Rape Myths, the Bible, and #MeToo

Rape Myths, the Bible, and #MeToo
Author: Johanna Stiebert
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2019-10-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1000752089

Biblical studies is increasingly interdisciplinary and frequently focuses on how the Bible is read, received, and represented in the contemporary world, including in politics, news media, and popular culture. Rape Myths, the Bible and #MeToo illustrates this with particular and critical assessment of #MeToo and its rapid and global impact. Rape myths – in particular the myth that rape victims are complicit in the violence they encounter, which consequently renders sexual violence ‘not so bad’ – are examined both with regard to current backlash to #MeToo and to biblical texts that undermine the violence perpetrated by rape. This includes aggressive media attacks on the accusers of powerful men, as well as depictions of biblical rape victims such as Dinah (Genesis 34), Bathsheba, and Tamar (2 Samuel 11–13). Biblical studies channels and expresses wider cultural and political manifestations. This exemplifies that the influence of ancient texts is abiding and the study of the past cutting edge.

The Bible and Sexual Violence Against Men

The Bible and Sexual Violence Against Men
Author: Chris Greenough
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 94
Release: 2020-10-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1000200108

At least 1 in 6 men have experienced some form of sexual violence. The Bible and Sexual Violence Against Men argues that the shame and stigma around male sexual abuse are interwoven with contemporary social and cultural concepts of masculinity, and are also found in the ancient world and biblical texts themselves. This book is interdisciplinary and has three main areas of exploration: #MenToo? Exploring the myths around sexual violence against men Sexual violence against men in the Hebrew Bible Reading Jesus’ enforced nudity at the crucifixion as sexual violence. Given the enduring importance of the Bible in contemporary society, this book explores the biblical texts that depict sexual violence against men. It examines critical approaches from theology, biblical, and religious studies perspectives, while also exploring insights from the fields of sociology, psychology, and criminology as well as referring to legal cases and legislation, charity work, and media-focussed articles. In seeking to serve a number of interested readers, including those who are not familiar with the Bible, short summaries of the biblical texts under discussion are given in each case.

Review of Biblical Literature, 2021

Review of Biblical Literature, 2021
Author: Alicia J. Batten
Publisher: SBL Press
Total Pages: 564
Release: 2022-03-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0884145530

The annual Review of Biblical Literature presents a selection of reviews of the most recent books in biblical studies and related fields, including topical monographs, multi-author volumes, reference works, commentaries, and dictionaries. RBL reviews German, French, Italian, and English books and offers reviews in those languages.

The Progressives' Bible

The Progressives' Bible
Author: Claudia Setzer
Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2024
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 150649708X

Progressive movements have rooted themselves in the Bible as much as conservative. This book examines how abolitionism, women's rights, and civil rights movements used scripture for their arguments, featuring the work of Maria Stewart, Septima Clark, Fannie Lou Hamer, Frederick Douglass, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Boys will be Boys, and Other Myths

Boys will be Boys, and Other Myths
Author: Will Moore
Publisher: SCM Press
Total Pages: 147
Release: 2022-07-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0334063000

Throughout history, we have exalted and theologised about men like Adam or David to the point where we have become oblivious to the fact that they are far from perfect role models for Christian manhood. Failing to read scripture properly, we have used it to shape a distorted understanding of masculinity. Stretching from issues of violence, emotional and sexual abuse, the desire for power, homophobia, and the suppression of emotions, Will Moore draws from scholarship, personal stories, and popular culture to offer an honest and accessible insight into the toxic myths which frame how w e read scripture. Only when we expose these myths, he argues, can we start to see the authentic men staring straight back at us from the pages of our bibles, and be able to reshape the way in which we produce Christian men today, tackling the violence that is being done by men to themselves and others.

When Did we See You Naked?

When Did we See You Naked?
Author: Jayme R. Reaves
Publisher: SCM Press
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2021-03-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 033406032X

Was the stripping and exposure of Jesus a form of sexual abuse? If so, why does such a reading of Jesus’ suffering matter? The combined impact of the #MeToo movement and a further wave of global revelations on church sexual abuse have given renewed significance to recent work naming Jesus as a victim of sexual abuse. Timely and provocative "When did we see you naked?" presents the arguments for reading Christ as an abuse victim, as well as exploring how the position might be critiqued, and what implications and applications it might offer to the Church.

