David Tombs
I am an Anglican lay theologian and Howard Paterson Chair Professor of Theology and Public Issues at the University of Otago, Aotearoa New Zealand. I focus on liberation theologies, theologies of reconciliation, and the cross. My research has pioneered the study of crucifixion as a form of torture and explored the significance of this perspective for the church. I also writes on how churches can make better responses to spiritual and sexual abuses.Read more at www.david-tombs.com.
Address: Centre for Theology and Public Issues
University of Otago, New Zealand
Address: Centre for Theology and Public Issues
University of Otago, New Zealand
less
Interests
Uploads
2024 by David Tombs
David Tombs, ‘Things Too Indecent to be Recorded: The Soldiers Mocking the Death of Herod Agrippa’, in Juliana Claassens. Rhiannon Graybill, Christl Maier (eds). Narrating Rape: Shifting Perspectives in Biblical Literature and Popular Culture (London: SCM Press, 2024), pp. 157-172;
David Tombs, ‘Crucifixion and Sexual Abuse: A Theological Resource for Addressing Sexual Exploitation’, in Glenn Miles and Christa Foster Crawford with Bill Prevette (eds), Stepping Out of the Traffick: Pausing for Theological Reflection on Christian Response to Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking (Oxford: Regnum Books, 2024), pp. 83-99.
https://www.regnumbooks.net/products/stepping-out-of-the-traffick
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘¿Obedecer el plan de Dios? El abuso espiritual de las religiosas’ in Daniel Fleming, James Keenan, SJ, and Hans Zollner, SJ. (eds), 'Hacer teología y ética teológica frente a la crisis de los abusos' (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2024), pp. 150-167.
David Tombs, ‘Redress’ in Theology House (ed.), A Future of Hope: Answering the Call to Love Our Neighbour (Lent Study Guide; Christchurch: Theology House, 2024), pp. 21-24.
Publisher web-site
https://theologyhouse.ac.nz/resources/a-future-of-hope-lent-study-guide-2024/
David Tombs, ‘Art depicts Jesus in a loincloth on the cross – the brutal truth is he would have been naked’, The Conversation (28 March 2024);
Available for purchase: https://www.routledge.com/Abuse-in-the-Latin-American-Church-An-Evolving-Crisis-at-the-Core-of-Catholicism/Lecaros-Suarez/p/book/9781032512860
Abstract
This chapter examines Luis Fernando Figari's leadership of the Sodalicio community, and his role in the foundation of two related movements for women, the Marian Community of Reconciliation, and the Servants of God's Plan. It describes the conservative ethos that characterized Figari's vision for Sodalicio and the impact this had on the community's daily life. It then traces the revelations of abuses within Sodalicio that began after the death of Figari's close associate German Doig (2001), the investigation of Doig by Figueroa (from 2006), the crisis provoked by the book on Sodalicio by Pedro Salinas and Paola Ugaz, Half Monks, Half Soldiers (2015), and the subsequent findings of three commissions (the Ethics Commission 2016, the Experts Commission 2017, and the Congressional commission 2019), which recorded evidence of abuses within Sodalicio. The Ethics Commission spoke to the undue emphasis that Sodalicio placed on discipline, obedience, and punishments. We argue that the sexual abuses perpetrated by Figari, Doig, and others demonstrate how sexual abuse can be enabled and sustained by spiritual abuse.
The Crucifixion of Jesus: Torture, Sexual Abuse, and the Scandal of the Cross (6 March 2024). 1 Hour 20 mins.
Episode (Trigger Warning): David Tombs lays out his case for the crucifixion of Jesus as a form of state-sponsored sexual violence and considers the theological and pastoral implications of his case in a discussion of his newest book, The Crucifixion of Jesus: Torture, Sexual Abuse, and the Scandal of the Cross (Routledge, 2023). The episode includes frank discussions of stripping of Jesus, the exposure and humiliation that victims of crucifixion experienced, and the possibility of further sexual violence during crucifixion. We want to warn listeners that the content and subject of this episode are quite difficult (but important!), but please be warned that it is not suitable for children.
2023 by David Tombs
https://hdl.handle.net/10523/22925
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Discipline, Obedience and Abuse in the Sodalitium’, Concilium 402 (4) (October 2023), pp. 46-55.
This is the English translation of the article originally written in Spanish as Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, 'Disciplina, Obediencia y Abuso en el Sodalicio', Concilium 402 (4) (Septiembre 2023), pp. 51-62. Deposit by kind permission of journal.
Rocío Figueroa, Aton Hungyo, and David Tombs, ‘If people in the church knew’: Purity, Stigma, and Victim-Blaming’, The Canonist Vol 14 No 2, (2023) pp. 280-291; With thanks to the editors for permission to deposit.
David Tombs, ‘Alone and Naked: Reading the Torture of Jesus alongside the Torture of Miriam Leitão’, International Journal of Public Theology 17 (4) (2023), pp. 537-557. https://brill.com/view/journals/ijpt/17/4/article-p537_5.xml
Abstract
Recent biblical scholarship has called for more careful and detailed attention to the experiences of torture victims to better understand the crucifixion of Jesus (Menéndez-Antuña 2022). To this end, this article examines the torture of Miriam Leitão, one of Brazil’s most prominent journalists. Leitão’s torture in 1972 is attested in the report Brasil: Nunca Mais (1985), compiled by the Archdiocese of Sao Paulo, which records that she was left in a dark room with a boa constrictor. In 2014 Leitão disclosed in an interview that during her time with the snake she was naked. I argue Leitão’s account
of being ‘alone and naked’ offers insights into the repeated stripping of Jesus in the praetorium in Matthew 27:26–31, and his forced nudity on the cross. Recognising crucifixion as torture helps towards understanding and naming the mocking of Jesus as sexual abuse.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Obeying God’s Plan? The Spiritual Abuse of Nuns’ in Daniel Fleming, James Keenan, SJ, and Hans Zollner, SJ. (eds), ‘Doing Theology and Theological Ethics in the Face of the Abuse Crisis (Complete Issue)’, Journal of Moral Theology 3 (CTWEC Book Series, No. 3), pp. 140-57. The full issue is open access. Publisher web-site https://jmt.scholasticahq.com/issue/6906
and https://www.centropersonalista.it/latenda/2023/05/01/obbedire-al-piano-di-dio-labuso-spirituale-delle-suore-2/
Rocío Figueroa e David Tombs, ‘Obbedire al piano di Dio? L’abuso spirituale delle suore’, in La Tenda: in prospettiva persona (14 April and 1 May 2023).
Published in Italian from Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘El Abuso Espiritual de Religiosas. Caso Estudio: las Siervas del Plan de Dios’, in Teología y Vida, 63 (3), (October 20222) pp. 273-304; http://dx.doi.org/10.7764/TyV/633/5/399-424 (open access).
English translation
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Obeying God’s Plan? The Spiritual Abuse of Nuns’ in Daniel Fleming, James Keenan, SJ, and Hans Zollner, SJ. (eds), ‘Doing Theology and Theological Ethics in the Face of the Abuse Crisis (Complete Issue)’, Journal of Moral Theology 3 (CTWEC Book Series, No. 3), pp. 140-57. https://doi.org/10.55476/001c.72062 (open access)
David Tombs, 'Jon Sobrino and "the Crucified People", Religions (2023), 14(2), 274.
