In the name of Christ

by Ben Soton

Jesus – A Life in Class Conflict by James Crossley & Robert J. Myles; Zer0 Books, Alresford 2023, Pbk 304 pp, £19.99

Who was Jesus of Nazareth? Was he the actual son of God? An anti-Roman rebel claiming to be the King of the Jews? Or even a mythical construct whose narrative was created from several mystical figures who may have existed at around the same time. This is the subject of Jesus – A Life in Class Struggle by James Crossley & Robert J Myles. Both authors have a strong academic grounding in the period; with Crossley being an expert in Millenarian Movements whilst Myles lectures on the New Testament.

    According to Crossley and Myles the Jesus was the leader of a movement, of which he and his twelve disciples acted as some form of leadership committee. The movement was a reaction against the rise of regional potentates such as Herod Antipas and his attempts of gentrify Galilee, most notably through the building of the city of Tiberias. Jesus and his followers, described by the authors as the “Jesus Movement” were on a mission to the rich; an attempt to either persuade or force them to give up their wealth. Like many movements in pre-industrial times, they harked back to an earlier, largely imaginary perfect and more social just kingdom and are seen as a product of Millenarianism, the idea that some kind of cataclysmic change is coming. The authors refute conservative interpretations of Jesus, which claim that he was some kind of proto-capitalist entrepreneur.

    The book is thoroughly researched using mostly Biblical texts. Crossley and Myles use their extensive Biblical knowledge to interpret and analyse the New Testament Gospels; picking out possible inaccuracies or misinterpretations. For example, why did Jesus need to be baptised by John the Baptist; surely if he was the Son of God and born without sin, he would not need to undergo baptism, which is meant to represent the washing away of sin. Meanwhile the story of the Good Samaritan arose over a legal issue of whose responsibility it was to assist injured travellers; not the morality tale as often presented by modern Christians. On the other hand, the authors to not doubt that the disciples genuinely believed in the resurrection of Jesus; the basis of the Christian religion.

    Crossley and Myles conclude by reminding us of the reactionary role Christianity has played over the last two thousand years. After a period of persecution, it was adopted as the official religion of the Roman Empire and later played an integral role within European Feudalism. 

     Modernised forms of Christianity were later adopted by the emerging capitalist class, most notably in the form of Protestantism. Christianity also played a role in the imperialist calve up of Africa in the 19th Century as well as playing a reactionary role in the Cold War against the socialist camp. This does not however mean that it was the intention of the movement’s original advocates, including Jesus himself.

  However numerous Christians have stood on the side of the oppressed. Examples include John Ball during the Peasants Revolt and the Levellers in the English Civil War. The 20th century saw the likes of Canon Hewlett Johnson the Red Dean of Canterbury, a defender of the Soviet Union and Stalin whilst Christians also took part in anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggles such as Archbishop Makarios in Cyprus and Oscar Romero in El Salvador. It might be worth asking – who would Jesus side with today?