Jesus Beyond Nationalism: Constructing the Historical Jesus in a Period of Cultural Complexity (BibleWorld) - Softcover

9781845534110: Jesus Beyond Nationalism: Constructing the Historical Jesus in a Period of Cultural Complexity (BibleWorld)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845534115 ISBN 13: 9781845534110

Publisher: Routledge, 2009

The study of Jesus has rarely looked at its own scholarly context, at how the representation of Jesus might be shaped by those who study him. 'Jesus beyond Nationalism' examines how - since the beginnings of historical Jesus studies in the nineteenth century - representations of Jesus have been used to promote hegemonic or mono-cultural views. The ideology behind such representation has operated to deny difference in society, difference in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Examining depictions of Jesus in a range of contexts - from the Russian Christ and Jesus as 'Holy Anarchist' to Jesus in Muslim thought - 'Jesus Beyond Nationalism' reveals the politics behind the ways in which Jesus has been constructed and presented.

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Synopsis:

The link between historical Jesus studies and the broader cultural contexts has been largely lost in contemporary scholarship, with the heritage of the Jesus scholarship from the nineteenth century being detached from its cultural context and with the history of Jesus scholarship being buried as a topic in the development of methods and issues in New Testament studies. As a result most presentations of the historical Jesus are historiographically and hermeneutically naive, assuming an 'objective' posture, with little or no reflection on their ideological presuppositions. Therefore, consciously or unconsciously, they often represent hegemonic positions.This collection of essays starts from a different position, by questioning the use of presentations of Jesus to defend and protect hegemonic or mono-cultural contexts, and thereby explicitly or implicitly favour a development towards a more inclusive society for persons from different ethnic, racial, national, gender and sexual orientation backgrounds.

This collection of essays will look at the cultural and ideological beginnings of historical Jesus studies in the nineteenth century and expose the underlying presuppositions of hegemony in contemporary presentations of Jesus, viewed from the perspective of 'cultural complexity'.

About the Author:

Halvor Moxnes lectures in New Testament in the Department of Theology at the University of Oslo. He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters and is active in international scholarly organizations. His main research interests include the New Testament and Early Christianity in the cultural context of the Mediterranean in Antiquity, the history of interpretation of the historical Jesus in modern societies, and gender and masculinity studies in religion. Ward Blanton lectures in New Testament in the Dept of Theology & Religious Studies at the University of Glasgow. His research interests include New Testament studies in relation to questions of religion, secularity and the political, particularly as these have been understood by continental philosophy and critical theory. James G. Crossley lectures in New Testament in the Dept of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield. His main research interests include early Judaism, historical Jesus, social history of Christian origins, the political contexts of scholarship, and the New Testament in contemporary politics and popular culture.

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