Abstract: ‘The crucified people’ became a key theological concern in the writings of Jon Sobrino SJ in the 1990s. This article examines how and why Sobrino made this concern a central element in his theology at the time. Section 2 discusses what Sobrino has described as his ‘awakening from the sleep of inhumanity’ in the 1970s as he encountered liberation theology in El Salvador fol-lowing his doctoral studies in Frankfurt. Section 3 examines three figures in the Salvadoran Church who influenced Sobrino: Ignacio Ellacuría (assassinated 1989); Oscar Romero (assassi-nated 1980); and Rutilio Grande (assassinated 1977). All three paid with their lives for their work in the Church. Section 4 examines the understanding of the crucified people offered by El-lacuría in 1978, and the encouragement for this idea in the words of Romero and Grande in 1977. Sections 5 and 6 turn to the use of the term as used by Sobrino himself. Section 5 argues that So-brino’s early Christological writings are quite cautious in their use of this idea. The murder of Ellacuría by the military in November 1989 at the Central American University—alongside the killing of five fellow Jesuits, their housekeeper, and her daughter—appears to be the pivotal event that prompts Sobrino’s bolder discussion in publications from 1989 onwards (Section 6). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution.
Publisher web-page https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/2/274.
Abstract: This chapter was invited by Rebecca Pryor and Stephen Burns as a reflective response to the chapter by Burns ‘Deterrence: Crucified People’, which precedes it in the collection. Burns raises profound questions about the place and the meaning of the cross in the world we live in and my chapter explores these issues further in relation to to the distinctive pink crosses which local activists used in creative wavs to protest feminicide against women in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The bring pink crosses brought the violence against of women into the public forum in a way that demanded attention. This feminist activism offers a creative opportunity for theological reflection on how the cross might be understood in new ways in light of women's experiences.
David Tombs, ‘Stripped of Dignity’ in Theology House (ed), A Holy Church: Becoming the Communities We Are Called to Be (Lent Study Guide; Christchurch: Theology House, 2023), pp. 15-19; https://hdl.handle.net/10523/36167
Publisher's website: https://theologyhouse.ac.nz/resources/a-holy-church/
This Lent Bible Study considers the need for redress in response to abuse and in the context of the forthcoming final report from the New Zealand Royal Commission into Abuse in Care.
Abstract
Roman crucifixions sought to degrade and dehumanize their victims in ways that destroyed their dignity and stigmatized their memory. Paul speaks of the cross as a 'scandal' or 'stumbling block', but the significance of this language has never been explored in terms of sexual violence. The Crucifixion of Jesus examines crucifixion as a form of torture, state terror, and sexual abuse. It reads recent accounts of torture alongside the presentation of crucifixion in the Passion narratives and other Greek and Roman sources.
2022 by David Tombs
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Spiritual Abuse: A Case Study of the Servants of God’s Plan’, The Canonist, 13 (2) (2022), pp. 243-263.
Originally published in Spanish as Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘El Abuso Espiritual de Religiosas. Caso Estudio: las Siervas del Plan de Dios’, in Teología y Vida, 63 (3), (October 20222) pp. 273-304; DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7764/TyV/633/5/399-424
Abstract
Este estudio propone que el término abuso espiritual es útil para comprender el maltrato sistémico experimentado por seis ex religiosas que pertenecían a la comunidad Siervas del Plan de Diost; provenientes de Perú, Chile, Colombia y Ecuador. Nuestra intención es examinar el abuso espiritual manifiestado en símbolos, textos, enseñanzas, rituales, oraciones y en la forma de liderazgo. Se evaluará cómo el abuso espiritual puede contribuir a una visión distorsionada de la obediencia y a una cultura tóxica dentro de la vida religiosa.
Publisher webpage for book https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110699203
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Living in Obedience and Suffering in Silence: The Shattered Faith of Nuns Abused by Priests’, in Mathias Wirth, Isabelle Noth and Silvia Schroer (eds), Sexualisierte Gewalt in kirchlichen Kontexten: Neue interdisziplinäre Perspektiven [Sexual Violence in the Context of the Church: New Interdisciplinary Perspectives] (Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter, 2022), pp. 45-74. ISBN 9783110699043
ABSTRACT: During 2019 we conducted interviews with five women who have current or previous life experience in women’s religious orders (nuns). The women are from Argentina, France, Germany, Peru, and The Philippines. An earlier chapter of findings was published as Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Seeing His Innocence, I See My Innocence’, in Jayme R. Reaves, Rocío Figueroa Alvear, and David Tombs. eds. When Did We See You Naked?’: Acknowledging Jesus as a Victim of Sexual Abuse. London: SCM Press, 2021, pp. 287-312, https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/media/75046/print_ch-17_whendidweseeyounaked.pdf
This second chapter offers further findings from the three members of the group who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic priests during their time in the religious order. It asks the participants if their vocation and identity as a nun and person of faith influenced positively or negatively their response to the abuse and the impact in their lives. It gives particular attention to: the systemic factors within the Church enabled the abuse; the impact that the abuse had on the women’s sense of self and self-worth; whether or not they viewed the suffering of Christ alongside their own suffering and how they understood this connection.
David Tombs, ‘Things Too Indecent to be Recorded: The Soldiers Mocking the Death of Herod Agrippa’, in Juliana Claassens. Rhiannon Graybill, Christl Maier (eds). Narrating Rape: Shifting Perspectives in Biblical Literature and Popular Culture (London: SCM Press, 2024), pp. 157-172;
David Tombs, ‘Crucifixion and Sexual Abuse: A Theological Resource for Addressing Sexual Exploitation’, in Glenn Miles and Christa Foster Crawford with Bill Prevette (eds), Stepping Out of the Traffick: Pausing for Theological Reflection on Christian Response to Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking (Oxford: Regnum Books, 2024), pp. 83-99.
https://www.regnumbooks.net/products/stepping-out-of-the-traffick
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘¿Obedecer el plan de Dios? El abuso espiritual de las religiosas’ in Daniel Fleming, James Keenan, SJ, and Hans Zollner, SJ. (eds), 'Hacer teología y ética teológica frente a la crisis de los abusos' (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2024), pp. 150-167.
David Tombs, ‘Redress’ in Theology House (ed.), A Future of Hope: Answering the Call to Love Our Neighbour (Lent Study Guide; Christchurch: Theology House, 2024), pp. 21-24.
Publisher web-site
https://theologyhouse.ac.nz/resources/a-future-of-hope-lent-study-guide-2024/
David Tombs, ‘Art depicts Jesus in a loincloth on the cross – the brutal truth is he would have been naked’, The Conversation (28 March 2024);
Available for purchase: https://www.routledge.com/Abuse-in-the-Latin-American-Church-An-Evolving-Crisis-at-the-Core-of-Catholicism/Lecaros-Suarez/p/book/9781032512860
Abstract
This chapter examines Luis Fernando Figari's leadership of the Sodalicio community, and his role in the foundation of two related movements for women, the Marian Community of Reconciliation, and the Servants of God's Plan. It describes the conservative ethos that characterized Figari's vision for Sodalicio and the impact this had on the community's daily life. It then traces the revelations of abuses within Sodalicio that began after the death of Figari's close associate German Doig (2001), the investigation of Doig by Figueroa (from 2006), the crisis provoked by the book on Sodalicio by Pedro Salinas and Paola Ugaz, Half Monks, Half Soldiers (2015), and the subsequent findings of three commissions (the Ethics Commission 2016, the Experts Commission 2017, and the Congressional commission 2019), which recorded evidence of abuses within Sodalicio. The Ethics Commission spoke to the undue emphasis that Sodalicio placed on discipline, obedience, and punishments. We argue that the sexual abuses perpetrated by Figari, Doig, and others demonstrate how sexual abuse can be enabled and sustained by spiritual abuse.
The Crucifixion of Jesus: Torture, Sexual Abuse, and the Scandal of the Cross (6 March 2024). 1 Hour 20 mins.
