The Bible in/and Popular Culture: A Creative Encounter

by Philip L. Culbertson, Elaine M. Wainwright (Editor)

In popular culture, the Bible is generally associated with The Passion of the Christ, The Ten Commandments, Jesus of Montreal, and many others. Less attention has been given to the relationship between the Bible and other popular media such as hip-hop, reggae, rock, and country and western music; popular and graphic novels; animated television series; and apocalyptic fantasy. This collection of essays explores a range of media and the way the Bible features in them, applying various hermeneutical approaches, engaging with critical theory, and providing conceptual resources and examples of how the Bible reads popular culture and how popular culture reads the Bible. This useful resource will be of interest for both biblical and cultural studies. The contributors are Elaine M. Wainwright, Michael Gilmour, Mark McEntire, Dan W. Clanton Jr., Philip Culbertson, Jim Perkinson, Noel Leo Erskine, Tex Sample, Roland Boer, Terry Ray Clark, Steve Taylor, Tina Pippin, Laura Copier, Jaap Kooijman, Caroline Vander Stichele, and Erin Runions.

220 pages, Paperback

First published October 11, 2010

About the author

Philip Leroy Culbertson is Lecturer in Pastoral Theology and Director of Pastoral Studies at St. John the Evangelist in Auckland, New Zealand.

Reviews

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books of academic essays invariably differ in quality between the pieces. Some of these are quite erudite while others seem just strange (academics should not try to write rap--it takes a poet to do that). Nevertheless, the point is well taken. The Bible does impact culture and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. See further comments on my blog: Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.