Page numbers refer to the print edition but are hyperlinked to the appropriate location in the e-book.
Abraham: Breton on Christ as fulfillment of covenant with, 20–25, 131n9; vs. Moses, as faith vs. law in Breton, 22–25
Adam, in Breton, erasure of, 6, 7–8, 17, 21–22, 23, 25, 30, 34–35, 91
Adam, in Žižek: as corporate person, 82, 92; erasure of, 6, 8–9, 91; identity with Christ, 78–79, 79–80, 91; as man without properties, 82
Adam-Christ typology, 3; Agamben on, 9–10; anthropological aporia generated by, 4–6, 13, 24, 31, 85, 94, 98; Badiou’s ignoring of, 42, 60–61, 62; central importance to contemporary theological anthropology, 86; as “dialectic at a standstill,” 131n27; humans as situated in interval of, 3–4, 21; irreducibly embodied dimensions of, 4; and life-death opposition, complication of, 69–71; mainstream Christian theology and, 89–90; On the Origin of the World (Nag Hammadi text) on, 103; shattering of, 113; as unbreakable pairing, 7. See also entries under Adam
Adam-Christ typology, and sexual difference: as aporia demanding attention, 6, 13, 24, 61, 85, 91, 94, 98; Christian efforts to reconcile, 5–6, 7, 31, 61, 96, 98–104, 108–9; and undermining of typological coherence, 88–89, 104–5, 105–8, 109–10, 112–13; as irreconcilable tension, 98–104
Adam-Christ typology, as frame for Christian anthropological possibilities, 88; and anthropological universal, necessity of resisting, 88; early Christian efforts to incorporate sexual difference and, 100, 101–2; female body as stumbling point in, 88, 96–97, 100, 101–2, 104–5, 109–10; incoherence of, as call to think bodily difference otherwise, 110; mainstream Christian theology and, 90; ongoing value of, 96–97, 113; and sexual difference as spectral presence, 88–89, 104–5, 105–8, 109; shaping and limiting of sexual identities by, 96
Adam-Christ typology, Žižek on: collapsing of, 8, 80–81, 84, 92; in critique of Badiou, 67; early disregard of, 69–71; identity of Adam and Christ in, 79–82; and sexual difference, discounting of, 65–66, 80–82, 93
Agamben, Giorgio: on Adam-Christ typology, 9–10; feminist critiques of, 10–11; influence on Žižek, 74, 75; on Paul’s messianic openness, 10–11; recent engagement with Pauline corpus, 2; on sexual difference in Paul, 10; on universalism in Paul, 10
Althaus-Reid, Marcella, 103–4
analytic discourse in Lacan, and jouissance of the feminine, 53–56, 126n26
Breton, Stanislas: background of, 6, 15; and Badiou, influence on, 6, 15, 40; Bultmann’s influence on, 23; and turn to Paul, 16. See also Saint Paul (Breton)
Christ, in Badiou: as representative of life, 66–67; universal singularity and, 40, 42, 60–61
Christ, in Breton: as firstborn (prōtotokos), 28; as fulfillment of covenant with Abraham, 20–25, 31, 131n9; history as self-portrait of, 20; Jewish history as prediction and back-fulfillment of, 17–20; passion and resurrection as type of rebirth into the Church, 35; primacy of in eschatological movement of history, 26–30, 31, 35, 121n10
Christ, in Žižek: as corporate person, 82, 92; identity with Adam, 78–79, 79–80, 79–82; as man without properties, 76, 82
Christian discourse, in Badiou: and deadlocking of language, 46; overturning of Jewish and Greek discourse by, 41, 44–47, 52–53; subject of as always-ongoing becoming, 49–50; universal subject generated by, 44–45, 49–50, 53, 62–63, 109
Christianity, in Žižek: as betrayal of Judaism, 75, 83; emergence of, as Hegelian movement, 76; perverse logic at core of, 77–79, 80, 81, 82, 130–31n25