Episode (Trigger Warning): David Tombs lays out his case for the crucifixion of Jesus as a form of state-sponsored sexual violence and considers the theological and pastoral implications of his case in a discussion of his newest book, The Crucifixion of Jesus: Torture, Sexual Abuse, and the Scandal of the Cross (Routledge, 2023). The episode includes frank discussions of stripping of Jesus, the exposure and humiliation that victims of crucifixion experienced, and the possibility of further sexual violence during crucifixion. We want to warn listeners that the content and subject of this episode are quite difficult (but important!), but please be warned that it is not suitable for children.
https://hdl.handle.net/10523/22925
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Discipline, Obedience and Abuse in the Sodalitium’, Concilium 402 (4) (October 2023), pp. 46-55.
This is the English translation of the article originally written in Spanish as Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, 'Disciplina, Obediencia y Abuso en el Sodalicio', Concilium 402 (4) (Septiembre 2023), pp. 51-62. Deposit by kind permission of journal.
Rocío Figueroa, Aton Hungyo, and David Tombs, ‘If people in the church knew’: Purity, Stigma, and Victim-Blaming’, The Canonist Vol 14 No 2, (2023) pp. 280-291; With thanks to the editors for permission to deposit.
David Tombs, ‘Alone and Naked: Reading the Torture of Jesus alongside the Torture of Miriam Leitão’, International Journal of Public Theology 17 (4) (2023), pp. 537-557. https://brill.com/view/journals/ijpt/17/4/article-p537_5.xml
Abstract
Recent biblical scholarship has called for more careful and detailed attention to the experiences of torture victims to better understand the crucifixion of Jesus (Menéndez-Antuña 2022). To this end, this article examines the torture of Miriam Leitão, one of Brazil’s most prominent journalists. Leitão’s torture in 1972 is attested in the report Brasil: Nunca Mais (1985), compiled by the Archdiocese of Sao Paulo, which records that she was left in a dark room with a boa constrictor. In 2014 Leitão disclosed in an interview that during her time with the snake she was naked. I argue Leitão’s account
of being ‘alone and naked’ offers insights into the repeated stripping of Jesus in the praetorium in Matthew 27:26–31, and his forced nudity on the cross. Recognising crucifixion as torture helps towards understanding and naming the mocking of Jesus as sexual abuse.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Obeying God’s Plan? The Spiritual Abuse of Nuns’ in Daniel Fleming, James Keenan, SJ, and Hans Zollner, SJ. (eds), ‘Doing Theology and Theological Ethics in the Face of the Abuse Crisis (Complete Issue)’, Journal of Moral Theology 3 (CTWEC Book Series, No. 3), pp. 140-57. The full issue is open access. Publisher web-site https://jmt.scholasticahq.com/issue/6906
and https://www.centropersonalista.it/latenda/2023/05/01/obbedire-al-piano-di-dio-labuso-spirituale-delle-suore-2/
Rocío Figueroa e David Tombs, ‘Obbedire al piano di Dio? L’abuso spirituale delle suore’, in La Tenda: in prospettiva persona (14 April and 1 May 2023).
Published in Italian from Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘El Abuso Espiritual de Religiosas. Caso Estudio: las Siervas del Plan de Dios’, in Teología y Vida, 63 (3), (October 20222) pp. 273-304; http://dx.doi.org/10.7764/TyV/633/5/399-424 (open access).
English translation
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Obeying God’s Plan? The Spiritual Abuse of Nuns’ in Daniel Fleming, James Keenan, SJ, and Hans Zollner, SJ. (eds), ‘Doing Theology and Theological Ethics in the Face of the Abuse Crisis (Complete Issue)’, Journal of Moral Theology 3 (CTWEC Book Series, No. 3), pp. 140-57. https://doi.org/10.55476/001c.72062 (open access)
David Tombs, 'Jon Sobrino and "the Crucified People", Religions (2023), 14(2), 274.
Abstract: ‘The crucified people’ became a key theological concern in the writings of Jon Sobrino SJ in the 1990s. This article examines how and why Sobrino made this concern a central element in his theology at the time. Section 2 discusses what Sobrino has described as his ‘awakening from the sleep of inhumanity’ in the 1970s as he encountered liberation theology in El Salvador fol-lowing his doctoral studies in Frankfurt. Section 3 examines three figures in the Salvadoran Church who influenced Sobrino: Ignacio Ellacuría (assassinated 1989); Oscar Romero (assassi-nated 1980); and Rutilio Grande (assassinated 1977). All three paid with their lives for their work in the Church. Section 4 examines the understanding of the crucified people offered by El-lacuría in 1978, and the encouragement for this idea in the words of Romero and Grande in 1977. Sections 5 and 6 turn to the use of the term as used by Sobrino himself. Section 5 argues that So-brino’s early Christological writings are quite cautious in their use of this idea. The murder of Ellacuría by the military in November 1989 at the Central American University—alongside the killing of five fellow Jesuits, their housekeeper, and her daughter—appears to be the pivotal event that prompts Sobrino’s bolder discussion in publications from 1989 onwards (Section 6). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution.
Publisher web-page https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/2/274.
Abstract: This chapter was invited by Rebecca Pryor and Stephen Burns as a reflective response to the chapter by Burns ‘Deterrence: Crucified People’, which precedes it in the collection. Burns raises profound questions about the place and the meaning of the cross in the world we live in and my chapter explores these issues further in relation to to the distinctive pink crosses which local activists used in creative wavs to protest feminicide against women in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The bring pink crosses brought the violence against of women into the public forum in a way that demanded attention. This feminist activism offers a creative opportunity for theological reflection on how the cross might be understood in new ways in light of women's experiences.
David Tombs, ‘Stripped of Dignity’ in Theology House (ed), A Holy Church: Becoming the Communities We Are Called to Be (Lent Study Guide; Christchurch: Theology House, 2023), pp. 15-19; https://hdl.handle.net/10523/36167
Publisher's website: https://theologyhouse.ac.nz/resources/a-holy-church/
This Lent Bible Study considers the need for redress in response to abuse and in the context of the forthcoming final report from the New Zealand Royal Commission into Abuse in Care.
Abstract
Roman crucifixions sought to degrade and dehumanize their victims in ways that destroyed their dignity and stigmatized their memory. Paul speaks of the cross as a 'scandal' or 'stumbling block', but the significance of this language has never been explored in terms of sexual violence. The Crucifixion of Jesus examines crucifixion as a form of torture, state terror, and sexual abuse. It reads recent accounts of torture alongside the presentation of crucifixion in the Passion narratives and other Greek and Roman sources.
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Spiritual Abuse: A Case Study of the Servants of God’s Plan’, The Canonist, 13 (2) (2022), pp. 243-263.
Originally published in Spanish as Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘El Abuso Espiritual de Religiosas. Caso Estudio: las Siervas del Plan de Dios’, in Teología y Vida, 63 (3), (October 20222) pp. 273-304; DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7764/TyV/633/5/399-424
Abstract
Este estudio propone que el término abuso espiritual es útil para comprender el maltrato sistémico experimentado por seis ex religiosas que pertenecían a la comunidad Siervas del Plan de Diost; provenientes de Perú, Chile, Colombia y Ecuador. Nuestra intención es examinar el abuso espiritual manifiestado en símbolos, textos, enseñanzas, rituales, oraciones y en la forma de liderazgo. Se evaluará cómo el abuso espiritual puede contribuir a una visión distorsionada de la obediencia y a una cultura tóxica dentro de la vida religiosa.
