Harnessing Chaos The Bible in English Political Discourse Since 1968 / James G. Crossley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Crossley, James G., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religion.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (327 pages)

Other Title:

Knowledge Unlatched.

Place of Publication:

London, England : Bloomsbury Academic, 2016.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

"Harnessing Chaos" is an explanation of changes in dominant politicalized assumptions about what the Bible really means in English culture since the 1960s. James G. Crossley looks at how the social upheavals of the 1960s, and the economic shift from the post-war dominance of Keynesianism to the post-1970s dominance of neoliberalism, brought about certain emphases and nuances in the ways in which the Bible is popularly understood, particularly in relation to dominant political ideas. This book examines the decline of politically radical biblical interpretation in parliamentary politics and the victory of (a modified form of) Margaret Thatcher's re-reading of the liberal Bible tradition, following the normalisation of (a modified form of) Thatcherism more generally.

Contents:

Chapter 1 'Chaos is a Ladder': A Reception History of the Bible in English Politics 1

1 Why 'English'? 4

2 Why 'since 1968'? 8

3 Political Receptions of the Bible since 1968 10

a The Cultural Bible 10

b The Liberal Bible 12

c The Neoliberal Bible 15

d The Radical Bible 18

4 Tony Benn and the Decline of the Radical Bible 20

5 'The Good Man Jesus' 29

6 Concluding Remarks 32

Part I Experiencing Defeat

Chapter 2 Christopher Hill's World Turned Upside Down 37

1 The Problem of 1968 37

2 Christopher Hill 46

3 Christopher Hill's Bible 53

4 Experiencing Defeat: 1640s-1660s, 1960s-1980s 60

5 A Radical, English Bible 64

Chapter 3 This Was England: The Similitudes of Enoch Powell 70

1 Rivers of Blood 70

2 Rethinking the Post-Imperial Nation 76

3 Church of England 79

4 Like the Roman? The Lost Gospel of Enoch 82

Part II Thatcherism and the Harnessing of Chaos

Chapter 4 'Your Arms Are Just Too Short To Box with God': Margaret Thatcher's Neoliberal Bible 95

1 Margaret Thatcher: Cultural Phenomenon and Nonconformist 95

2 Thatcberite Anthropology: Thatcherism versus Communism 103

3 From the Evil Empire to the Axis of Evil 106

4 Let My People Go! Margaret Thatcher's Bible 110

Part III Carriers of Cultural Change

Chapter 5 'We're All Individuals': When Life of Brian Collided with Thatcherism 129

1 Satire, Comedy, and Freedom 129

2 The Radical Figure of Jesus/Brian 129

3 He's Not the Messiah and He's Not the Resurrection 135

4 Jesus and Brian, Revolution, and Trade Unions 140

5 Thinking about Sex 144

6 The Multicultural Jewish Brian of History 147

7 A Brian for His Times 151

Chapter 6 Saving Margaret from the Guillotine: Independent Music in Manchester from the Rise of Thatcher to the Rise of Blair 153

1 From Punic to Britpop: Manchester 1976-1994 153

2 'For EveryManc a Religion' 158

3 Biblical Language: Joy Division and the Fall 160

4 Biblical Language: Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses 163

5 Taking the Rain out of Manchester? Cityscapes and Personalities between 1976 and 1994 169

6 Margaret's Guillotine 174

Part IV From Thatcher's Legacy to Blair's Legacy

Chapter 7 Your Own Personal Judas: The Rehabilitation of Jeffrey Archer 183

1 Thou Shalt Not Get Caught 183

2 Abel. Not Cain 188

3 First among Equals 191

4 A Matter of Honour 194

5 False Impression: Who Betrayed Whom? 197

6 Speculative Archerisms 204

7 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less 207

Chapter 8 45 Minutes from Doom! Tony Blair and Tele Radical Bible Rebranded 210

1 Spiritual and Religious: The Political Theology of Tony Blair 210

2 'This Money and Bloodshed' 220

3 Doing God? The Iraq War and the Apocalyptic Bible 225

4 As is Written: Pure Democracy 234

Chapter 9 The Gove Bible Versus the Occupy Bible 242

1 1611 after 2008: The Bible in an Age of Coalition 242

2 Surviving Cynicism and the Noble Big Other 254

3 Surviving Postcolonialism 259

4 What Ever Happened to the Radical Bible 266

5 Same-sex Marriage or Subversive Love? The Case of Peter Tatchell 271.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Local Notes:

KU Select 2017: Backlist Collection

BiblioBoard internal publisher id: 101124

ISBN:

9780567669599