Christian theology: Adam-Christ typology and sexual difference, efforts to reconcile, 5–6, 7, 31, 61, 96, 98–104; female body as stumbling point, 96–97, 100, 101–2, 104–5, 109–10; necessity of engaging, 97–98; as queer theology, 90; and sexual difference, 89–90
Colossians: in Breton’s interpretation of Genesis, 26–28, 30; Breton’s reading of Paul and, 32; dubious authorship of, 27
communities in Paul: Breton on, 31, 32, 33, 34; Jesus as living presence in, 19; Žižek on, 33, 75, 81, 83, 84, 92–93
1st Corinthians: Adam-Christ typology in, 69; Agamben and, 10; “as if not” in, 75; Badiou on Adam and, 60; Badiou on Adam-Christ typology in, 127–28n41; Badiou on Christian discourse in, 46; Badiou on gender difference in, 127n39; in Breton’s reading of Pauline communities, 33, 34; in Breton’s reading of Pauline notion of hope, 29–30; ensouled body vs. spiritual body in, 70; Paul’s Adam-Christ typology in, 3–5; and Paul’s view of history, in Breton, 17–18, 19, 21–22; Žižek on, 79, 94
2nd Corinthians, on human body, 2
Cornell, Drucilla, 87, 110
creation: Clement of Alexandria on, 99–100; On the Origin of the World (Nag Hammadi text) on, 102–3
creation story, Breton on: erasure of Adam and Eve in, 25, 30; and primacy of Christ in eschatological movement of history, 26–30, 31, 35, 121n10; and teleological volition within being, 25–26
creation story, Žižek on, 77
crucifixion: Badiou on, 66–67; Breton on, 35; Žižek on, 75
death, Badiou’s dissociation of from resurrection, 66–67, 74
death and life: as functionally equivalent to law and love, in Badiou, 67–68, 72, 74; two forms of, in Žižek, 68–71
discourse, Christian, in Badiou: and deadlocking of language, 46; overturning of Jewish and Greek discourse by, 41, 44–47, 52–53; universal subject generated by, 44–45, 49–50, 53, 62–63
Encore, 1972–1973 (Lacan), 53–56
L’Envers de la Psychanalyse, 1969–1970 (Lacan), 51–52
Ephesians: Breton’s reading of Paul and, 34; John Paul II on, 89–90
The Ethics of Psychoanalysis, 1959–1960 (Lacan), 72–73
Eve: Breton’s erasure of, 25, 30; in Clement of Alexandria, 99–100; and Paul’s Adam-Christ typology, 5; as speaker in Romans 7, 105–8; Žižek’s marginalization of, 82, 84. See also sexual difference
Excerpts from Theodotus, 99
feminist critics, on Agamben, 10–11
feminist theology: and Adam-Christ typology, 96–97; Eve-Mary typology and, 101; on Paul’s view of sexual difference, 115n3
filial terminology in Badiou, 40–41
firstborn (prōtotokos), Christ as, in Breton, 28
The Fragile Absolute (Žižek), 65, 84
Galatians: Breton’s erasure of Adam and, 23; and Paul’s view of history, in Breton, 19, 21; on promise of Spirit through faith, 22; spirit-flesh opposition in, 70
Galatians 3:28: Badiou’s treatment of sexual difference and, 40, 58; Breton’s erasure of Adam and, 23–24, 31; Breton’s treatment of sexual difference and, 32, 33; feminist biblical scholarship on, 115n3; on human identification, 1, 23–24; as pre-Pauline baptismal formula, 115n2, 121n9; traditional reading of, 122n2; and Žižek’s universal subject, 81, 93, 94
gender: as attempt to negotiate anxieties of sexual difference, 108; binary constructs of, complexity of sexual identity and, 111; Breton’s universal subject and, 17, 33, 109; downplaying of in continental philosophy’s engagement with Paul, 2–3, 7; nonstandard identities and, 110–11, 111–12
Genesis: Breton’s reading of, 25–26; Colossians 1 and, 27; John Paul II on, 89; On the Origin of the World (Nag Hammadi text) on, 102–3; Žižek on, 77. See also Adam; Eve; entries under creation story
God, Žižek on: impotence of in Judaism, 75, 92; private God, death of, 92–93