Publisher webpage for book https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110699203
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Living in Obedience and Suffering in Silence: The Shattered Faith of Nuns Abused by Priests’, in Mathias Wirth, Isabelle Noth and Silvia Schroer (eds), Sexualisierte Gewalt in kirchlichen Kontexten: Neue interdisziplinäre Perspektiven [Sexual Violence in the Context of the Church: New Interdisciplinary Perspectives] (Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter, 2022), pp. 45-74. ISBN 9783110699043
ABSTRACT: During 2019 we conducted interviews with five women who have current or previous life experience in women’s religious orders (nuns). The women are from Argentina, France, Germany, Peru, and The Philippines. An earlier chapter of findings was published as Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Seeing His Innocence, I See My Innocence’, in Jayme R. Reaves, Rocío Figueroa Alvear, and David Tombs. eds. When Did We See You Naked?’: Acknowledging Jesus as a Victim of Sexual Abuse. London: SCM Press, 2021, pp. 287-312, https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/media/75046/print_ch-17_whendidweseeyounaked.pdf
This second chapter offers further findings from the three members of the group who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic priests during their time in the religious order. It asks the participants if their vocation and identity as a nun and person of faith influenced positively or negatively their response to the abuse and the impact in their lives. It gives particular attention to: the systemic factors within the Church enabled the abuse; the impact that the abuse had on the women’s sense of self and self-worth; whether or not they viewed the suffering of Christ alongside their own suffering and how they understood this connection.
Publisher web-page https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781978714793/Theology-as-Threshold-Invitations-from-Aotearoa-New-Zealand.
David Tombs, ‘Asking the Right Questions: Noticing and Naming Sexual Abuse’, Jione Havea, Emily Colgan and Nasili Vaka’uta (eds) Theology as Threshold: Invitations from Aotearoa New Zealand (Lanham MD: Lexington Books / Fortress Academic, 2022), pp. 85-105.
Former gymnast Rachael Denhollander played a lead-role in bringing Dr Larry Nassar to account in 2018 for sexual abuse against hundreds of girls and young women. This article discusses Nassar's ability to disguise his abuse and keep it hidden in plain sight as described in Denhollander's book 'What is a Girl Worth?' (2019). This chapter examines how the abuse went unrecognised for so long and why Denhollander believes that the widespread failure of authorities to ask the right questions enabled Nassar's abuses and allowed him to continue. It then argues that asking the right questions is equally important when giving attention to sexual abuses in the bible. It discusses recent work on crucifixion that names the stripping and enforced nudity of crucifixion as intentional acts of sexual abuse. It argues that as in the Nassar case, it is only when the right questions are asked, that the sexually abusive nature of these aspects of crucifixion becomes obvious.
David Tombs, ‘Strip Searches, Abuses of Power, and “Stepping into the Room”', Shiloh Project Blog (31 March 2022).
Abstract
A blog post that draws on a recent chapter by Motswana womanist theologian Mmapula Kebaneilwe for a reading of the strip searching of Child Q at a school in Hackney, London.
Publisher info: https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780334060321/when-did-we-see-you-naked
Download: https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/media/75409/when-did-we-see-you-naked-pdf.pdf
Jayme Reaves and David Tombs, ‘Recognising Jesus as a Victim of Sexual Abuse’, SCM Blog (28 June 2021).
https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/blog/jesus-as-a-victim-of-sexual-abuse#_edn5
Jayme Reaves and David Tombs, ‘Jesus as a Victim of Sexual Abuse’, SCM (23 March 2021).
'Jesus as a victim of sexual abuse’, Rosie Dawson interviews David Tombs on how engaging with Liberation Theology and the experience of tortured people in Central America led him to consider the evidence that Jesus was a victim of sexual abuse ((24 March 2021; 35 mins) .
Los autores de distintos países, pretenden analizar de manera interdisciplinar toda una serie de abusos híbridos, así como la necesaria reparación de frente a estos atroces delitos. La lectura de la presente obra procura acompañar al lector en el antes y el después de los comportamientos sexuales inapropiados cometidos dentro de la institución eclesial. En la primera parte de la obra se considera algunos de los elementos que anteceden el abuso sexual, tales como: el maltrato infantil, las violencias, las zonas grises, la vulnerabilidad, el abuso espiritual, de poder, de conciencia y aquellos cometidos por figuras carismáticas. En la segunda parte, algunos autores se sitúan en el después de los abusos, abordando distintos elementos de la reparación como la confianza, la justicia y la teología.
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Viendo su inocencia, veo mi inocencia: Explorando respuestas a la idea de Jesús como víctima de abuso sexual’, in Daniel Portillo (ed.), 'Abusos y reparación: sobre los compartimentos no sexuales en la iglesia' (Madrid: PPC España, 2021), pp. 93-120.
Abstract
This chapter presents findings from qualitative interviews with five women who spent time as sisters in religious orders (in Argentina, France, Germany, Peru, and the Philippines). They are all survivors of past sexual abuse. Three of them experienced clergy sexual abuse during their early years in their religious orders, and other two were subjected to sexual abuse by relatives during childhood. Each interviewee was asked to read an article suggesting that Jesus experienced sexual abuse during his stripping, torture, and crucifixion (see Tombs 2019). Our questions explored the women’s views on: (1) whether they had previously viewed their own abuse in light of the the suffering of Jesus; (2) whether the article’s reading of crucifixion and sexual abuse was new to them and whether they found it persuasive; (3) whether seeing Jesus this way was helpful to them as survivors of sexual abuse; and (4) what significance they saw this as having for the wider church. Their responses suggest that the innocence of Jesus can be an important source of pastoral support for some survivors of sexual abuse. In addition, for the wider Church, acknowledging Jesus as a victim of sexual abuse can help to address victim-blaming.
Publishers website https://www.sbl-site.org/publications/Books_IVBS.aspx
Author off-print of chapter available here.
David Tombs, ‘Reading Crucifixion Narratives as Texts of Terror’ in Monica Melanchthon and Robyn Whitaker (eds.), Terror in the Bible: Rhetoric, Gender, and Violence (International Voices in Biblical Studies Series. Atlanta, GA: SBL Press, 2021), pp. 139-60.
Publisher's website for book https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780334060321/when-did-we-see-you-naked
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Seeing His Innocence, I See My Innocence’, in Jayme R. Reaves, Rocío Figueroa Alvear, and David Tombs. eds. When Did We See You Naked?’: Acknowledging Jesus as a Victim of Sexual Abuse. London: SCM Press, 2021, pp. 287-312. ISBN 978-0-334-06032-1.
Abstract
This chapter offers findings from qualitative interviews undertaken during 2019 to explore responses to naming Jesus as a victim of sexual abuse. The participants are five female survivors of sexual abuse in Argentina, France, Germany, Peru and the Philippines. Four interviewees are former nuns, and the fifth is a current nun. They are referred to here by the pseudonyms Dina (Germany), Franca (France), Lilian (the Philippines), Lucia (Argentina) and Maria (Peru). The participants discuss their responses with particular attention to the difference that seeing Jesus in this way makes to them personally as a survivor, and the difference they believe it might make to the wider Church.
Jayme R. Reaves and David Tombs, ‘#MeToo Jesus: Naming Jesus as a victim of sexual abuse’, Review & Expositor 117.2 (2020 May), pp. 204-221.
This is a reprint under Creative Commons licence of Jayme R. Reaves and David Tombs, ‘#MeToo Jesus: Naming Jesus as a Victim of Sexual Abuse’, International Journal of Public Theology, Vol. 13 No. 4 (2019), pp. 387-412; https://doi.org/10.1163/15697320-12341588. Our sincere thanks to both journals.
Abstract
The #MeToo hashtag and campaign raises important questions for Christian public theology. 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’ (Matt 25:40). This church sign offers appropriate recognition of 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 works by Tombs (1999), Heath (2011), Gafney (2013), and Trainor (2014) that go beyond theological solidarity to identify Jesus as a victim of sexual abuse in a more historical and literal sense. It concludes that naming Jesus as victim of sexual abuse is not just a matter of correcting the historical record but can also help churches to address the damage caused by victim blaming or shaming.
