The sad truth is that most of the violence taking place in the world today is done in the name of goodness. It is rare to find anyone, even the most apparently wicked and cold-hearted, who self-identifies as wantonly violent. We all claim that our violence is justified in the name of some greater good and sanctioned by God, country or a higher authority. In order to make violence unthinkable, we at the Raven Foundation work to expose the truth that violence makes all claims of being different from your enemy appear ridiculous since you are both involved in death and destruction. That is why at Raven we say that when you choose violence to achieve your ends, you must give up your claim to being good.

One of our current projects is the development of a video that illustrates our ideas about violence. Here's a peek behind the scenes of the filming.

"And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)

What insights into “all the scriptures” did Jesus reveal on the road to Emmaus to his confused and frightened disciples? What happens when we read the Old Testament and the Apostolic witness through the eyes of Jesus, the forgiving victim?

With James Alison as the guide, discover that being a Christian is not principally about being good or believing the right things. A Christian is someone who finds him/herself on the receiving end of an act of communication and, just like the disciples, receiving a revised story about themselves and everything they thought they knew to be true. Using anthropology, a mimetic understanding of how desire and violence work, and old fashioned common sense, James Alison invites us to transform how we think about God, how we pray and worship, and how we go about being good Christians.

Ideal for a new member, adult education class or individuals interested in discovering orthodoxy made fresh and the Christian faith made liveable, prayable and preachable.

Curriculum includes:

• Video of James Alison’s lectures
• Leader’s guide
• Participant guide
• Online Modules

Directed by Gerard Jamroz • Produced by Imitatio and The Raven Foundation

Acclaim for James Alison

“…almost frighteningly profound.”  ~ Stanley Hauerwas

“A [writer] of wit, clarity, depth and surprises.” ~ Rowan Williams

“James Alison has been gripped by the rich excitement of Jesus’ resurrection.” ~ N.T. Wright

“[James Alison’s work is] full of tremendous spiritual and theological insight.” ~ René Girard

Enjoy two previews of the DVD series.

The Forgiving Victim

An Interview with James Alison

HD copies of these videos are available for free.
Please submit an This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your mailing address.

To receive updates on this production, become a member of the Raven Foundation.

Upcoming appearances by James Alison.

Essays, talks, interviews and book excerpts by James Alison.

When we say at the Raven Foundation that we seek to make religion reasonable, we are looking to recover a truth that religions both ancient and modern knows so well, that human beings cannot exist without models. Modernity may have declared God to be dead, but it has not destroyed the human reality that we are created in another’s image. We cannot be free from this relationship to others, but we can be free to choose our creator(s). Religion knows that our identity and desires will be shaped by those people and things we admire, worship or immerse ourselves in. At the Raven Foundation, we use the religious language of worship, idolatry, compassion and love because it is part of a wisdom tradition that we must recover in order to understand the truth about interdependence at the deepest levels of identity and desire.

Our current project is filming and producing a DVD series of James Alison's engaging and tranformative Christian Adult Education Course, The Forgiving Victim.

The Raven Foundation, a Chicago-based organization that seeks to make religion reasonable, violence unthinkable and peace a possibility, announces that it will present the first Raven Award for Excellence in Arts and Entertainment to Lookingglass Ensemble Member Heidi Stillman for her adaptation and direction of Fydor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov performed during the 2008 - 2009 Lookingglass Theatre season.  

Download the entire Press Release.