There's an old Jewish joke, loved by Derrida, about a group of Jews in a synagogue, publicly admitting their nullity in the eyes of God. First, a rabbi stands up and says: "O God, I know I am worthless, I am nothing!" After he has finished, a rich businessman stands up and says, beating himself on the chest: "O God, I am also worthless, obsessed with material wealth, I am nothing!" After this spectacle, a poor ordinary Jew also stands up and also proclaims: "O God, I am nothing..." The rich businessman kicks the rabbi and whispers in his ear with scorn: "What insolence! Who is that guy who dares to claim that he is nothing too!"
Slavoj Zizek in The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox and Dialectic
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3 comments:
What's Slavov Zizek's book about? The title is certainly provocative.
One of my favorite Jewish joke:
A bloke buys a yellow Ford Mustang and not content with the protection provided by Direct Line seeks some religious reassurance. He approaches his local priest, "Father, Father, can you bless my car?" The priest pulls out his holy water and gives the Mustang a light sprinkle.
Still not reassured the bloke goes to his local pastor, "Pastor, Pastor can you bless my car?" The Pastor pulls out his hosepipe and lets rip a jet of water whilst praying in tongues.
Feeling more confident but wanting to cover his bases the bloke goes to his local synagogue. "Rabbi, Rabbi can you bless my car?" The Rabbi accordingly pulls out his hacksaw, and cuts 2mm off the exhaust pipe.
Enjoying the blog. Matt B
Matt: Nice.
Ben: The book is co-written by Zizek and John Milbank, and is basically a discussion about whether atheism or orthodox Christian theism is most faithful to the significance of Jesus. It's a whole different thought-world from the Dawkins debate, but also about a million times more obscure!
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