The Bible and Gender-based Violence in Botswana

The Bible and Gender-based Violence in Botswana
Author: Mmapula Diana Kebaneilwe
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 81
Release: 2024-04-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1040022669

The Bible and Gender-based Violence in Botswana foregrounds the rampancy of gender-based violence against women and girls in biblical texts and how it resonates with gender-based violence (GBV) in the author’s contemporary context of Botswana. The volume reads selected texts from the Bible alongside newspaper reports of GBV against women and girls in Botswana to show that while the Bible is taken as an authoritative text within the Botswana context, it is riddled with GBV against female persons. It asserts that by acknowledging and naming GBV in biblical texts and not concealing, ignoring, or spiritualizing it, contemporary communities of faith will be able to confront the problem in these contexts. By so doing, the book argues, the Bible will become a resource for positive transformation rather than a tool for supporting gender injustice. The book appeals to everyone willing to see positive change in regard to gender in/equality and is intended for a wide readership including researchers, postgraduates, church and other representatives of religious institutions, and upper-level undergraduates.

Rape Culture, Purity Culture, and Coercive Control in Teen Girl Bibles

Rape Culture, Purity Culture, and Coercive Control in Teen Girl Bibles
Author: Caroline Blyth
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 102
Release: 2021-02-10
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1000353842

In this fascinating book, Caroline Blyth takes a close look at Bibles marketed to teen girls and asks how these might perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes that lie at the heart of rape culture. The author considers the devotionals, commentaries, and advice sections placed throughout these Bibles, which offer teen girl readers life advice on topics such as friendships, body image, and how to navigate romantic relationships. Within these discussions, there is a strong emphasis on modesty, purity, and sexual passivity as markers of young women’s ‘godliness’. Yet, as the author argues, these gendered ideals are prescribed to readers using rape-supportive discourses and the tactics of coercive control. Moreover, the placement of these various editorial inserts within the pages of sacred scripture gives them considerable power to reinforce deeply harmful ideologies about gender, sexuality, and sexual violence. Given the seeming popularity of these Bibles among Christian teen girls, the need to dismantle their damaging rhetoric is especially urgent. This book will be of particular interest to those studying the Bible, religion, gender, and theology, as well as the general reader.

Rape Culture in the House of David

Rape Culture in the House of David
Author: Barbara Thiede
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 108
Release: 2022-04-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1000614646

Rape Culture in the House of David: A Company of Men describes a biblical rape culture sustained and maintained by Yhwh and a host of men—from royal kings and princes to their relatives, counselors, generals, and servants. This volume reveals that sexual violence in the house of David is not simply perpetrated by its most powerful men. Rather, in the pursuit of power, status, authority, and honor, men form alliances and networks that support the use and abuse of women’s bodies and valorize sexualized violence against other men. The man who is most capable of sexual violence is Israel’s ideal king. Barbara Thiede deftly addresses the power and contemporary relevance of these narratives and argues that exposing and naming rape culture in biblical literature is essential—in social, economic, and political realms. This is a meaningful feminist intervention in the field of biblical studies and is of great benefit to graduate students and scholars of religion, gender studies, and masculinity studies.

Vocation and Violence

Vocation and Violence
Author: Miryam Clough
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2022-01-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 100056648X

As #MeToo and its sister movement #ChurchToo demonstrated, sexual violence is systemic in many and varied workplace settings, including Christian churches, and can destroy women’s careers and vocational aspirations. The study draws on empirical evidence – personal stories from survivors and the views of church leaders and educators – in dialogue with theoretical perspectives, to consider clergy sexual abuse of adult women and the conditions that support it. Institutional abuse only changes when survivors come forward. This study focusses on New Zealand Anglicanism, the locus of the author’s experience, and has resonance for a range of denominational settings. It aims to be a useful resource to clergy, ministry educators, and those training for ministry, and to academics and scholars with an interest in theology, gender, and professional ethics. Notably, it will be a potentially helpful text for women survivors of sexual misconduct by clergy, not least those who are considering a future in the church or grieving the loss of one. The volume concludes by suggesting that alternative theological models and relational ethics are essential if the church is to truly address the problem of clergy sexual abuse and give greater priority to the abused.