James Crossley
Biographic Data
| ID | 5062013 |
|---|---|
| NAME | James Crossley |
| GIVEN NAMES | James |
| FAMILY NAME | Crossley |
| SIGNATURE | CROSSLEY J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Sheffield |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1851 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
The Past, Present, and Future of an Insurgent Jesus
This article looks at the history of the idea of an insurgent, seditious Jesus in light of Fernando Bermejo-Rubio’s They Suffered under Pontius Pilate: Jewish Anti-Roman Resistance and the Crosses at Golgotha (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2023). The focus is on reading the history of scholarship in its cultural and historical contexts, looking at why the insurgent Jesus and its critics came to the fore when they did. The article ends with final refle…
What Made the Jesus Movement Tick
This article offers a rejoinder to the five critical reviews appearing in jshj of the book by James Crossley and Robert J. Myles, Jesus: A Life in Class Conflict (Zer0 Books, 2023)
A. L. Morton’s English Utopia and the Critical Study of Apocalypticism and Millenarianism
A. L. Morton (1903–1987) was a popular, pioneering historian and literary critic in the British Marxist tradition. Morton was an influential figure in the historical study of religious radicalism, millenarianism, apocalypticism, and utopianism, yet his contribution is typically overlooked today in favour of his more illustrious counterparts who emerged from the Communist Party Historians’ Group from 1946–1956. This article seeks to re-establish M…
Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus
Mary Magdalene and the Life of Judith in Life of Brian
This article provides a snapshot of how Mary Magdalene was understood in 1970s Britain through the character of Judith in Monty Python’s Life of Brian . Judith as presented in Life of Brian is compared with Mary Magdalene as presented in Jesus Christ Superstar , especially the receptions of the hit musical in newspapers of the time where there was a recurring focus on sexuality and gender stereotypes. The comparison shows that, while Life of Bria…
The Apocalypse and Political Discourse in an Age of Covid
It was almost inevitable that something as dominant as the COVID crisis of 2020–2021 would change how the Bible has been understood in mainstream political discourses. It is also unsurprising that the language associated with apocalypticism would come to the fore. Building on recent scholarship, this article looks at some of the language about ‘the apocalypse’ and apocalypticism, including that associated with Revelation and the New Testament, an…
The End of Apocalypticism: From Burton Mack’s Jesus to North American Liberalism
This article takes a different look at the work of Burton Mack on apocalypticism and the post-historical Jesus crystallisation of the Christian ‘myth of innocence’ in terms of the social history of scholarship. After a critical assessment of previous receptions of Mack’s work from the era of the ‘Jesus wars’, there is a discussion of Mack’s place in broader cross-disciplinary tendencies in the study of apocalypticism with reference to the influen…
The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus
What the Bible means – and could mean – in English political discourse
This article reviews some (and only some) of the dominant ways in which the Bible is understood in mainstream English political discourse around the time of the 2017 General Election (e.g. socialist, ethnonationalist, socially liberal). It will then move on to suggest some of the potential changes that could occur in understanding what the Bible is understood to mean
A Chaotic Jesus: A Response to Simon Joseph
This article is a response to the points raised by Simon Joseph’s review of Jesus and the Chaos of History: Redirecting the Life of the Historical Jesus (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015)
Some Future for Historical Jesus Studies
The Mediation of the Distinction of “Religion” and “Politics” by the UK Press on the Occasion of Pope Benedict XVI’s State Visit to the UK
One feature of modern political liberalism is its acceptance of the superiority of secular political reasoning over faith-based reasoning where matters of practical politics are concerned. The distinction religion/politics has become a defining feature of modern political liberalism. We examined how this distinction was mediated by the UK national press through a case study of its reporting of Pope Benedict XVI’s state visit to the UK in 2010. Th…
Atheism, Christianity and the British Press: Press Coverage of Pope Benedict XVI’s 2010 State Visit to the UK
This study analyses the way twenty British newspapers (15th to 20th September 2010) covered Pope Benedict XVI’s 2010 state visit to the UK. We found that one important framing narrative used by the British press was an atheism/Christianity binary. This binary was characterised by mutual antagonism over the role of religion in civil society and yet this binary also existed alongside a call for calm and a defence of a ‘gentler secularism’ by journa…