Greek discourse, in Badiou: as discourse of mastery, 43–44, 45; nature of, 43; overturning of by Christian discourse, 41, 44–47; subjective disposition generated by, 43
Hegel, Georg W. F.: Badiou on, 51, 52, 67; influence on Žižek, 65, 66, 76–79; on penis, lower and higher functions of, 77–78, 130–31n25; and Žižek on perverse logic of Christianity, 77–79, 80, 81, 82, 130–31n25
history: conception of in Žižek, 83; eschatological movement of, Breton on, 26–30, 31, 35, 121n10; Jewish, Breton on, 17–20
identity: identitarian differences and capitalism, Badiou on, 39–40; in Paul, Breton’s erasure of Adam and, 36; in Paul, in Agamben on, 10–11; theological reflection and, 90. See also universal subject
Jewish discourse, in Badiou: as discourse of mastery, 43–44, 45; nature of, 43; overturning of by Christian discourse, 41, 44–47; relation to mystical discourse, 49; subjective disposition generated by, 43
Jewish history, Breton on, 17–20
Jewish law, in Žižek: as basis of Pauline Event, 83; underlying contradictions in, 82–83
Job, and Jewish relation to law, in Žižek, 75, 92
Judaism: relationship to law, Žižek on, 74–75; as that which Christianity betrays, in Žižek, 75, 83
Judas, Paul as symbolic replacement of, 76
Lacan, Jacques: on analytic discourse and jouissance of the feminine, 53–56, 126n26; Badiou’s Christian discourse and, 53, 56–60, 127nn37–38; and death drive, 67, 72–73, 74, 76; four types of discourse in, 51–53, 52, 57, 125n17; influence on Žižek, 65; on law and “the Thing,” 72–73, 129–30n15; on obscene superego supplement, 72–73, 129–30n15; and Pauline concept of law, 72–73, 74; Žižek on importance of Paul for understanding, 71
law: Judaism’s relationship to, Žižek on, 74–75; and “the Thing,” Lacan on, 72–73; underlying contradictions, Žižek on, 82–83
law vs. love (grace): Badiou on, 67–68, 72, 74; Žižek on, 75
life, two forms of in Žižek, 68–71
love (grace) vs. law: Badiou on, 67–68, 72, 74; in Žižek, 75
Luke, on Christ, coming of, 20
marriage, John Paul II on, 89–90
Mary, Paul’s Adam-Christ typology and, 5, 100–102
Matthew, on Christ, coming of, 20–21
monistic efforts to reconcile Adam-Christ typology and sexual difference, 99–100
The Monstrosity of Christ (Žižek and Milbank), 65
mystical discourse in Badiou: Lacan’s jouissance of the feminine and, 53, 56–60; as margin of Christian discourse, 41, 47, 48–49, 50, 53, 57; nature of, 47–48; relation to Jewish discourse, 49; and sexual difference, 41–42, 50–51
Nag Hammadi corpus, 102–3
On Feminine Sexuality: The Limits of Love and Knowledge (Lacan), 53–56
On the Origin of the World (Nag Hammadi text), 102–3
“The Other Side of Psychoanalysis” (Lacan), 51–52
Paul: ambiguity of anthropology in, 1; on Christ, as fulfillment of Adam, 21; on material body, 1–2, 12, 35–37; New Perspective on, 76, 121n7; views on sexual difference, ambiguity of, 1, 115n3
Pauline event: Adam-Christ typology and, 7; Agamben on, 9; Badiou on, 8, 40, 41, 44–47, 49–50, 52–53, 58, 59–63; Breton on, 18; Žižek on, 41, 66–69, 72, 74, 76–79, 80–83, 92, 130–31n25
Phenomenology of Spirit (Hegel), 77
philosophy, Breton on premises of, 15
Plato, on embodiment, 2, 116n4
political theology: Taubes on, 11; vs. theological anthropology, 11–12
prosōpopoiia, in Romans chapter 7, 105–8
Protrepticus (Clement of Alexandria), 99–100
psychoanalysis, and mysticism, Lacan on, 55–56
The Psychotheology of Everyday Life (Santner), 74
queer theology: and Adam-Christ typology, ongoing value of, 96–97; Christian theology as, 90; and implications of nonnormative bodily experiences, 111