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Recognising Jesus as a Victim of Sexual Abuse: Responses from Sodalicio Survivors in Peru’, Religion and Gender 10.1 (June 2020), pp. 57-75.
Abstract
This article presents the findings from qualitative interviews to explore responses to the idea of Jesus as victim of sexual abuse. The seven participants are adult male survivors of prior church sexual abuse, which they experienced as teenagers and young men. The perpetrators were leaders of the Sodalicio society in Peru. The article by Tombs (1999) on naming the torture of Jesus as sexual abuse was discussed, to assess whether participants see this as persuasive, and as meaningful for sexual abuse survivors, and important for the church. The interviews suggest that: (1) naming Jesus as a victim of sexual abuse was new to all participants; (2) most found the historical and biblical evidence to be persuasive; (3) the group were divided on whether this was of value to survivors of church related sexual abuse; (4) all of the group agreed that it was important for the wider church.
David Tombs, ‘Hidden in Plain Sight: Seeing the Stripping of Jesus as Sexual Violence’, Journal for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies Special Issue: Activism in the Biblical Studies Classroom: Global Perspectives 2:1 (Autumn 2020), pp. 224-247.
Abstract
Recent work in biblical studies has given increased attention to a reading of Jesus as a victim of sexual abuse. This article explores how the stripping of Jesus might be understood as an example of abuse 'hidden in plain sight'. Most students are initially surprised or doubtful when it is suggested that Jesus is a victim of sexual violence. However, this scepticism can become a powerful learning resource if they are helped to 'discover' it for themselves through an experiential learning process. This might involve a critical examination of crucifixion and stripping images, and/or a contextual bible study on Matthew 27:26-31. Discovering the sanitising and erasure of sexual violence in the dominant (mis)understanding of crucifixion can offer students insight into other ways that past and present sexual violence is often marginalised, normalised, or hidden. Often these classroom exercises prompt a discussion of what makes abuse 'sexual abuse'.
Ch DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5081-2_3
Bk DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5081-2
David Tombs, ‘Unspeakable Things: Drawing upon the Nanjing Massacre to Read Crucifixion as an Assault on Human Dignity’ in Zhibin Xie, Pauline Kollontai and Sebastian Kim, (eds.) Human Dignity, Human Rights, and Social Justice: A Chinese Interdisciplinary Dialogue with Global Perspectives (Singapore: Springer, 2020), pp. 33-51. Hbk ISBN 978-981-15-5080-5; Pbk ISBN 978-981-15-5082-9.
Note
A version of this chapter was presented under the title ‘The Massacre at Nanking, Crucifixion, and Public Theology', at the Religion and Social Justice Symposium, Tongji University, Shanghai, 30 October 2015. I am grateful to Xhibin Zie for organizing and hosting the symposium, and to Prof. Monhong Lin (Nanjing Union Theological Seminary), and other participants at the symposium, for their discussion of the paper.
Abstract
What might be gained from a reading of crucifixion in the light of an atrocity like the Nanjing massacre? This chapter suggests that an acknowledgment of the ‘unspeakable things’ of the 1937 Nanjing massacre offers important insights into Roman crucifixions. Drawing on Iris Chang’s influential book, The Rape of Nanking (1997), it suggests a number of features in the violence at Nanjing that might help towards a more informed reading of the biblical accounts of crucifixion as assaults on human dignity. The term ‘unspeakable things’ in the chapter title is taken from the writing of John Magee who was a missionary and Nanjing eye-witness.
Ch DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91872-3_8
Bk DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91872-3
Rocío Figueroa and David Tombs, ‘Lived Religion and the Traumatic Impact of Sexual Abuse: The Sodalicio Case in Peru’ in Ruard R. Ganzevoort and Srdjan Sremac (eds.) Trauma and Lived Religion: Transcending the Ordinary. Palgrave Studies in Lived Religion and Societal Challenges. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019, pp. 155-76. ISBN 978-3-319-91871-6.
Abstract
This chapter explores the traumatic impact of sexual abuse on lived religion through a case study of the Sodalicio Society in Peru. It draws on recent interviews with eight male survivors, who are now middle-aged and who were abused when they were younger. The first section explains the background of the Sodalicio community. The second section offers an overview of existing literature on the spiritual consequences of clergy perpetrated sexual abuse. The third section explores the spiritual impact of psychological and spiritual abuse on the eight former members of Sodalicio. The fourth section will argue that recent work identifying Christ's own experience as a form of sexual abuse might offer a new vantage point to address the traumatic impact of sexual abuse.
David Tombs, ‘Crucificação e Abuso Sexual’, Estudos Teológicos 59.1 (June 2019), pp. 119-32.
Resumo:
Este artigo recorre à hermenêutica da libertação latino-americana para ler as narrativas dos evangelhos sobre a crucifi cação à luz dos relatos de tortura na América Latina. As práticas de tortura empregadas por regimes autoritários da América Latina nos anos 1970 e 1980 mostram como a tortura foi usada para o terror de Estado. Relatos sobre essa época também confi rmam a frequência da violência sexual em práticas de tortura. Aplicando essa perspectiva a uma leitura das narrativas dos evangelhos, o artigo sustenta que os romanos também usaram a crucifi cação como terror de Estado. As crucifi cações romanas eram punições públicas para intimidar e controlar escravos e povos sujeitados. Além disso, para reforçar a mensagem de terror, as crucifi cações incluíam humilhação sexual para degradar e rebaixar suas vítimas. O artigo sustenta que o desnudamento e a exibição de Jesus nu registrados nos evangelhos constituíram uma forma de humilhação sexual e deveriam ser chamados de abuso sexual. Ele também pergunta se outros abusos sexuais poderiam ter ocorrido no pretório. Conclui que a possibilidade de outros abusos é uma questão importante a ser considerada, mesmo que não possa ser respondida com certeza. Palavras-chave: Jesus. Crucifi cação. Abuso sexual. Tortura. Terror de Estado. Abstract: This article resorts to the hermeneutics of Latin American liberation to read the narratives of the Gospels about crucifi xion in the light of reports of torture in Latin America. The torture practices employed by authoritarian regimes in Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s show how torture was used for state terror. Reports from this period also confi rm the frequency of sexual violence in torture practices. Applying this perspective to a reading of Gospel narratives, the article maintains that the Romans also used crucifi xion as state terror. The Roman crucifi xions were public punishments for intimidating and controlling slaves and subjected peoples. In addition, to reinforce the message of terror, the crucifi xions included sexual humiliation to degrade and demean their victims. The article maintains that the stripping and display of the naked Jesus 1 O artigo foi recebido em 06 de fevereiro de 2019 e aprovado em 23 de abril de 2019 com base nas avaliações dos pareceristas ad hoc.
Résumé
Cet article s’appuie sur l’herméneutique des mouvements de Libération en Amérique Latine pour proposer une lecture des évangiles à la lumière des rapports sur les tortures en Amérique Latine. La pratique de la torture par les régimes autoritaires en Amérique Latine dans les années 1970 1980, permet de comprendre comment se met en place une terreur d’État. Les rapports sur cette période attestent le recours fréquent à des violences sexuelles dans la torture. En lisant les récits des évangiles sous cet angle, l’article met en avant que les Romains se servaient de la crucifixion pour, eux aussi, instituer une terreur d’État. Les crucifixions romaines étaient une punition publique pour intimider et contrôler les esclaves et les peuples assujettis. De plus, pour accentuer le sentiment de terreur, les crucifixions comprenaient des humiliations sexuelles qui avilissaient et rabaissaient leurs victimes. Cet article propose de voir le moment, inscrit dans les évangiles, où Jésus est dépouillé de ses vêtements et exposé nu, comme une forme d’humiliation sexuelle, qui devrait être désigné par le terme d’abus sexuel. Il soulève aussi la question de savoir si d’autres formes d’abus sexuels auraient pu avoir lieu dans le prétoire. En conclusion, il note que l’éventualité d’autres actes d’abus sexuels est une question importante, même s’il n’est pas possible d’y répondre avec certitude.
