Harnessing Chaos: The Bible in English Political Discourse Since 1968

Description

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 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. Cover Half-title Title Page Copyright Page CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Chapter 1 -- ‘CHAOS IS A LADDER’: A RECEPTION HISTORY OF THE BIBLE IN ENGLISH POLITICS 1. Why ‘English’? 2. Why ‘since 1968’? 3. Political Receptions of the Bible since 1968 4. Tony Benn and the Decline of the Radical Bible 5. ‘The Good Man Jesus’ 6. Concluding Remarks Part I -- EXPERIENCING DEFEAT Chapter 2 -- CHRISTOPHER HILL’S WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN 1. The Problem of 1968 2. Christopher Hill 3. Christopher Hill’s Bible 4. Experiencing Defeat: 1640s–1660s, 1960s–1980s 5. A Radical, English Bible Chapter 3 -- THIS WAS ENGLAND: THE SIMILITUDES OF ENOCH POWELL 1. Rivers of Blood 2. Rethinking the Post-Imperial Nation 3. Church of England 4. Like the Roman? The Lost Gospel of Enoch 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 1. Margaret Thatcher: Cultural Phenomenon and Nonconformist 2. Thatcherite Anthropology: Thatcherism versus Communism 3. From the Evil Empire to the Axis of Evil 4. Let My People Go! Margaret Thatcher’s Bible Part III -- CARRIERS OF CULTURAL CHANGE Chapter 5 -- ‘WE’RE ALL INDIVIDUALS’: WHEN LIFE OF BRIAN COLLIDED WITH THATCHERISM 1. Satire, Comedy, and Freedom 2. The Radical Figure of Jesus/Brian 3. He’s Not the Messiah and He’s Not the Resurrection 4. Jesus and Brian, Revolution, and Trade Unions 5. Thinking about Sex 6. The Multicultural Jewish Brian of History 7. A Brian for His Times Chapter 6 -- SAVING MARGARET FROM THE GUILLOTINE: INDEPENDENT MUSIC IN MANCHESTER FROM THE RISE OF THATCHER TO THE RISE OF BLAIR 1. From Punk to Britpop: Manchester 1976–1994 2. ‘For EveryManc a Religion’ 3. Biblical Language: Joy Division and The Fall 4. Biblical Language: Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses 5. Taking the Rain out of Manchester? Cityscapes and Personalities between 1976 and 1994 6. Margaret’s Guillotine Part IV -- FROM THATCHER’S LEGACY TO BLAIR’S LEGACY Chapter 7 -- YOUR OWN PERSONAL JUDAS: THE REHABILITATION OF JEFFREY ARCHER 1. Thou Shalt Not Get Caught 2. Abel, Not Cain 3. First among Equals 4. A Matter of Honour 5. False Impression: Who Betrayed Whom? 6. Speculative Archerisms 7. Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less Chapter 8 -- 45 MINUTES FROM DOOM! TONY BLAIR AND THE RADICAL BIBLE REBRANDED 1. Spiritual and Religious: The Political Theology of Tony Blair 2. ‘This Money and Bloodshed’ 3. Doing God? The Iraq War and the Apocalyptic Bible 4. As Is Written: Pure Democracy Chapter 9 -- THE GOVE BIBLE VERSUS THE OCCUPY BIBLE 1. 1611 after 2008: The Bible in an Age of Coalition 2. Surviving Cynicism and the Noble Big Other 3. Surviving Postcolonialism 4. What Ever Happened to the Radical Bible? 5. Same-sex Marriage or Subversive Love? The Case of Peter Tatchell CONCLUSION: WHY DO POLITICIANS BOTHER WITH THE BIBLE? Bibliography Index of References Index of Authors