Jesus and the Law
This essay takes an appreciative look at the influence of E. P. Sanders’s work on Jesus, Judaism and the Law and attempts to develop some of Sanders-style critique of scholarship to his ongoing influence. Particular attention is paid to Mt. 8.21–22/Lk. 9.59–60, Mk 2.23-28, and Mk 7.1-23. This article analyzes N. T. Wright’s domestication of Sanders’ criticism of anti-Jewish tendencies in scholarship, particularly where Wright uses Sanders to perp…
John Dee's Diary, Catalogue of Manuscripts and Selected Letters
Harnessing Chaos: The Bible in English Political Discourse Since 1968
Harnessing Chaos is an explanation of changes in dominant politicalized assumptions about what the Bible ‘really means’ in English culture since the 1960s. This book 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…
Everybody’s Happy Nowadays? A Critical Engagement with Key Events and Contemporary Quests for the Historical Jesus
Key Events is clearly a major contribution to historical Jesus studies from a broadly evangelical perspective. While there is much to commend and a number of strong essays, there are, inevitably criticisms to be made. A number of arguments appear to be repeating debates from the 1980s and 1990s with a familiar cast of good (e.g. N.T. Wright), bad (e.g. Burton Mack, Jesus Seminar) and ambivalent (e.g. E.P. Sanders) characters. This nostalgic feel …
A ‘Very Jewish’ Jesus: Perpetuating the Myth of Superiority
This article looks at arguably the most dominant rhetorical move in contemporary historical Jesus scholarship, namely the ‘Jewishness’ of Jesus or a ‘very Jewish’ Jesus, and how this superficially but credibly positive rhetoric subtly maintains the older myth of superiority over against Judaism. This scholarly trend is located in contemporary ideological discourses concerning Israel and Judaism and liberal multiculturalism and is shown to be deep…
Halakah and Mark 7.3: ‘With the Hand in the Shape of a Fist’
This article argues that πυγμῇ in Mark 7.3 is not as mysterious as much of the history of scholarship has suggested. It seems clear that πυγμῇ reflects a known purity practice in early Jewish law concerned with using the minimal amount of water required for hand-washing. The hand would be sufficiently relaxed in order that an economic use of water poured on it could seep through the fingers to cover enough of the hand required for proper purifica…
"Just War" and the Contemporary Art of Justifying the Unjustifiable
This article assesses the recent application of "just war" criteria by Charles Reed. It is clear Reed has uncritically supported Anglo-American power by omitting a great deal of counter evidence and by misrepresenting opposing views. Some consideration is given to the ways in which intellectuals can unintentionally support violence and power
Writing about the Historical Jesus: Historical Explanation and 'the Big Why Questions', or Antiquarian Empiricism and Victorian Tomes
This article points out that lives of Jesus have been dominated by individualism, fact-finding, exegesis and description. This stands in contrast to the ways in which historical reconstruction has been practised in other disciplines in the humanities and in contrast to the ways in which some biographers and historians see the role of the individual in historical change. Even when there have been attempts to use the social sciences in historical J…
Against the Historical Plausibility of the Empty Tomb Story and the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus: A Response to N.T. Wright
Wright's recent book on the resurrection is the most important defence of the historical accuracy of the empty tomb and the bodily resurrection. However, his arguments do not stand up to close scrutiny. Sufficient attention is not paid to the importance of Jewish and pagan legendary traditions concerning great figures of the past. Unlike non-Christian traditions, the Gospel narratives are never treated with any decree of scepticism (not even Mt. …
The Semitic Background to Repentance in the Teaching of John the Baptist and Jesus
It is thought that repentance in the teaching of John the Baptist and Jesus is grounded in the Semitic teshubahconcept. The problem with this is that the LXX largely uses έπιστρέφω for / whereas the gospels use μεταυοέω which usually translates . This problem can be solved. meaning repentance is not attested in key documents. In contrast, words for repentance associated with / are massively attested and it is probable that this was the language u…
Histoire des Sévarambes
Journal Article Histoire des Sévarambes Get access James Crossley James Crossley Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Notes and Queries, Volume s1-III, Issue 65, 25 January 1851, Page 72, https://doi.org/10.1093/nq/s1-III.65.72b Published: 25 January 1851
No prominent works on this page.
