Dr Mark Finney
BA, PhD
School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities
Lecturer in Religion
+44 114 222 0512
Full contact details
School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities
Jessop West
1 Upper Hanover Street
Sheffield
S3 7RA
- Profile
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My major research interests are conflict and violence in the sacred texts and traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the contemporary aspects of religion and conflict in the Middle East (e.g., the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Zionism, Christian Zionism, and the influence of the Christian Right in US foreign policy).
I am a member of the Sheffield Centre for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies (SCIBS).
- Research interests
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- Afterlife
- Early Christianity in its Greco-Roman Environment
- Judaism
- Islam
- Religion & Art
- Religion, Conflict & Violence
- Religion, Politics, & the Modern Middle East
- Social-scientific approaches to interpreting ancient religious texts
Current research projects / collaborations:
- Member of the Sheffield Institute for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies
- Religion and Violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Ancient and Modern Perspectives
- Resurrection and Life after Death in Second Temple Judaism and early Christian traditions
- Publications
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Books
- Resurrection, Hell, and Afterlife: Body and Soul in Antiquity, Judaism, and Early Christianity. London: Routledge.
- Honour and Conflict in the Ancient World. T&T Clark Int'l.
- Honour and Conflict in the Ancient World. Bloomsbury T&T Clark.
- Honour and Conflict in the Ancient World: 1 Corinthians in its Greco-Roman Social Setting.
Journal articles
- Servile Supplicium: Shame and the Deuteronomic Curse—Crucifixion in Its Cultural Context. Biblical Theology Bulletin: Journal of Bible and Culture, 43(3), 124-134.
- Social Identity and Conflict in Corinth: 1 Corinthians 11.17-34 in Context.
- SERVILE SUPPLICIUM, SHAME & THE DEUTERONOMIC CURSE— CRUCIFIXION IN ITS CULTURAL CONTEXT. Biblical Theology Bulletin, 43(No. 3), 88-102.
- The Priority of the Soul: Constructions of Afterlife in Second Temple Judaism. Journal of Biblical Literature.
- Abraham, the Nations, and the Hagarites: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Perspectives on Kinship with Abraham. Edited by MARTIN GOODMAN, GEORGE H. VAN KOOTEN, JACQUES T. A. G. M. VAN RUITEN.. The Journal of Theological Studies, 63(1), 203-205.
- Jesus in Visual Imagination: The Art of Invention. Biblical Reception, 1(1), 21-43.
- Honor, rhetoric and factionalism in the ancient World: 1 corinthians 1-4 in its social context. Biblical Theology Bulletin, 40(1), 27-36.
- Honour, Rhetoric, and Factionalism in the Ancient World: 1 Cor 1-4 in its Social Context. Biblical Theology Bulletin, 1(40).
- Honour, Head-coverings & Headship: 1 Corinthians 11.2-16 in its Social Context. Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 1(33).
- Conflict and Honour in the Ancient World: Some Thoughts on the Social Problems Behind 1 Corinthians. Proceedings of the Irish Biblical Association.
- Christ Crucified: The Inversion of Roman Imperial Ideology in 1 Corinthians. Biblical Theology Bulletin, 1(35).
- Christ Crucified and the Inversion of Roman Imperial Ideology in 1 Corinthians. Biblical Theology Bulletin: Journal of Bible and Culture, 35(1), 20-33.
- Review essay of Pearce (S.) (ed.), The Image and its Prohibition in Jewish Antiquity.. Classical Review.
- Review essay of Steven Fine, Art & Judaism in the Greco-Roman World: Towards a New Jewish Archaeology. Palestine Exploration Quarterly.
- Review of Geert Van Oyen & Tom Shepherd (eds), Resurrection of the Dead: Biblical Traditions in Dialogue. Journal for the Study of the New Testament.
- Review of Stefan Alkier, The Reality of the Resurrection: the New Testament Witness. Journal for the Study of the New Testament.
Chapters
- Deuteronomy in the Apostle Paul In Edelman D & Guillaume P (Ed.), Deuteronomy Outside the Box Equinox
- View this article in WRRO Christian Zionism, the US and the Middle East: A Sketch and Brief Analysis In Sandford M (Ed.), The Bible, Zionism and Palestine: The Bible's Role in Conflict and Liberation in Israel-Palestine (pp. 20-31). Dunedin, New Zealand: Relegere Academic Press.
- What the ...? Developments of Hell in its Jewish and Christian Contexts, RESURRECTION, HELL AND THE AFTERLIFE: BODY AND SOUL IN ANTIQUITY, JUDAISM AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY (pp. 158-176).
