Daily Zizek: on the sacredness of questioning

“What is perceived here as the problem is precisely the Christian universalism: what this all-inclusive attitude (recall St. Paul’s famous “There are no men or women, no Jews and Greeks”) involves is a thorough exclusion of those who do not accept inclusion into the Christian community. In other “particularistic” religions (and even in Islam, in spite of its global expansionism), there is a place for others, they are tolerated, even if they are condescendingly looked upon. The Christian motto “All men are brothers,” however, means ALSO that “Those who are not my brothers ARE NOT MEN.” Christians usually praise themselves for overcoming the Jewish exclusivist notion of the Chosen People and encompassing all of humanity – the catch here is that, in their very insistence that they are the Chosen People with the privileged direct link to God, Jews accept the humanity of the other people who celebrate their false gods, while Christian universalism tendenti[ous]ly excludes non-believers from the very universality of humankind.”

(Slavoj Žižek, On Belief. Routledge, 2001: 143-144)

HT: Deane Galbraith

Is Bono a Christian?

The following are excerpts from the book Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas, it is a great read, especially if you like U2. I was asked if I thought Bono was a Christian, so I thought these remarks really let Bono answer that question for himself. Hope this excerpt is helpful.

BONO: ...My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person of Christ. Christ teaches that God is love. What does that mean? what it means for me: a study of the life of Christ. Love here describes itself as a child born in straw poverty, the most vulnerable situation of all, without honor. I don't let my religious world get too complicated. I just kind of go: Well, I think, I know what God is. God is love, and as much as I respond [sighs] in allowing myself to be transformed by that love and acting in that love, that's my religion.Where things get complicated for me, is when I try to live this love. Now, that's not so easy.

....

MICHKA: As I told you, I think I am beginning to understand religion because I have started acting and thinking like a father. What do you make of that?

BONO: Yes, I think that's normal. It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.

MICHKA: I haven't heard you talk about that.

BONO: I really believe we've moved out of the realm of Karma into one of Grace.

MICHKA: Well, that doesn't make it clearer for me.

BONO: You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics - in physical laws - every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the Universe. I'm absolutely sure of it, and yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "As you reap, so will you sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic, Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions' which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff.

....

MICHKA: The son of God Who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that.

BONO: But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there's mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let's face it, you're not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions, the point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That's the point, It should keep us humbled...It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of Heaven.

Technorati tags: Bono, Michka Assayas

On Christians

[Christianity] It seems to have remarkably little to do with the things that Jesus Christ actually taught. Especially among Christians in positions of great wealth and power, the idea of reading the Gospels and keeping Jesus's commandments as stated therein has been replaced by a curious process of logic. According to this process, people first declare themselves to be followers of Christ, and then assume that whatever they say or do merits the adjective "Christian."

-Wendell Berry