Harnessing Chaos: The Bible in English Political Discourse since 1968This book is open access and available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Knowledge Unlatched. Harnessing Chaos is an explanation of changes in dominant politicized 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. Part I looks at the potential options for politicized readings of the Bible at the end of the the1960s, focussing on the examples of Christopher Hill and Enoch Powell. Part II analyses the role of Thatcher's specific contribution to political interpretation of the Bible and assumptions about 'religion'. Part III highlights the importance of (often unintended) ideological changes towards forms of Thatcherite interpretation in popular culture and with particular reference to Monty Python's Life of Brian and the Manchester music scene between 1976 and 1994. Part IV concerns the modification of Thatcher's Bible, particularly with reference to the embrace of socially liberal values, by looking at the electoral decline of the Conservative Party through the work of Jeffrey Archer on Judas and the final victory of Thatcherism through Tony Blair's exegesis. Some consideration is then given to the Bible in an Age of Coalition and how politically radical biblical interpretations retain a presence outside parliamentary politics. Harnessing Chaos concludes with reflections on why politicians in English politicians bother using the Bible at all. |
Contents
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 |
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 | 35 |
7 A Brian for His Times | 151 |
INDEPENDENT MUSIC IN MANCHESTER FROM THE RISE OF THATCHER TO THE RISE OF BLAIR | 153 |
2 For EveryManc a Religion | 158 |
Joy Division and The Fall | 160 |
Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses | 163 |
5 Taking the Rain out of Manchester? Cityscapes and Personalities between 1976 and 1994 | 169 |
6 Margarets Guillotine | 174 |
Part IV FROM THATCHERS LEGACY TO BLAIRS LEGACY | 181 |
Chapter 2 CHRISTOPHER HILLS WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN | 37 |
2 Christopher Hill | 46 |
3 Christopher Hills Bible | 53 |
1640s1660s 1960s1980s | 60 |
5 A Radical English Bible | 64 |
THE SIMILITUDES OF ENOCH POWELL | 70 |
2 Rethinking the PostImperial 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 | 93 |
MARGARET THATCHERS NEOLIBERAL BIBLE | 95 |
Thatcherism versus Communism | 103 |
3 From the Evil Empire to the Axis of Evil | 106 |
4 Let My People Go Margaret Thatchers Bible | 110 |
Part III CARRIERS OF CULTURAL CHANGE | 127 |
WHEN LIFE OF BRIAN COLLIDED WITH THATCHERISM | 129 |
2 The Radical Figure of JesusBrian | 131 |
3 Hes Not the Messiah and Hes 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 |
THE REHABILITATION OF JEFFREY ARCHER | 183 |
2 Abel Not Cain | 188 |
3 First among Equals | 191 |
4 A Matter of Honour | 194 |
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 THE RADICAL BIBLE REBRANDED | 210 |
2 This Money and Bloodshed | 220 |
3 Doing God? The Iraq War and the Apocalyptic Bible | 225 |
Pure Democracy | 234 |
Chapter 9 THE GOVE BIBLE VERSUS THE OCCUPY BIBLE | 242 |
2 Surviving Cynicism and the Noble Big Other | 254 |
3 Surviving Postcolonialism | 259 |
4 What Ever Happened to the Radical Bible? | 266 |
5 Samesex Marriage or Subversive Love? The Case of Peter Tatchell | 271 |
WHY DO POLITICIANS BOTHER WITH THE BIBLE? | 277 |
283 | |
303 | |
305 | |
Other editions - View all
Harnessing Chaos: The Bible in English Political Discourse since 1968 James G. Crossley No preview available - 2016 |
Harnessing Chaos: The Bible in English Political Discourse since 1968 James G. Crossley No preview available - 2016 |
Harnessing Chaos: The Bible in English Political Discourse Since 1968 James G. Crossley No preview available - 2014 |
Common terms and phrases
according to Judas Anglican argued believe Benn Bible tradition biblical Brian Britain British Chapter Christ Christian Christopher Hill Church claimed Communist Party Historians conÀict contemporary context course Crick critical Crossley Cultural Bible David Cameron democracy dif¿cult dominant economic English Bible Enoch Powell faith Filby further God’s Gospel according Gove Guardian gures Haçienda Happy Mondays Heffer Hill’s Hobsbawm idea ideological important inÀuence individual instance interpretation Iraq Islam Jeffrey Archer Jewish Jews John Joy Division Judaism King James Bible labels Labour Party language Liberal Bible Liberal Democrats London Manchester Margaret Thatcher Marxist moral nation Neoliberal Bible neoliberalism notable political politicians popular Powell’s Radical Bible reÀect religion religious revolution revolutionary rhetoric role Roman Shaun Ryder Shef¿eld signi¿cant social speci¿cally speech Stone Roses story Tatchell Testament texts Thatcherite thinking tion Tony Blair Tory understanding University Press World Turned World Turned Upside Žižek