Resumen:
Este artículo se basa en la hermenéutica de la Liberación latinoamericana para realizar una lectura de las narraciones evangélicas de la crucifixión a la luz de los informes de tortura en América Latina. Las prácticas de tortura utilizadas por los regímenes autoritarios en América Latina en las décadas de 1970 y 1980 muestran cómo se usó la tortura como un componente del terrorismo de Estado. Los informes sobre este período también confirman el uso frecuente de la violencia sexual en las prácticas de tortura. Aplicando esta perspectiva a una lectura de las narrativas evangélicas, el artículo sostiene que los romanos también utilizaron la crucifixión como herramienta de terrorismo de Estado. Las crucifixiones romanas eran castigos públicos para intimidar y controlar a los esclavos y a los pueblos sometidos. Además, para reforzar el mensaje de terror, las crucifixiones incluían humillaciones sexuales para degradar y disminuir a sus víctimas. El artículo argumenta que el arrebato de las prendas y la desnudez expuesta de Jesús registrados en los Evangelios fueron una forma de humillación sexual a la cual deberíamos referirnos como abuso sexual. También se pregunta si podrían haberse producido otros abusos sexuales en el pretorio. Concluye que la posibilidad de otros abusos es una cuestión importante por considerar, aunque no pueda responderse con certeza.
Link to book on publisher's web-site: https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928314684
David Tombs, ‘Confronting the Stigma of Naming Jesus as a Victim of Sexual Violence’ in Clive Pearson (ed), Enacting a Public Theology (Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University Press, 2019), pp. 71-86. ISBN 978-1-9283124-67-7
Note
This chapter is a revised and expanded version of the conference paper “Naming Jesus as a victim of sexual violence: The role of the churches in confronting the stigma of sexual abuse” at the Global Network in Public Theology Triennial Conference, on Democracy and Social Justice in Glocal Contexts, at University of Stellenbosch (24-26 October 2016).
Abstract
Pastor Skosana’s sermon in 2010 in the township of Khayelitsha outside Stellenbosch on the theme that ‘Jesus was HIV-positive’ attracted worldwide attention. Part 1 of the chapter discusses the controversy around the sermon and Skosana’s reasons for making this metaphorical identification of Jesus with HIV/AIDS. Part 2 explores the Tearfund report ‘Breaking the Silence’ (2013) on sexual violence and the churches in South Africa. Part 3 discusses the untapped potential in the church to address sexual violence and the need for a theology which supports this as a priority. Part 4 argues that the stripping, mocking, and crucifixion of Jesus should be identified as sexual violence, and this could offer a powerful theological resource for the churches. Part 5 discusses why, for many church people, naming Jesus as a victim of sexual violence can seem shocking or strange. The stigma commonly associated with sexual violence can even make this seem offensive or blasphemous. The chapter concludes that Pastor's Skosana's sermon suggests how churches could use these negative responses for a positive purpose. Negative reactions to Jesus as a victim of sexual violence can help to reveal the stigma towards victims. This stigma is common in church and society, but because it is frequently denied, it is rarely confronted.
Ramona Boodoosingh, Melanie Beres, and David Tombs, ‘Research briefing: Violence against women in Samoa’ Women’s Studies Journal (December 2018) 32: 1-2, pp. 33-56.
Absract
This research briefing provides information about the context of violence against women (VAW) in Samoa. It explores the social, cultural, and religious systems that serve to sustain the nation’s high rates of VAW, including local governance structures and the gender roles inherent within them. There is particular focus on the role of the Christian church in Samoa, and the authors note that, while it can be complicit in perpetuating gender inequalities which sustain VAW, it also has undeniable potential as a source of positive change.
Publisher's web page for book https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781978701359/The-Art-of-Forgiveness
David Tombs, ‘Siphiwo Mthimkhulu, Daniel Grootboom, and the Art of Forgiveness’, in Philip Halstead and Myk Habets (eds.) The Art of Forgiveness, Lanham MD: Lexington Books, 2018, pp. 179-203.
Abstract: The South African film Forgiveness (2004), directed by Ian Gabriel, takes as its starting point the death in custody of the fictional ANC student activist Daniel Grootboom. The plot focusses on an emotional series of encounters spread over four days between Tertius Coetzee, a remorseful police officer responsible for Grootboom’s death, and Grootboom’s parents, sister, and brother in Paternoster. Although the film is fictional it draws upon and interrogates an actual incident following the death of Siphiwo Mthimkhulu, an ANC youth activist, who was abducted and killed by Eastern Cape security the forces in 1982. In 1996, police Colonel Gideon Nieuwoudt, applied to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for amnesty in this and four other cases. In 1998, with the amnesty decision in the case still pending, Nieuwouldt requested a meeting with Mthimkhulu’s family. The meeting was video recorded by the film-maker Mark Kaplan who was making a documentary on the family. This chapter examines Gabriel’s film portrayal of the encounter between the Grootbooms and Coetzee with attention to its similarities and differences to Kaplan’ documentary footage of the meeting between the Mthimkhulu family and Nieuwoudt. An awareness of Nieuwoudt’s cynical and manipulative statements in Kaplan’s documentary offer helpful context for appreciating Gabriel’s more complex and nuanced attitude to forgiveness in his film.
Earlier version of text for Shiloh Project Blog (2017) is available at https://www.shilohproject.blog/abandonment-rape-and-second-abandonment-hannah-baker-in-13-reasons-why-and-king-davids-concubines-in-2-samuel-15-2/
Publisher's web-page for book: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-70669-6_8.
David Tombs, ‘Abandonment, Rape, and Second Abandonment: Hannah Baker in 13 Reasons Why and the Royal Concubines in 2 Samuel 15-20’ in Caroline Blyth, Emily Colgan, Katie Edwards (eds.) Rape Culture, Gender Violence and Religion: Biblical Perspectives (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), pp. 117-41. ISBN 978-3-319-70668-9
Abstract: A key principle in the work of Latin American liberation theologians has been a willingness to take their Latin American social context seriously as an aid for understanding biblical texts. This paper is intended to illustrate the value of this principle by focussing on some disturbing points in the gospel accounts of crucifixion in the light of recent accounts of torture and terror in Latin America. It argues that documentation of torture and abuse in Latin American military regimes can illuminate neglected aspects of Jesus’ passion presented in the gospels. Most importantly this involves recognition that crucifixion was a form of torture that served a wider purpose than execution and was used to demonstrate the state’s power and terrorise those who might oppose it. Within this framework, one issue in the horror of Jesus' torture and crucifixion which has been completely neglected in Christian tradition—the degree of sexual abuse that it involved—can be addressed honestly and openly. The central contention is that crucifixion in the ancient world carried a strongly sexual element and should be understood as a form of sexual abuse. The gospels indicate that Jesus was subjected to a high degree of sexual humiliation and was possibly a victim of sexual assault. The final part of this paper suggests the constructive purposes that the acknowledgement of this sexual abuse might serve.
Abstract: A key principle in the work of Latin American liberation theologians has been a willingness to take their Latin American social context seriously as an aid for understanding biblical texts. This paper is intended to illustrate the value of this principle by focussing on some disturbing points in the gospel accounts of crucifixion in the light of recent accounts of torture and terror in Latin America. It argues that documentation of torture and abuse in Latin American military regimes can illuminate neglected aspects of Jesus’ passion presented in the gospels. Most importantly this involves recognition that crucifixion was a form of torture that served a wider purpose than execution and was used to demonstrate the state’s power and terrorise those who might oppose it. Within this framework, one issue in the horror of Jesus' torture and crucifixion which has been completely neglected in Christian tradition—the degree of sexual abuse that it involved—can be addressed honestly and openly. The central contention is that crucifixion in the ancient world carried a strongly sexual element and should be understood as a form of sexual abuse. The gospels indicate that Jesus was subjected to a high degree of sexual humiliation and was possibly a victim of sexual assault. The final part of this paper suggests the constructive purposes that the acknowledgement of this sexual abuse might serve.
