Luther's Behemot
The Politics of Grace between Paul and Badiou
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4901966 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ryan J Olfert (University of Alberta, [email protected]), Ryan Olfert (University of Alberta, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 45-62 |
| Publication date | 2011-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0008-4298 • E-ISSN: 2042-0587 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0008429810387989 |
| OpenAlex | W1983805268 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 5 |
The discourse of universal grace is employed as revolutionary theo-politics by many of the readers of Paul's letters. Alain Badiou is one such reader of Paul, who finds in Paul the possibility of a new radical egalitarianism based on the constitution of a subject committed to the truth of a grace-like event. This paper examines the compatibility of Badiou's politics and his reading of Paul in his book St. Paul: The Foundation of Universalism through a comparison with another politically radical reading of Paul, that of the German theologian and reformer Martin Luther. Like Badiou, Luther is a prime example of the way in which theology, philosophy, and politics are intimately connected. But more than that, Luther occupied a position from which he was able to, and did, affect the social and political implementation of his ideas. Thus, he provides a means of analyzing the results of the coordination of power and a Pauline universalism of grace. This paper concludes not only that Badiou's attempt at a materialistic appropriation of Pauline grace is incommensurable with his political vision but that it has, to borrow Slavoj Žižek's phrase, a hidden perverse core. Le discours de la grâce universelle est utilisé en tant que theo-politique révolutionnaire par plusieurs des lecteurs des lettres de Paul. Alain Badiou est un tel lecteur de Paul, qui trouve en Paul la possibilité d'un nouvel égalitarisme radical basé sur la constitution d'un sujet investi dans la vérité d'un événement de grâce. Ce document examine la compatibilité des politiques de Badiou et sa lecture de Paul dans son livre St. Paul: The Foundation of Universalism au moyen d'une comparaison à une autre lecture politiquement radicale de Paul, celui du théologien et réformateur allemand Martin Luther. Comme Badiou, Luther est un exemple typique de la manière dont la théologie, la philosophie, et la politique sont reliées intimement. Mais plus que ça, Luther a occupé une position dans laquelle il pouvait affecter et a affecté l'exécution sociale et politique de ses idées. Ainsi, il fournit des moyens d'analyser les résultats de la coordination de la puissance et d'un universalisme Pauline de grâce. Cet essai conclut que la version de grâce matérialiste avancée par Badiou est non seulement incommensurable avec sa vision politique mais qu'elle a-pour emprunter l'expression de Slavoj Žižek-un Ž noyau pervers caché
Appropriation · Constitution · Epistemology · Humanities · Political theology · Politics · Theology · Universalism · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Law · Philosophy · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, and Politics · Religious studies
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |