Dr Mark Finney
Lecturer in New Testament
BA, MLitt, PhD
Email: m.t.finney@sheffield.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)114 222 0512
Department address: 45 Victoria St, Sheffield, S3 7QB
Brief personal biography
An interest in religion and ancient history led Mark to pursue undergraduate studies at the London School of Theology and then postgraduate work (M.Litt & PhD) at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. His doctoral work was a multi-disciplinary work applying social-scientific models to 1 Corinthians with particular interest in the Greco-Roman social context of Paul's letter. During this period he also held a New Testament lecturing post at the Scottish Baptist College, Glasgow. On completion of his PhD in 2004 he taught at St Andrews as Teaching Fellow in New Testament Studies.
In 2008 he began work in Middle Eastern studies at the University of Nottingham researching in the area of Orientalism and religion, identity and conflict (with particular interest in the Palestinian-Israeli dispute). He also held a teaching post at the ministerial training institution, St John´s College, Nottingham.
Mark joined the University of Sheffield in January 2009, teaching courses on New Testament introduction, the biblical world, New Testament Greek, the Bible and the Arts, and modules on the apostle Paul. He is the co-ordinator of the distance learning MA course and also supervises PhD students.
One of Mark's major research interests is conflict and violence in the sacred texts and traditions of Judaism and Christianity and also in 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). He also has an interest in the Bible and the Arts.
Research interests
- Biblical studies and the modern Middle East
- Christian Origins & Early Christian Identity
- Crucifixion
- Paul
- Religion & Violence
- Social-scientific approaches to Biblical Interpretation
- The Bible and the Arts
- The Imperial Cult
- The New Testament in its Greco-Roman context
Current research projects / collaborations
- Religion and Violence in Judaism and Christianity: Ancient and Modern Perspectives
- Resurrection and Life after Death in Post-Biblical Judaism and the New Testament
Research supervision
- Biblical studies and the modern Middle East
- Christian Origins & Early Christian Identity
- Passion Narratives
- Paul
- Religion & Violence
- Social-scientific approaches to Biblical Interpretation
- The Bible and the Arts
- The New Testament in its Greco-Roman context
Teaching
- PhD supervision
- Greek Language and Texts (MA)
- Research Methods (MA)
- Religion and Violence (level 3 and MA)
- The Letters of Paul (level 3 and MA)
- The Bible and the Arts (level 3)
- The Gospel of John (level 3)
- Paul and his World (level 2)
- New Testament Greek (levels 1 and 2)
- Decoding the New Testament (level 1)
- The Biblical World (level 1)
Selected publications
Publications
- Resurrection and Life after death in post-Biblical Judaism: Trajectories into the New Testament (forthcoming)
- Honour and Conflict in the Ancient World: 1 Corinthians in its Greco-Roman Social-Setting (London: Continuum/T&T Clark, 2011)
- Honour, Head-coverings & Headship: 1 Corinthians 11.2-16 in its Social Context (Journal for the Study of the New Testament 33.1, 2010: 31-58)
- ‘Honour, Rhetoric, and Factionalism in the Ancient World: 1 Cor 1-4 in its Social Context’ (Biblical Theology Bulletin vol. 40 no. 1, 2010: 27-36)
- “Koinonia” in New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible, Nashville: Abingdon Press (vol.3, 2008)
- ‘Conflict and Honour in the Ancient World: Some Thoughts on the Social Problems Behind 1 Corinthians’ in Proceedings of the Irish Biblical Association (2007). This paper was delivered to the Irish Biblical Association Annual Conference (Oct. 2006)
- “Common” in New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible, Nashville: Abingdon Press, vol. 1, 2006
- “Common Life” in New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible, Nashville: Abingdon Press, vol. 1, 2006
- “Community” in New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible, Nashville: Abingdon Press, vol. 1, 2006
- “Community of Goods” in New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible, Nashville: Abingdon Press, vol. 1, 2006
See the recent review of NIDB vol. 1 at http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5654 - “Christ Crucified: The Inversion of Roman Imperial Ideology in 1 Corinthians,” in Biblical Theology Bulletin, vol. 35/1 (Spring 2005), pp. 20-33
Other professional activities
- Institute for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Nottingham
- Society of Biblical Literature
- British New Testament Society
- Book reviewer for 2 Journals (Journal for the Study of the New Testament; Journal of Theological Studies).
