ABSTRACT
New Testament and Christian origins scholarship have historically been influenced by their political and social context. 'Jesus in an Age of Terror' applies the work of critical and media theorists to contemporary Christian origins and New Testament scholarship. Part one examines the influence of the mass media on the writing of contemporary biblical scholars, whose political views - as demonstrated in their 'biblio-blogging' - are shown to have striking similarity to the media s depiction of the 'war on terror' and conflict in the Middle East. Part two argues that the Anglo-American cultural mis-representation of Islam as the 'great enemy' has led New Testament and Christian origins scholarship to collude with intellectual defences of the war in Iraq. Part three examines the influence of the media's approach to Palestine and Israel on biblical studies, exploring the shift towards widespread support for Israel in contemporary scholarship.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |2 pages
Christian Origins and New Testament Studies in Ideologically and Historically Contaminated Contexts
chapter |36 pages
The Politics of the Bibliobloggers
part |2 pages
Neo-Orientalism: Orientalism, Hideously Emboldened
chapter |42 pages
The Context: A Clash of Civilizations?
part |2 pages
"Jewishness," Jesus and Christian Origins since 1967