Letters from the Road: Lenin and Spiritual Booze
In ‘Socialism and Religion’ from 1905, Lenin famously wrote: Religion is opium of the people [опиум народа, opium naroda]. Religion is a sort of spiritual booze, in which the slaves of capital drown...
View ArticleLenin’s Interpretation of the Parable of the Tares and the Wheat
The telling feature of this interpretation (of Matthew 13: 24-30) is not that it is a passing allusion, but that it becomes a key mode for organising Lenin’s struggles with various opponents in the...
View ArticleFrom Bricklayers to Cleaning the Yard: On Lenin’s Writing of Parables
Jesus, the disciples, the sower, the harvester, the Syro-Phoenician woman, the travellers on the road, guests at the wedding banquet, shepherds, sheep, Philistines, Pharisees, Judas Iscariot, Moses,...
View ArticleLetters from the Road: Lenin on Miracles
‘In certain respects, a revolution is a miracle’ (Lenin 1921 [1965]-a: 153). Revolution = miracle; революция = чудо: this is the arresting formula I wish to explore. This formula is by no means an...
View ArticleLenin and the Partisanship of Freedom
Freedom is openly partisan: this is the apparently paradoxical key to Lenin’s argument concerning freedom. Contrary to one of the more popular recent assessments of Lenin on freedom,[1] the crucial...
View ArticleLetters from the Road: Lenin the prophet
We can prophecy for you (Lenin 1907 [1962]-a: 329). A little recognised feature of Lenin’s writings is his complex invocation and transformation of the category of prophecy. While he denies the...
View ArticleLetters from the Road: An Outline of Lenin and Theology
Since I am in St. Petersburg, preparing to give a talk on ‘Lenin and Theology: Miracles Can Happen’, perhaps it is worth providing an outline of the whole book, Lenin and Theology. Introduction Why...
View Article2 Thessalonians: The Difference Between the Religious Left and the Religious...
What is the difference between the religious Left and the religious Right? The key – believe it or not – may well lie in the interpretation of a biblical verse, 2 Thessalonians 3: 10: He who does not...
View ArticleA Conversation with Simon Critchley about “The Faith of the Faithless”
In this interview Simon Critchley discusses his new book, "The Faith of the Faithless: Experiments in Political Theology," with Dave True of Political Theology. Along the way Critchley touches on an...
View Article