Criticism of Religion

Roland Boer, Ph.D. (1993) in Biblical Studies, McGill University, is Research Fellow at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He has published extensively in theology, Marxism, political theory, postcolonialism, cultural studies and literary theory. His most recent works are Criticism of Heaven (2007), Symposia (2007), Political Myth (2009) and Political Grace (2009).

"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, in: Arena Journal 41/42 (2013), [28]-58"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, in: Marx and Philosophy Review of Books [Accessed September 2, 2010]

• PrefaceIntroduction 1. The Paradoxes of Lucien GoldmannThe dialectic of grace The Elect and the Damned Wagering It all In the world and yet not Theory: the tight fi t of homology Homology Dialectics? Is Pascal among the Marxists? By way of conclusion: Marxism as a secular and anti-secular project 2. The Stumbling Block of Fredric JamesonSupersession versus a dialectic of ideology and utopia Sidestepping religionMagic and fantasy Feuerbach versus Marx The politics of fantasy ApocalypticBy way of conclusion: towards a dialectic of religion 3. The Christian Communism of Rosa LuxemburgTactics A Reformer’s zeal Betraying the spirit A little Church historyAnti-clericalism Christian communismConsumption versus production Completing Christian communism Freedom of conscience 4. The Enticements of Karl Kautsky Text, history, contextThe slipperiness of sacred textsThe Bible as a cultural product Reconstructing economic history Differentiation and slaves Slaves and other modes of productionThe sacred economy: prolegomena to a reconstruction TransitionsChristian communism Conclusion 5. The Forgetfulness of Julia Kristeva Flushing out Marx Monocausality, or, the taboo of the mother Paul the Apostle, both waysOther-than-human loveCrucifying the pathologiesCollectives Conclusion 6. The Fables of Alain BadiouBanishing the OneTheology and the EventA generic procedure of religion?Pascal’s miracleKierkegaard’s encounterPaul’s fable Conclusion: necessary fables 7. The Conundrums of Giorgio Agamben The search for Paul Christology, or the problem of Jesus MessiahFaith, law and grace as placeholder of the voidPre-law, or trying to make sense of PaulConclusion: relativising theology 8. The Self-Exorcism of Georg Lukács A world abandoned by God Leap-frogging Christianity Autobiographical exorcism Conclusion 9. The Bible and The Beekeeper’s ManualAn apparent absence? Warm Marxism Autobiography Welshness The working class Conclusion: the vanishing mediator of the Baptist chapel Conclusion ReferencesIndex of Biblical ReferencesGeneral Index