Jesus in an Age of Neoliberalism

James G. Crossley is Professor of Bible, Culture and Politics in the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield.

"Reader beware! Prepare to be provoked into new modes of thinking about the cultural life of the Bible today, as Crossley is one of the most important contemporary bearers of the radical legacy of biblical scholarship." - Ward Blanton, University of Glasgow "More than a breath of fresh air, this book is a bracing wind. Crossley throws open windows that few of us in biblical studies even knew existed. Having read Crossley, most of us will never be able to see the quest for the historical Jesus in quite the same way again. And that is a very good thing." - Stephen D. Moore, Drew Theological School "Crossley is always insightful but he can also exhibit flashes of genius. Crossley's work doesn't simply need to be read, it needs to be digested and the implications of his research discussed and debated." - Jim West, Quartz Hill School of Theology, California "Modern biblical scholarship is made possible by assuming that the ancient biblical text is fundamentally shaped by the historical-social world out of which it emerged. In 'Jesus in the Age of Neo-Liberalism', James Crossley demonstrates that current scholarship is shaped by the world of American dominated neo-liberalism and consumer-based postmodernism. He is particularly successful in identifying what topics and mode of writing this discourse allows and, perhaps more importantly, what it excludes." - Shawn J. Kelley, Daemen College, New York "A lively, accessible, and well-informed foray into areas where, some would say, angels might fear to tread." - Church Times "Crossley offers tools that help scholars to become more socially and politically self-reflective and calls for a use of these tools in order to move beyond the tiresome "we all have presuppositions". Such a challenge to biblical scholarship is highly stimulating and warmly welcomed." - The Bible and Critical Theory

• Preface 1. Introduction: Jesus Quests and Contexts Part I From Mont Pelerin to Eternity? Contextualising an Age of Neoliberalism 2. Neoliberalism and Postmodernity 3. Biblioblogging: Connected Scholarship 4. "Not Made by Great Men"? The Quest for the Individual Christ 5. "Never Trust a Hippy": Finding a Liberal Jesus Where You Might Not Think Part II Jesus in an Age of Neoliberalism 6. A "fundamentally unreliable adoration": "Jewishness" and the Multicultural Jesus 7. The Jesus Who Wasn't There? Conservative Christianity, Atheism and Other Religious Influences Part III Contradictions 8. "Forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing!" Other Problems, Extremes and the Social World of Jesus 9. Red Tory Christ 10. Conclusion