Histoire des Sévarambes
Journal Article Histoire des Sévarambes Get access James Crossley James Crossley Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Notes and Queries, Volume s1-III, Issue 65, 25 January 1851, Page 72, https://doi.org/10.1093/nq/s1-III.65.72b Published: 25 January 1851
The Semitic Background to Repentance in the Teaching of John the Baptist and Jesus
It is thought that repentance in the teaching of John the Baptist and Jesus is grounded in the Semitic teshubahconcept. The problem with this is that the LXX largely uses έπιστρέφω for / whereas the gospels use μεταυοέω which usually translates . This problem can be solved. meaning repentance is not attested in key documents. In contrast, words for repentance associated with / are massively attested and it is probable that this was the language u…
Against the Historical Plausibility of the Empty Tomb Story and the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus: A Response to N.T. Wright
Wright's recent book on the resurrection is the most important defence of the historical accuracy of the empty tomb and the bodily resurrection. However, his arguments do not stand up to close scrutiny. Sufficient attention is not paid to the importance of Jewish and pagan legendary traditions concerning great figures of the past. Unlike non-Christian traditions, the Gospel narratives are never treated with any decree of scepticism (not even Mt. …
Writing about the Historical Jesus: Historical Explanation and 'the Big Why Questions', or Antiquarian Empiricism and Victorian Tomes
This article points out that lives of Jesus have been dominated by individualism, fact-finding, exegesis and description. This stands in contrast to the ways in which historical reconstruction has been practised in other disciplines in the humanities and in contrast to the ways in which some biographers and historians see the role of the individual in historical change. Even when there have been attempts to use the social sciences in historical J…
"Just War" and the Contemporary Art of Justifying the Unjustifiable
This article assesses the recent application of "just war" criteria by Charles Reed. It is clear Reed has uncritically supported Anglo-American power by omitting a great deal of counter evidence and by misrepresenting opposing views. Some consideration is given to the ways in which intellectuals can unintentionally support violence and power
Halakah and Mark 7.3: ‘With the Hand in the Shape of a Fist’
This article argues that πυγμῇ in Mark 7.3 is not as mysterious as much of the history of scholarship has suggested. It seems clear that πυγμῇ reflects a known purity practice in early Jewish law concerned with using the minimal amount of water required for hand-washing. The hand would be sufficiently relaxed in order that an economic use of water poured on it could seep through the fingers to cover enough of the hand required for proper purifica…
A ‘Very Jewish’ Jesus: Perpetuating the Myth of Superiority
This article looks at arguably the most dominant rhetorical move in contemporary historical Jesus scholarship, namely the ‘Jewishness’ of Jesus or a ‘very Jewish’ Jesus, and how this superficially but credibly positive rhetoric subtly maintains the older myth of superiority over against Judaism. This scholarly trend is located in contemporary ideological discourses concerning Israel and Judaism and liberal multiculturalism and is shown to be deep…
John Dee's Diary, Catalogue of Manuscripts and Selected Letters
Harnessing Chaos: The Bible in English Political Discourse Since 1968
Harnessing Chaos is an explanation of changes in dominant politicalized assumptions about what the Bible ‘really means’ in English culture since the 1960s. This book 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…
Everybody’s Happy Nowadays? A Critical Engagement with Key Events and Contemporary Quests for the Historical Jesus
Key Events is clearly a major contribution to historical Jesus studies from a broadly evangelical perspective. While there is much to commend and a number of strong essays, there are, inevitably criticisms to be made. A number of arguments appear to be repeating debates from the 1980s and 1990s with a familiar cast of good (e.g. N.T. Wright), bad (e.g. Burton Mack, Jesus Seminar) and ambivalent (e.g. E.P. Sanders) characters. This nostalgic feel …
The Mediation of the Distinction of “Religion” and “Politics” by the UK Press on the Occasion of Pope Benedict XVI’s State Visit to the UK
One feature of modern political liberalism is its acceptance of the superiority of secular political reasoning over faith-based reasoning where matters of practical politics are concerned. The distinction religion/politics has become a defining feature of modern political liberalism. We examined how this distinction was mediated by the UK national press through a case study of its reporting of Pope Benedict XVI’s state visit to the UK in 2010. Th…
