Jesus and the Rise of Nationalism: A New Quest for the Nineteenth Century Historical Jesus

‘Interpreting the biblical accounts of Jesus of Nazareth always demands from the reader a number of complex analogical strategies. Our present imagination is needed in order to decode the ancient story. Hence, any vision of who Jesus was and what he proclaimed bears too the marks of our attitudes to our own world, of our ways of making sense of ourselves, of our communities, and of our universe. Halvor Moxnes critically unravels the intimate relationship between an emerging national imagination and the development of new biographical accounts of Jesus during the 19th century. This fascinating examination of the fusion of horizons of classical German, French and British theological appropriations of Jesus and their respective social-political hermeneutics not only offers new insights into the development of biblical studies; it also challenges contemporary interpreters of Jesus to face up to their own particular contextual premises and subjective imagination and to explore their own hidden collective agendas and projections.’ –Werner G. Jeanrond, Professor of Divinity, University of Glasgow

‘In a work of stunning originality and insight, Halvor Moxnes has combined the widest learning and the deepest research to illuminate how the growth of lives of Jesus in the nineteenth century influenced and was influenced by the assertion and development of European national identities. His book is remarkably revealing on how understandings of the Holy Land featured in this process. For anyone interested in the social, economic and religious factors affecting the rise of European nationalisms, or the way in which biblical interpreters are creatures of their times and contexts, Jesus and the Rise of Nationalism makes compulsory and compelling reading.’ –Philip F. Esler, Principal and Professor of Biblical Interpretation, St Mary’s University College, Twickenham

‘With this masterpiece, Moxnes alters the landscape of biblical studies.’ –(The Catholic Biblical Quarterly)

‘In a work of stunning originality and insight, Halvor Moxnes has combined the widest learning and the deepest research to illuminate how the growth of lives of Jesus in the nineteenth century influenced and was influenced by the assertion and development of European national identities. His book is remarkably revealing on how understandings of the Holy Land featured in this process. For anyone interested in the social, economic and religious factors affecting the rise of European nationalisms, or the way in which biblical interpreters are creatures of their times and contexts, Jesus and the Rise of Nationalism makes compulsory and compelling reading.’ –Philip F. Esler, Principal and Professor of Biblical Interpretation, St Mary’s University College, Twickenham