Abstract

This essay represents an extension and deepening of the author’s book Žižek and Theology. First, it more thoroughly explores the relationship between Žižek’s perspective on theology and his development of the ontology and ethics of “dialectical materialism” in The Parallax View. It contrasts the typical approach to God as a kind of “master signifier” with Žižek’s call for a “non-all” God who names the very contingency and inconsistency of the world as such. The author then reads key texts by Augustine and Pseudo-Dionysius through the lens of Žižek’s theology, showing that these authors provide resources for thinking of God as non-all, particularly in their account of evil as deprivation. It concludes with a call for a materialist theology that would further develop these insights, treating the Christian tradition as material for thought rather than a set of predetermined answers.