Marxist scholar of Biblical Studies and Religion, Christina Petterson, joins us to discuss her essay "Apostles of Revolution? Marxism and Biblical Studies". We discuss the ways in which historical materialism is fundamental for correctly analyzing the conditions and contradictions in which the scriptures were produced, how both the scriptures and historical interpretations (including our own) are products of class struggle, how the 19th and 20th century international communist movement greatly influenced the field of biblical studies, how ideological struggle has shaped analysis and interpretations of the scriptures, early Christian communism, and the role religion and biblical study/interpretation tend to play (or alternatively could play) in today's struggle between capitalism and communism, colonialism and decolonization.
If you'd like a pdf of the essay, email us at faithandcapital@gmail.com.
Mentioned: Rosa Luxemburg's essay that discusses the Church of Acts
For a primer on the historical development of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, the necessity of its rupture from Leninism, and today's struggle over the meaning of Maoism.
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Email us: faithandcapital@gmail.com
Music by D.C.R. Pollock and Ed Russek