- The Rise of Gehenna Afterlife in Early Christianity, RESURRECTION, HELL AND THE AFTERLIFE: BODY AND SOUL IN ANTIQUITY, JUDAISM AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY (pp. 144-157).
- The Priority of the Body Post-Mortem Existence in the Later New Testament, RESURRECTION, HELL AND THE AFTERLIFE: BODY AND SOUL IN ANTIQUITY, JUDAISM AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY (pp. 123-143).
- Resurrection, Hell and the Afterlife Body and Soul in Antiquity, Judaism and Early Christianity Conclusion, RESURRECTION, HELL AND THE AFTERLIFE: BODY AND SOUL IN ANTIQUITY, JUDAISM AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY (pp. 177-184).
- New Testament Beginnings Afterlife in the Thought of the Apostle Paul, RESURRECTION, HELL AND THE AFTERLIFE: BODY AND SOUL IN ANTIQUITY, JUDAISM AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY (pp. 100-122).
- Life after Death in Additional Jewish Literature The Dead Sea Scrolls and Later Rabbinic Thought, RESURRECTION, HELL AND THE AFTERLIFE: BODY AND SOUL IN ANTIQUITY, JUDAISM AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY (pp. 78-99).
- Biblical Beginnings Death and Afterlife in the Hebrew Bible, RESURRECTION, HELL AND THE AFTERLIFE: BODY AND SOUL IN ANTIQUITY, JUDAISM AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY (pp. 25-48).
- View this article in WRRO Jesus and the Contours of Oppression: Labelling and Deviance in the Johannine Passion In Chalcraft DJ, Uhlenbruch F & Watson RS (Ed.), Methods, Theories, Imagination: Social Scientific Approaches in Biblical Studies Sheffield: Phoenix Press.
- View this article in WRRO Social Identity and Conflict in Corinth: 1 Corinthians 11.17-34 in Context In Tucker JB & Baker CA (Ed.), T&T Clark Handbook to Social Identity in the New Testament Bloomsbury
- View this article in WRRO Afterlives of the Afterlife: The Development of Hell in its Jewish and Christian Contexts In Exum JC & Clines D (Ed.), Biblical Reception Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press.
Book reviews
- Book review: Nationalizing Judaism: Zionism as a theological ideology, by David Ohana, Lanham, Boulder, New York, London, Lexington Books, 2017, 217 pp., £68 (hardback), ISBN 9781498543606. Journal of Modern Jewish Studies, 20(1), 125-126.
- JEWISH ART IN ANTIQUITY - S. Pearce (ed.) The Image and its Prohibition in Jewish Antiquity. (Journal of Jewish Studies Supplement 2.) Pp. x + 273, b/w & colour ills. Oxford: Journal of Jewish Studies, 2013. Paper, £55, US$90. ISBN: 978-0-9575228-0-0.. The Classical Review, 65(2), 535-537. View this article in WRRO
Dictionary/encyclopaedia entries
- Koinonia. In New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible (Vol 3).
- Common. In New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible (Vol 1).
- Common Life. In New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible (Vol 1).
- Community. In New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible (Vol 1).
- Community of Goods. In New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible (Vol 1).
- Research group
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Areas of supervision for potential PhD students:
- Afterlife
- Judaism and Christianity in their Greco-Roman contexts
- Religion and Violence
- Religion, Politics, and the modern Middle East
- Social-scientific approaches to Biblical Interpretation
Research Supervision
- Current Students
- Completed Students
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- Young Gil Lee (second supervisor)- From Fertility to Manipulation: Female Characterizations and the Birth Narratives in the Hebrew Bible
- Rosa Wu - The Veil in Biblical and Classical Antiquity: A Sociocultural and Exegetical Study of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16
- Mohammed Alruwaili - Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong (CRFW): A Critical Evaluation of the use of Ibn Taymiyyah in the Ideology of ISIS
- Teaching activities
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Undergraduate:
- HST202 - Historians and History
- HST2042 -The Arab-Israeli Conflict
- REL118 - An Introduction to Islam
- REL127 - Language Skills (Greek)
- REL210 - Understanding Islam
- REL359 - Biblical Texts
- REL382 - Religion in an Age of Terror
Postgraduate:
- HST6802 - Research Presentation
- REL6000 - Research Methods
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Member of the Sheffield Interdisciplinary Institute for Biblical Studies
- Society of Biblical Literature
- British New Testament Society
- Book reviewer: Journal for the Study of the New Testament; Journal of Theological Studies; Palestine Exploration Quarterly; Classical Review
Administrative roles:
Programme Director and Team Leader for Religion & Theology
- Public engagement
I am frequently asked for interviews on BBC Radio Sheffield related to my expertise in the area of religion, conflict and violence. This especially involves issues related to the Middle East (Iraq, Gaza etc).