What is it about?
In 2017, a church sign at Gustavus Adolphus church in New York City connected Jesus with #MeToo through Jesus’ words ‘You did this to me too’ (Matthew 25:40). This recognises the theological solidarity of Jesus with #MeToo at a metaphorical level, but this article argues a more direct historical connection should also be made. It examines work that goes beyond theological solidarity to identify Jesus as a victim of sexual abuse in a more historical and literal sense.
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Photo by Mihai Surdu on Unsplash
Why is it important?
The #MeToo movement has confirmed what feminists have long argued: abusive sexual behaviour is a widespread everyday occurrence in many different areas of life and work and often these actions are normalised and/or dismissed as unimportant. Noticing that the sexual abuse of Jesus recorded in the biblical texts is also normalised and/or dismissed as unimportant provides a further perspective on this social dynamic.
Perspectives
It was great to work with Jayme R. Reaves on this article. The public lecture we gave in January 2018 can be viewed as a video.
Prof David Tombs
University of Otago
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: #MeToo Jesus: Naming Jesus as a Victim of Sexual Abuse, International Journal of Public Theology, December 2019, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/15697320-12341588.
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