I suppose there have been well-intentioned Marxist critics of Christianity who have pointed to Biblical passages promising "crowns in heaven" only to identify a perversely sublimated materialism. I suppose those same critics must have overlooked I Thessalonians 2:19-20: "For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? Yes, you are our glory and joy!"
Speaking of Thessalonians, greetings from that wonderful city, my favorite in Greece, maybe even my favorite in all of Europe. On the agenda today (before our seminar begins) is to see the Thessaloniki Biennale, which has taken as its theme text Terry Eagleton's After Theory (excerpts from which I provided you back in 2005). When it comes to contemporary art, the Venice Biennale is so 20th century.