redemption, identity with Fall, in Žižek, 78–79, 79–80
resurrection of Christ: Badiou’s dissociation of from death, 66–67, 74; as event creating new universal singularity, in Badiou, 40, 42, 45, 62, 67; significance of in Adam-Christ typology, 69–71
Romans: Adam-Christ typology in, 69; Badiou’s reading of, 50; Breton’s reading of, 23, 121n7; Busch’s reading of, 88; identity of speaker in, 105–8; Lacan on, 72–73; Paul’s Adam-Christ typology in, 3, 5; and sexual difference, 105–8; Žižek on, 66, 72, 74, 79, 82–83, 91, 94
Saint Paul (Breton): on Abraham vs. Moses as faith vs. law, 22–25; and androcentric anthropology, 97; Blanton introduction to, 16, 23; and Christ, in eschatological movement of history, 26–30, 31, 35, 121n10; on Christ as fulfillment of covenant with Abraham, 20–25, 31, 131n9; on the Church, 31–32, 32–33, 34–35; on communion/fellowship (koinōnia) in Paul, 31; on communities, 31, 32, 33, 34; counterfeit stability of human in, 90; on creation story, 25–26, 26–30, 31, 35, 121n10; erasure of Adam in, 6, 7–8, 17, 21–22, 23, 25, 30, 34–35, 91; gendered metaphors in, 33–34; as gendering project, 108–9; and history as self-portrait of Christ, 20; on hope, as yearning for new order, 29–30; on irreducible excess of meaning in Paul, 36–37; Jewish history in, as prediction and back-fulfillment of Christ, 17–20; limitations of interpretation, 24, 30, 121n7; on passion and resurrection of Christ, as type, 35; on Pauline Event, 18; on Paul’s faith, as movement and affirmation, 37, 108; Paul’s sexual hierarchy and, 33, 34; on Paul’s spiritual (“pneumatic”) body, 29–30, 122n12; on premises of philosophy vs. theology, 15–16; and sexual difference, as unacknowledged underlying tension, 35–37, 109; and sexual difference, minimization of, 17, 24–25, 31–34, 35–37, 88–89, 91, 97; on slavery in Pauline communities, 32, 33; typological method of, 17–20; on universalism, 23–24; universal subject in, 17, 33, 109; on will to power, 28–29; and yearning of creation toward a new order, 28–30
Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism (Badiou), 6; and Adam, as inventor of death, 42, 60, 66–67, 91, 127–28n41; and Adam, erasure of, 6, 8, 60; and androcentric anthropology, importing of, 97; anti-Jewish orientation of, 49; counterfeit stability of human in, 90; on death, dissociation of from resurrection, 66–67, 74; on death and life, as functionally equivalent to law and love, 67–68, 72, 74; on discourses, subjective dispositions generated by, 43; elimination of the feminine in, 40–41; and exception, as term, 50; as gendering project, 108–9; on identitarian differences and capitalism, 39–40; on Lacan’s four types of discourse as analog to Paul’s discourse types, 51–53, 57; on law vs. love (grace), 67–68, 72, 74; on Pauline Event, 8, 40, 41, 44–47, 49–50, 52–53, 58, 59–63; Paul’s Adam-Christ typology and, 42, 60–61, 62; on resurrection of Christ, as event, 40, 42, 45, 62, 67; Žižek’s critique of, 66–68, 72–74. See also Christian discourse, in Badiou; Greek discourse, in Badiou; Jewish discourse, in Badiou; mystical discourse in Badiou; sexual difference in Badiou; universal subject, in Badiou
Schroeder, Jeanne Lorraine, 52
Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky, 94
Seminar VII (Lacan), 72–73
Seminar XVII (Lacan), 51–52
Seminar XX (Lacan), 53–56
sexual difference: in contemporary Christian theology, 89–90; and gender, 108; minimization of, 6–7, 8–9, 88–89, 109; in On the Origin of the World, 103; and Adam-Christ typology, 88, 104–5, 105–8, 109; as term, 117n7
