Criticism of Heaven

Roland Boer, Ph.D. (1993) in Biblical Studies, McGill University, is Reader in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies at Monash University, Melbourne. He has published extensively in biblical studies, Marxism, postcolonism, cultural studies, literary theory and political theory, including Marxist Criticism of the Bible (Continuum 2003).

"A great philosopher once wrote that 'some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested'. The five volumes of Roland Boer's magisterial series Marxism and Theology may well be all three." Matthew Sharpe, Arena Journal, No. 41/42, 2013: [28]-58."The tradition of the Marxist reference and critical appropriation of Christian legacy is a long one, starting with the Late Friedrich Engels. Through the XXth century, it left its mark on some of the greatest Marxist figures, from Gramsci to Benjamin, and it was given a new boost in the last years by Agamben and Badiou. Boer’s book, the first one to give a detailed overview of this entire tradition, is much more than a mere critical compendium. One usually says about introductions and overviews that they succeed if they bring the reader to take a look at the original texts themselves. Criticism of Heaven stands fully on its own, achieving a perfect balance between a detailed exegesis and the deployment of the interpreter’s own position. In an almost miraculous way, the more we understand the interpreted authors, the more we hear Boer’s own voice. An indispensable volume not only for those interested in the topic, but for all who strive for a cognitive mapping of today’s perplexing state of things. (Slavoj Žižek, Birkbeck College, London) "In his highly intriguing and relevant work, Roland Boer, esteemed and prolific biblical scholar, offers a traveller’s guide to European Neo- Marxist positions from the point of view of their various biblical and theological bearings. Roland Boer’s brilliant exposition and highly controversial interpretations suggest that Marxism is the last resort of a bona fide Calvinist theology of grace. (Carsten Pallesen, Professor of Theology, University of Copenhagen)Praise for Marxist Criticism of the Bible “An astonishing tour de force in which the varieties of Marxist criticism are marshalled to investigate the extraordinary richness in both form and content of the Hebrew Bible. It is a lesson in dialectical criticism fully as much as in Biblical Studies." (Fredric Jameson, Duke University)"All [...] of these essays are well worth reading. They embody the fruit of many years of reflection and show a most impressive command of a vast and heterogeneous literature. They are insightful, thought-provoking, and also original in the sense of revealing unexpected aspects of those under discussion. The style is sometimes a little arch, but the analysis is always substantial and the assessment judicious. No one reading Boer will come away without being better informed and wiser."David McLellan, Marx and Philosophy Review of Books. Accessed 2 September 2010URL: http://www.marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/reviews/2010/182

• PrefaceIntroduction1. Bloch’s Detective WorkArgument and advocacyFrom the Bible to sentence production, and back againMethod: class conflict as a hermeneutical keyVagaries of writingOral and written textsForces of redactionBiblical criticismThe politics of interpretationThe critique of mythExegesisThe Hebrew BibleNew TestamentThe return to theologyAtheismTeleologyTranscendenceFaith, hope, sin and death2. Benjamin’s Perpetuation of Biblical MythTrauerspielDemons, allegory and flesh (allegorical level) Fall and Eschaton (moral and anagogic levels) PassagenarbeitMethod: collector as allegoristPassagesThe double allegory of Marxism and theologyMyth and historyAppropriation of the maternal functionGenesisLanguageUrsprungSalvation history [Heilsgeschichte]: the return of biblical mythConclusion3. The Ecclesiastical Eloquence of Louis AlthusserEcclesiastical form: theological writingsFrom absent cause to philosophy of religionThe logical necessityElements of a materialist philosophy of religionIdeologyMythConclusion: the terminus of (auto)biography? 4. The Heresies of Henri LefebvreThresholdExplorationWorshipArchaeologyHeresiesBlondelJoachim de Fiore and mysticismJansen and the AlbigensiansThe DevilOn religion: reading Lefebvre against himselfEveryday lifeSpaceWomenConclusion5. The Ecumenism of Antonio GramsciEcumenismPolitics: the ‘Eighteenth Brumaire’ of the Holy SeeCatholic ActionInternal conflict: integralists, Jesuits and modernistsBewilderment? External alliancesIntellectualsReformationCounter-Reformation and ReformationThe Italian LutherConclusion6. The Apostasy of Terry EagletonWit and the encyclopaedia, or the tensions of styleOrthodoxy and orthopraxisAsceticismEvil and the humble virtuesThe absence of sin, or, the politics of forgivenessRadical christologyTheology redidivus? The desire for a historical JesusChristological metaphorsThe problem of the personality cultAn intrinsic Eagleton? (The question of ecclesiology) 7. The Conversion of Slavoj ŽižekThe darkness of Lacan: the challenge of Butler and LaclauOf truth-events and sundry matters: the challenge of BadiouMaterialist grace? A glimpseThe cul-de-sac of ethics and loveThe Protestant turnBadiou, or militant gratuitousnessThe grace of V. I. LeninKierkegaard’s snareRevolutionary graceConclusion8. Adorno’s VacillationTheological suspicionDemythologisationFaith: inwardness and historyChristologySacrificeCosmology: the spheresSecularised theologyJudaism and the ban on imagesThe possibilities of theologyLoveGraceConclusionConclusionReferencesIndex