Abstract
This project seeks to give voice to male victims of sexual abuse through interviews with eight young men involved with the Sodalicio movement in Peru. The aim of this research is to explore the impact of church-related sexual abuse on each of the interviewees and to identify the short and long-term psychological and spiritual consequences associated with it. The findings support the widely shared conclusion that the damage caused by institutional sexual abuse is often traumatic and profound, and that this is frequently heightened when perpetrators have a religious standing and authority. Despite this, none of the interviewees was given effective pastoral support by the church for years, till the scandal exploded and reached the press. The impact on religious faith varied, and this partly reflected the degree to which the participant identified himself as religious. For participants who did not consider themselves religious, the abuse confirmed their aversion to religion. Participants who previously considered themselves religious, spoke of profound challenges to their faith.
David Tombs, ‘Abandonment, Rape, And Second Abandonment: Hannah Baker In 13 Reasons Why And King David’s Concubines In 2 Samuel 15–20’, Shiloh Project Blog Post (18 October 2017).
Note
This bible study was first developed for SCM Otago 5 May 2017. It was published as a Shiloh Blog on 18 October 2017, and subsequently as a chapter: David Tombs, ‘Abandonment, Rape, and Second Abandonment: Hannah Baker in 13 Reasons Why and the Royal Concubines in 2 Samuel 15-20’ in Caroline Blyth, Emily Colgan, Katie Edwards (eds.) Rape Culture, Gender Violence and Religion: Biblical Perspectives. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), pp. 117-41; https://doi/org/10.1007/978-3-319-70669-6_8.
Publisher's web page for the book: https://brill.com/view/title/34136. This chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY-nc 4.0 license. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden.
David Tombs, ‘Public Theology and Reconciliation’ in Sebastian Kim and Katie Day (eds.) Companion to Public Theology, Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2017, pp. 119-49.
Publisher's web-page for book https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-43406-3.
Lived Religion and the Intolerance of the Cross’ in Ruard Ganzevoort and Srdjan Sremac (eds.) Lived Religion and the Politics of (In)tolerance. Palgrave Studies in Lived Religion and Societal Changes. London: Palgrave McMillan, 2017, pp. 63-83.
Please reference any citations to the published version.
Abstract
Drawing on recent research, this chapter argues that the violence of Roman crucifixion is only fully appreciated when the commonly ignored aspects of sexual violence are acknowledged. Seen in this fuller perspective, Roman crucifixion might be viewed in terms of four interrelated enactments of intolerance: an intolerance for the victim's life; an intolerance for the victim's dignity and humanity; an intolerance of memories of the victim; an intolerance for the victim's standing before God. The final section of the chapter considers why the understanding of the cross in lived religion is distorted and sanitised to avoid any link to sexual violence. It suggests there should be a much wider debate on how the violence of the cross might be more appropriately recognized and remembered in lived Christianity, which might serve towards greater action and advocacy against all forms of violence and social intolerance.
Publisher website for book: https://vup.victoria.ac.nz/saints-and-stirrers-christianity-conflict-and-peacemaking-in-new-zealand-1814-1945/#product-additional-info. Chapter deposited in OUR archive with permission from publisher.
David Tombs, ‘Under the Surface: Archibald Baxter’s Religious Faith’ in Geoff Troughton (ed.), Saints and Stirrers: Christianity, Conflict and Peacebuilding in New Zealand, 1814-1945 (Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2017), pp. 122-43. ISBN: 9781776561643.
David Tombs, ‘Review of John Granger Cook, Crucifixion in the Mediterranean World’, The Bible & Critical Theory (2017) 13.1.
Abstract
John Granger Cook’s monograph is a most welcome addition to the succession of important scholarly publications on crucifixion that have taken forward the work done forty years ago by Martin Hengel and others. There have been major recent works from David Chapman (2008) and Gunnar Samuelsson (2011), and a sequence of previous articles by Cook himself (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013). At over 500 pages, Cook’s book provides systematic coverage of all known Latin and Greek texts relating to crucifixion, and gathers much of the visual evidence in one place, such as the Puteoli and Palatine graffiti, the British Museum amulet, and a photo of the famous crucifixion nail in a foot bone discovered in 1968.
Summary
The projects seeks to give voice to male victims of sexual abuse through interviews with eight young men involved with the Sodalicio movement in Peru. The aim of this research is to explore the impact of church-related sexual abuse on each of the interviewees and to identify the short and long-term psychological and spiritual consequences associated with it. We are grateful to all the interviewees for their willingness to participate in this project, and to everyone who helped us in this process in different ways. The limited scale of the project means that the findings cannot be readily generalised, but they support the widely shared conclusion that the damage caused by institutional sexual abuse is often traumatic and profound, and that this is frequently heightened when perpetrators have a religious standing and authority. Despite this, none of the interviewees was given effective pastoral support by the church for years, till the scandal exploded and reached the press. The impact on religious faith varied, and this partly reflected the degree to which the participant identified himself as religious. For participants who did not consider themselves religious, the abuse confirmed their aversion to religion. Participants who previously considered themselves religious, spoke of profound challenges to their faith. One described the impact as ‘catastrophic’ and felt abandoned by God as well as abandoned by the church. Another spoke of his faith being snatched away by a clerical penis. Recognition of different spiritual consequences should be included alongside attention to physical and psychological consequences. Understanding how the physical, psychological and spiritual often occur together, and can magnify each other, needs to be part of a holistic pastoral response to these traumatic experiences.
Publisher web-page: https://eos-verlag.de/en_GB/mining-truths/
David Tombs, ‘Towards a Public Theology of Reconciliation in Northern Ireland’, in John O’Grady, Cathy Higgins and Jude Lal Fernando (eds.), Mining Truths: Festschrift in Honour of Geraldine Smyth OP – Ecumenical Theologian and Peacebuilder (Sankt Ottilien: EOS, 2015), pp. 109-129. ISBN 978-3-8306-7746-8.
Inaugural Professorial Lecture, David Tombs 'Latin American Liberation Theology and its Ongoing Legacy', University of Otago (8 September 2015). c. 57 mins.
David Tombs, ‘Silent No More: Sexual Violence in Conflict as a Challenge to the Worldwide Church’, Acta Theologica (December 2014) 34.2, pp. 142-60.
Abstract
The Tearfund report 'Silent No More' (2011) challenges the worldwide church to respond to sexual violence in conflicts. This article argues that a church response should have pastoral, biblical and theological dimensions. Starting with the 'Silent No More' report it examines the prevalence of sexual violence in conflict and the silence of the churches on this subject. Building on feminist readings of sexual violence in biblical narratives it then explores sexual violence referenced in the death of Saul (I Samuel 31) alongside news reports of the death of Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011. It also suggests that sexual violence is a key to understanding the scandal of the cross and the death of Jesus of Nazareth. It concludes that if biblical scholars and theologians give more attention to sexual violence within the bible they can offer positive help towards a more constructive response to sexual violence by the churches.
Keywords: Tearfund; sexual violence; Gaddafi; crucifixion
Nicola Morris and David Tombs, ‘A Solid and United Phalanx’?: Protestant churches and the Ulster Covenant, 1912-2012’ in John Wolfe, ed. Catholics, Protestants and Muslims: Irish Religious Conflict in Comparative Perspective, (London: Palgrave, 2014), pp. 23-41. ISBN 978-1-137-35189-0.