sexual difference and Adam-Christ typology: as aporia, 6, 13, 24, 61, 85, 91, 94, 98; Christian efforts to reconcile, 5–6, 7, 24, 31, 61, 96, 98–104, 108–9; as spectral presence, 88–89, 104–5, 105–8, 109–10, 112–13; as irreconcilable tension, 98–104
sexual difference in Badiou: minimization of, 40–41, 88–89, 91, 97; necessity of transcending, 58; parallels to Lacan, 53, 56–60, 127nn37–38; as unacknowledged underlying tension, 41–42, 50–51, 58–60, 61–62, 109
sexual difference in Paul: Agamben on, 10; as ambiguous, 1, 115n3; as tension, 1–2, 12, 35–37, 88–89, 104–5, 105–8, 109–10, 112–13
sexual difference in Žižek: discounting of, 8–9, 65–66, 80–82, 88–89, 93, 97; minimization of, 88–89, 91; as unacknowledged underlying tension, 82, 109
sexual identity: instability of, Rose on, 104; Adam-Christ typology and, 88, 96, 104, 111–13
signifiance, in Lacan, 55
Specters of Paul (Dunning), 4–5, 88
spirit-flesh opposition: Breton on, 29–30, 122n12; complication of, in Adam-Christ typology in Paul, 70–71; Paul on, 4; Žižek on, 68–69
Tertullian of Carthage, 5, 100
theological anthropology: definition of, 11; political focus of turn to Paul and, 11–12
Theology of the Body (John Paul II), 89–90
The Time That Remains (Agamben), 9–10, 11, 74
typology in Breton: central importance of, 16; as Christocentric, 17
universal subject: Agamben on, 10; Christ as, 7, 8; and erasure of Adam, 6, 8–9, 17, 23; necessity of resisting, 88–89; and sexual difference, 6–7, 8–9, 13, 88–89, 109
universal subject, in Badiou: Badiou’s filial terminology and, 40–41; as Christ-centered, 40, 42, 60–61; creation of, as goal, 39–40; generated by Christian discourse, 44–45, 49–50, 53, 62–63, 109; precariousness of, 63; sexual difference as underlying tension in, 58–60, 62–63; and subsuming of difference, 58, 127nn39–40
universal subject, in Breton: Abraham as, 23–24; and gender 17, 33, 109
universal subject, in Žižek: and anthropological recognition, possibility of, 84–85; Christ as, 8; critiques of, 41; and gender 109; and identity politics, rendering inoperative of, 81, 93–94
will to power, Breton on, 28–29
Žižek, Slavoj: and androcentric anthropology, 97; and anthropological aporia, 85; Badiou’s influence on, 6; on communities in Paul, 33, 75, 81, 83, 84, 92–93; conception of history in, 83; conclusions of, as similar to Badiou, 81; counterfeit stability of human in, 90; critique of Badiou, 66–68, 72–74; and death drive, 74; erasure of Adam in, 6, 8–9; on fall and redemption, 78–79; on form/essence dichotomy in Paul, 12, 119–20n27; influences on, 65, 66, 74, 75; on Jewish law, underlying contradictions in, 82–83; on Jewish relationship to law, 74–75, 82–83; on Judaism and God’s impotence, 75, 92; Kotsko’s critique of, 82–83;
on Lacan, importance of Paul for understanding, 71; on law in Paul, transcendence of, 73–74; on life and death, 68–69, 68–71; on love, Christian conception of, 84–85; on obscene superego supplement, 74–75, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82–83; on Paul, undermining of Judaism by, 76–77; on Paul as symbolic replacement of Judas, 76; on Pauline Event, 41, 66–69, 72, 74, 76–79, 80–83, 92, 130–31n25; on private God, death of, 92–93; recent engagement with Pauline corpus, 2; and representative function of Adam and Christ, 91; similarities to Badiou’s reading, 66; on solidarity, as political goal, 92–93, 93–94; on spirit-flesh opposition, 68–69; works on Paul and Christian theology, 65. See also Adam, in Žižek; Adam-Christ typology, Žižek on; Christ, in Žižek; Christianity, in Žižek; sexual difference in Žižek; universal subject, in Žižek