Atheism, Christianity and the British Press: Press Coverage of Pope Benedict XVI’s 2010 State Visit to the UK
This study analyses the way twenty British newspapers (15th to 20th September 2010) covered Pope Benedict XVI’s 2010 state visit to the UK. We found that one important framing narrative used by the British press was an atheism/Christianity binary. This binary was characterised by mutual antagonism over the role of religion in civil society and yet this binary also existed alongside a call for calm and a defence of a ‘gentler secularism’ by journa…
Jesus and the Law
This essay takes an appreciative look at the influence of E. P. Sanders’s work on Jesus, Judaism and the Law and attempts to develop some of Sanders-style critique of scholarship to his ongoing influence. Particular attention is paid to Mt. 8.21–22/Lk. 9.59–60, Mk 2.23-28, and Mk 7.1-23. This article analyzes N. T. Wright’s domestication of Sanders’ criticism of anti-Jewish tendencies in scholarship, particularly where Wright uses Sanders to perp…
Some Future for Historical Jesus Studies
What the Bible means – and could mean – in English political discourse
This article reviews some (and only some) of the dominant ways in which the Bible is understood in mainstream English political discourse around the time of the 2017 General Election (e.g. socialist, ethnonationalist, socially liberal). It will then move on to suggest some of the potential changes that could occur in understanding what the Bible is understood to mean
A Chaotic Jesus: A Response to Simon Joseph
This article is a response to the points raised by Simon Joseph’s review of Jesus and the Chaos of History: Redirecting the Life of the Historical Jesus (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015)
The Apocalypse and Political Discourse in an Age of Covid
It was almost inevitable that something as dominant as the COVID crisis of 2020–2021 would change how the Bible has been understood in mainstream political discourses. It is also unsurprising that the language associated with apocalypticism would come to the fore. Building on recent scholarship, this article looks at some of the language about ‘the apocalypse’ and apocalypticism, including that associated with Revelation and the New Testament, an…
The End of Apocalypticism: From Burton Mack’s Jesus to North American Liberalism
This article takes a different look at the work of Burton Mack on apocalypticism and the post-historical Jesus crystallisation of the Christian ‘myth of innocence’ in terms of the social history of scholarship. After a critical assessment of previous receptions of Mack’s work from the era of the ‘Jesus wars’, there is a discussion of Mack’s place in broader cross-disciplinary tendencies in the study of apocalypticism with reference to the influen…
The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus
Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus
Mary Magdalene and the Life of Judith in Life of Brian
This article provides a snapshot of how Mary Magdalene was understood in 1970s Britain through the character of Judith in Monty Python’s Life of Brian . Judith as presented in Life of Brian is compared with Mary Magdalene as presented in Jesus Christ Superstar , especially the receptions of the hit musical in newspapers of the time where there was a recurring focus on sexuality and gender stereotypes. The comparison shows that, while Life of Bria…
A. L. Morton’s English Utopia and the Critical Study of Apocalypticism and Millenarianism
A. L. Morton (1903–1987) was a popular, pioneering historian and literary critic in the British Marxist tradition. Morton was an influential figure in the historical study of religious radicalism, millenarianism, apocalypticism, and utopianism, yet his contribution is typically overlooked today in favour of his more illustrious counterparts who emerged from the Communist Party Historians’ Group from 1946–1956. This article seeks to re-establish M…
What Made the Jesus Movement Tick
This article offers a rejoinder to the five critical reviews appearing in jshj of the book by James Crossley and Robert J. Myles, Jesus: A Life in Class Conflict (Zer0 Books, 2023)
The Past, Present, and Future of an Insurgent Jesus
This article looks at the history of the idea of an insurgent, seditious Jesus in light of Fernando Bermejo-Rubio’s They Suffered under Pontius Pilate: Jewish Anti-Roman Resistance and the Crosses at Golgotha (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2023). The focus is on reading the history of scholarship in its cultural and historical contexts, looking at why the insurgent Jesus and its critics came to the fore when they did. The article ends with final refle…
History (21 works) · Philosophy (19 works) · Political science (14 works) · Theology (14 works) · Law (13 works) · Art (11 works) · Biblical studies (11 works) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation (11 works) · Historical Jesus (10 works) · Literature (9 works)