Intertextuality Between Biblical Texts and Contemporary Culture

Essays in Honor of Caroline H. C. M. Vander Stichele

Frank G. Bosman, Archibald L.H.M. van Wieringen, Maurits J. Sinninghe Damsté

• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9798765163726
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

This edited collection argues that the Bible remains culturally relevant within our contemporary, secular society.

Frank G. Bosman, Maurits J. Sinninghe Damsté, Archibald L.H.M. van Wieringen, and their contributors trace how biblical imagery and phrasing are not only traceable but immanent in understanding our present-day cultural and spiritual status quo. Mapping numerous examples of these intertextual relationships, the essays herein compare, at the one hand, biblical texts and, at the other, cultural expressions in the 20th and 21st centuries. Zooming in on artifacts like The Book of Clarence (2023), Caroline Street's painting "Creation: Sixth Day," and the videogame Legion, the contributors discuss the nascent religious elements of these arguably "secular" texts. What sets this volume apart from similar, religious-based cultural analyses is its focus on what these intertextualities between religious and secular culture communicate about ourselves, the Bible, and society as a whole.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Introduction: The Communication-Dynamics of Intertextuality: A Liber Amicarum et Amicorum for Caroline Vander Stichele
• 1 The Book of Ben Sira and Modern Illustrated Translations: Graphic Artists as Beholders of the Text
• 2 We Are Legion: An Intertextual Analysis of “Legion” and “A House Divided” in the Mass Effect Game Series
• 3 A Black Jesus-Figure in The Book of Clarence: Genre and Allusionism
• 4 On the Mountains of Spice: Imaginary Landscapes in Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain and in the Song of Songs
• 5 Multiple Dogs: The Power of the Dog and Psalm 22:20
• 6 The Name of God Revisited: Moses According to Johannes Wickert
• 7 “Let Us Make Biodiversity in Our Image”: The Dutch Prayer Day for Crops and Labour Revised in the Light of the Climate Crisis
• 8 Contemporary Performance as a Heuristic Device for Understanding Variant Readings in New Testament Manuscripts: Mark 9:11-13 as a Test Case
• 9 The Physical Appearance of Jesus: His Visage and Its Importance
• 10 Genesis 1:1–2:3 and Caroline Street’s Creation Sixth Day Land Creatures and Man: The Intertextuality Between Both “Texts” from a Communication Perspective
• 11 In the Image of God He Created Them: Divine Presence Through Light, Color, and Likeness in Two Medieval Works of Art
• 12 The Sixth Sense and the Bible: Reality, Awareness, and a Child
• 13 The Axe Laid to the Root: A Biblical Expression and Its Reception in Early Christianity
• 14 Enigmatic Mystery and Hieroglyphic Alchemy: An Exploration of the Sculptures on Sodom and Gomorrah by Yehuda Levy-Aldema
• 15 Luke 1:5-80 and Jim Janknegt’s Painting The Visitation: An Intertextual Communication Analysis
• 16 Luke 10:25-37 and Constant’s La Samaritaine: A Communication-Oriented Analysis
• 17 Genesis 22:1-19 and Alan Falk’s The Binding of Isaac: An Intertextual Communication Analysis
• 18 The Cosmic Johannine Jesus: Intertextuality with Science-Fiction Space-Traveling Messiahs
• Index of References
• Index of Modern Authors
• About the Editors and Contributors
• Copyright