A B E D A Z Z A M N I E T Z S C H E V E R S U S P A U L I N S U R R E C T I O N S : C R I T I C A L S T U D I E S I N R E L I G I O N , P O L I T I C S , A N D C U LT U R E I N S U R R E C T I O N S : C R I T I C A L S T U D I E S I N R E L I G I O N , P O L I T I C S , A N D C U LT U R E S lavoj Žižek, Clayton Crockett, Creston Davis, Jeffrey W. Robbins, Editors T he intersection of religion, politics, and culture is one of the most discussed areas in theory today. It also has the deepest and most wide-ranging impact on the world. Insur- rections: Critical Studies in Religion, Politics, and Culture will bring the tools of phi- losophy and critical theory to the political implications of the religious turn. The series will address a range of religious traditions and political viewpoints in the United States, Europe, and other parts of the world. Without advocating any specifi c religious or theological stance, the series aims nonetheless to be faithful to the radical emancipatory potential of religion. For a complete list of books in the series, see page 210 N IETZSCHE VERSUS A BED AZZAM PAUL C OL U M B I A U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S N E W Y O R K C O L U M B I A U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S P ublishers Since 1893 N ew York Chichester, West Sussex c up.columbia.edu C opyright © 2015 Columbia University Press A ll rights reserved L ibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A zzam, Abed. Nietzsche versus Paul / Abed Azzam. pages cm.—(Insurrections: critical studies in religion, politics, and culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-231-16930-1 (cloth: alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-16931-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-53897-8 (e-book) 1. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844–1900. 2. Christanity— Philosophy. 3. Christanity and atheism. 4. Dionysus (Greek deity) 5. Paul, the Apostle, Saint. I. Title. B3318. C35A99 2015 193—dc23 2014010861 C olumbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. T his book is printed on paper with recycled content. P rinted in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 c over image: comet hale-bopp © bernd nies c over design: chang jae lee R eferences to websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared. F O R B A L K I S C O N T E N T S A cknowledgments ix L ist of Abbreviations xi I ntroduction xiii 1 . From Dionysian Tragedy to Christianity 1 2 . From Judaism to Christianity 25 3 . Jesus-Christ and the Two Worlds of Early Christianity 52 4 . Paul: The First Christian 82 5 . Science and Art After the Death of God 105 6 . Beyond Modern Temporality 131 N otes 151 B ibliography 185 I ndex 197 vii A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S D uring the several years I spent researching and writing this manu- script, I was surrounded by colleagues and friends who pushed this project toward its successful fi nalization each in his own way. I want to thank Adi Ophir for his stimulating responses and unceasing encour- agement. I direct my thanks to Alfred Tauber for his extraordinary support and insightful notes on an earlier version of this manuscript. I am also tremendously thankful to Oded Schechter for his reading of the major parts of the manuscript and the countless conversations from which I learned enormously. Special thanks to Judith Butler for her generous and attentive reading of the manuscript. Also thanks to CUP’s two anonymous readers for their thoughtful notes which left their stamp on the last version of this book. I was lucky for being granted the help, support, advice, notes, and thoughts of all those who led the early versions of this manuscript to wear the form of this book. My distinctive thanks go to Amnon Raz- Krakotzkin, Christiane Aurich, Christoph Schmidt, Eliav Brand, Georges Khalil, Gideon Freudenthal, Kamal Aljafari, Samah Selim, Samera Esmeir, Uta Ruge, Yizhak Melamed, and Yossef Schwartz. ix