The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic? (Short Circuits) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), John Milbank (Author), Creston Davis (Editor) "If the theological was marginalized in the age of Western secular modernity, it has now returned with a vengeance..." (more)
Key Phrases: materialist theology, wandering joy, david bentley hart, Holy Spirit, Meister Eckhart, The Essential Sermons (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this dazzling dialogue, Zizek and Milbank change words and cross swords, until the point where both recognize that Christ and Hegel, in their monstrosity, look very much alike. A phenomenal achievement!"
—Catherine Malabou, Maître de Conferences, Philosophy Department, Université Paris-X Nanterre

"The contemporary return to the theological most dramatically occurs in this book, as Zizek fully realizes his earlier Hegelian and Lacanian theological work, a work that Milbank can essentially know as a uniquely modern expression of nihilism. Nonetheless Milbank enters into a genuine theological dialogue with this nihilism, and a truly new theological discourse occurs. This effects a paradoxical union between orthodoxy and heterodoxy, and between radical orthodoxy and radical heterodoxy, which is perhaps the deepest motif of the contemporary return to the theological."
—Thomas J. J. Altizer, author of Godhead and the Nothing

Product Description

What matters is not so much that Žižek is endorsing a demythologized, disenchanted Christianity without transcendence, as that he is offering in the end (despite what he sometimes claims) a heterodox version of Christian belief.
—John Milbank

To put it even more bluntly, my claim is that it is Milbank who is effectively guilty of heterodoxy, ultimately of a regression to paganism: in my atheism, I am more Christian than Milbank.
—Slavoj ÂŽižek

In this corner, philosopher Slavoj Žižek, who represents the critical-materialist stance against religion's illusions; in the other corner, "radical orthodox" theologian John Milbank, an influential and provocative thinker who argues that theology is the only foundation upon which knowledge, politics, and ethics can stand. In The Monstrosity of Christ, Žižek and Milbank go head to head for three rounds, employing an impressive arsenal of moves to advance their positions and press their respective advantages. By the closing bell, they have proven themselves worthy adversaries--and have also shown that faith and reason are not simply and intractably opposed.

ÂŽižek has long been interested in the emancipatory potential offered by Christian theology. And Milbank, seeing global capitalism as the new century's greatest ethical challenge, has pushed his own ontology in more political and materialist directions. Their debate in The Monstrosity of Christ concerns nothing less than the future of religion, secularity, and political hope in light of a monsterful event—God becoming human. For the first time since ÂŽižek's turn toward theology, we have a true debate between an atheist and a theologian about the very meaning of theology, Christ, the Church, the Holy Ghost, universality, and the foundations of logic. The result goes far beyond the popularized atheist/theist point/counterpoint of recent books by Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and others.

Žižek begins, and Milbank answers, countering dialectics with "paradox." The debate centers on the nature of and relation between paradox and parallax, between analogy and dialectics, between transcendent glory and liberation.

Short Circuits series, edited by Slavoj Žižek

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (April 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262012715
• ISBN-13: 978-0262012713
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,132 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Monstrosity of Christ, May 12, 2009

By	cytokine (Sewanee, TN USA) - See all my reviews

In reviewing any book, the first question that should be answered is, "Is this book worth reading?" My answer is, "It depends." If one is perfectly comfortable in one's theology, believes Christianity is on the right track and that all is well with the world other than a few blemishes and rough spots here and there, and one is intellectually lazy besides, then I recommend skipping the hard work that this book demands.

Maybe a book with the catchy title, The Monstrosity of Christ, already warns the reader that this will not be a simple apologetic or `isn't Christianity nice' tome. `Monstrosity' comes from Hegel's use of the word to mean something so outlandish, so beyond the normative, consensual reality of everyday as to constitute a break, a schism, so to speak, that invites a renewed apperception of `The Real' - the fabric of Reality (all there is) - as opposed to that portion of Reality that is apprehended through empirically derived data (e.g. scientific experiment that is performed on just a portion of all there is). Thus, for both Zizek, an avowed `Christian' atheist and for Milbank, an avowed `Orthodox' Christian, theology must start with the monstrosity of Christ. This is the foundation of Christianity.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hegel, Jesus, Paradox and Dialectic, July 23, 2009

By	Jeremy Garber "urbanmenno" (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Interesting conversation between a committed Marxist atheist and a committed orthodox theologian about what parts of Hegel and Christianity they hold in common - and which they do not. Zizek starts with an essay where he outlines how Hegel has the most to contribute to contemporary theology - namely, the frank admission that God is dead and is now incarnated in the community of radical believers that work against modernity and global capitalism. Milbank agrees, but argues that a paradoxical view of reality - one that recognizes that opposites exist precisely at the same time without resolution - is both more faithful to how reality works and to the vision of Christianity itself, as opposed to Hegelian dialectics. Zizek returns and clearly outlines his commitment to materialism and to the Protestant principle of negation which Milbank eschews. Both thinkers' commitments are clearly and unapologetically evident, and yet their respect for the other person's thought is evident. A fascinating - if philosophically dense - resource for anyone concerned about the runaway abuse of ultra-modern capitalism and the reality of religious resurgence in 21st century society.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zizek shines here, May 30, 2009

By	eupraxis "eupraxis" (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews

If you are a Hegelian and like Zizek's work, this volume has your name on it. I loved Zizek's first essay, and liked the second. The Milbank piece is a waste of time, in my opinion, but it serves at least as a good foil for the response essay.

Zizek continues a theme in his later texts, like The Puppet and the Dwarf, namely the meaning and significance of Christianity. His approach offers the materialist or atheist an alternative to the mundane crude materialism of Harris and Dawkins. Zizek argues in favor of the internal transcendence that he finds in Hegelian dialectic, and the not-all of Lacan.