Ch DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137351906_2
Abstract
The Ulster Covenant of 1912 is widely acknowledged as embodying both a political and religious statement. The Covenant was designed to demonstrate the unanimity of the Protestant people of Ulster. The religious aspect of the Covenant was underlined by senior clergy appearing prominently among the signatories. This chapter addresses both the historical dimensions of the covenant and some of the theological and political issues linked to its centenary in 2012. The historical part examines clerical participation in Ulster Day 1912 and demonstrates that their enthusiasm and involvement varied widely. The theological part deals with the religious and political situation in Northern Ireland in 2012. It addresses the opportunities that the centennial anniversary offered to address the sectarian elements of the 1912 covenant, and thereby to contribute towards contemporary conflict transformation.
David Tombs, The Meaning of Reconciliation (What is Reconciliation? Corrymeela Think Peace Series, No 3; Belfast: Corrymeela Press, 2013); https://www.corrymeela.org/cmsfiles/resources/think-peaces/think-peaces-3.pdf
David Tombs. ‘Unspeakable Abuse and Forgiveness’, Doctrine and Life 61.6 (July-Aug 2011), pp. 16-27.
David Tombs, ‘Latin American Liberation Theology: Moment, Movement, Legacy' in Patrick Claffey and Joe Egan (eds.), Movement or Moment? Assessing Liberation Theology Forty Years after Medellin (Studies in Theology, Society and Culture; Bern, Peter Lang, 2009), pp. 29-53. ISBN 978-3-03911-991-2.
Publisher web-page for book https://www.peterlang.com/document/1106022
Publisher’s web-page https://wipfandstock.com/9781556350672/religion-and-the-politics-of-peace-and-conflict/
David Tombs, ‘Prisoner Abuse: From Abu Ghraib to "The Passion of The Christ"’ in Linda Hogan and Dylan Lehrke (eds.), Religions and the Politics of Peace and Conflict (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Theological Monograph Series, 2009), pp. 175-201. ISBN 978-1-55635067-2. ISBN 1-55635-067-8.
Theologians and scholars of religion draw on rich resources to address the complex issues raised by political reconciliation in the Middle East, the former Yugoslavia, South Africa, Northern Ireland and elsewhere. The questions addressed include: Can truth set a person, or a society, free? How is political forgiveness possible? Are political, personal, and spiritual reconciliation essentially related? Explorations in Reconciliation brings Catholic, Protestant, Mennonite, Jewish and Islamic perspectives together within a single volume to present some of the most relevant theological work today.
Publisher web-page https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781315581590/explorations-reconciliation-joseph-liechty-david-tombs
Open access since September 2022.
David Tombs, ‘The Theology of Reconciliation and the “Recovery of Memory Project” in Guatemala’ in David Tombs and Joseph Liechty (eds.), Explorations in Reconciliation: New Directions for Theology (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006), pp. 85-99. ISBN 0-7546-5184-3.
Publisher web-page https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781315603957-4/unspeakable-violence-un-truth-commissions-el-salvador-guatemala-david-tombs
David Tombs, ‘Unspeakable Violence: The Truth Commissions in El Salvador and Guatemala’ in Iain Maclean (ed.), Reconciliation: Nations and Churches in Latin America (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006), pp. 57-84. ISBN 0-7546-5030-8.
David Tombs, Latin American Liberation Theology (Religion in the Americas Series Vol. 1; Boston and Leiden: Brill, 2002), 317pp. ISBN: 978-90-04-49646-0.
Description
David Tombs offers an accessible introduction to the theological challenges raised by Latin American Liberation and a new contribution to how these challenges might be understood as a chronological sequence. Liberation theology emerged in the 1960s in Latin America and thrived until it reached a crisis in the 1990s. This work traces the distinct developments in thought through the decades, thus presenting a contextual theology. The book is divided into five main sections: the historical role of the church from Columbus's arrival in 1492 until the Cuban revolution of 1959; the reform and renewal decade of the 1960s; the transitional decade of the 1970s; the revision and redirection of liberation theology in the 1980s; and a crisis of relevance in the 1990s. This book offers insights into liberation theology's profound contributions for any socially engaged theology of the future and is crucial to understanding liberation theology and its legacies.
David Tombs, ‘Honour, Shame and Conquest: Male Identity, Sexual Violence and the Body Politic’, Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology 9.4 (May 2002), pp. 21-40.
Note
This paper was originally presented at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Nashville, 19 November 2000 at the Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean Group in the session on ‘Homosexuality, Transsexuality, Hypermasculinity, and Machismo in Hispanic/Latino Culture’. It was subsequently published as David Tombs, ‘Honour, Shame, and Conquest: Male Identity, Sexual Violence and the Body Politic’, Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology 9.4 (May 2002), pp. 21-40. It is reproduced here with kind permission from the Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology.
Abstract
Constructions of conquest in sexualised terms of violence and humiliation have been the foundation for widespread human rights abuses by Latin American military regimes documented in recent reports. An understanding of male honour and sexual shame is essential to understanding how and why sexual assaults and extreme violence against male and female victims were constructed as machista conquests in defence of the body-politic and national security. The final part of the paper suggests that a similar culture of sexualised violence may also be relevant for understanding military practices in the first-century Roman Empire and that these might indicate a disturbing dimension in the crucifixion of Jesus.
David Tombs, ‘Latin American Liberation Theology Faces the Future’, in Stanley E. Porter, Michael A. Hayes and David Tombs (eds.), Faith in the Millennium (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), pp. 32-58. ISBN 13: 9781841270920
David Tombs, ‘“He is not here”: Disappearance, Death and Denial’ in Michael A. Hayes and David Tombs (eds.), Truth and Memory: The Church and Human Rights in El Salvador and Guatemala (Leominster: Gracewing, 2001), pp. 194-210. ISBN 978 085244 524 2.
David Tombs, ‘The Legacy of Ignacio Ellacuría for Liberation Theology in a “post-Marxist” Age’, Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology 8.1 (August 2000), pp. 38-53.
Note
This paper was originally presented at the American Academy of Religion Meeting, Boston, 20th November 1999, at the Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean Group in a session on ‘Liberation Theology in a “Post-Marxist” Age’ to mark the tenth anniversary of Ellacuría’s assassination. It was subsequently published as David Tombs, ‘The Legacy of Ignacio Ellacuría for Liberation Theology in a “post-Marxist” Age’, Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology 8.1 (August 2000), pp. 38-53. It is reproduced here with kind permission from the Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology.
Abstract
The shifts in global politics in the last two decades have been described as the demise of Marxism and the triumph of capitalism. In this context, the murder of Ignacio Ellacuría SJ, five other Jesuits and two women (who had sought protection in their residence at the Universidad Centroamericana in San Salvador), was one of the last military operations conducted in twentieth-century ideological conflicts over Marxism. As Rector of the University, Ellacuría was an ‘engaged intellectual’ who was well-known for his commitment to the poor. In response members of the Salvadoran military, church and business community repeatedly claimed that Ellacuría was a Marxist subversive and eventually these accusations precipitated his assassination. The analysis of his relationship to Marxist movements, analysis and thought presented here demonstrates that this was never the case. Ellacuría had contacts with leaders of the armed opposition but was never a member of any armed or Marxist group. He drew on Marxist analysis and terminology but, as his response to the Vatican Instruction on liberation theology shows, despite recognising the value of parts of its analysis he always remained critical of Marxism as a system and distanced himself from aspects that he saw as incompatible with his Christian faith. He insisted that he was a Christian not a Marxist, and that the most significant influence on his thought was his faith in God in a world of inhuman suffering. Since Ellacuría’s death, El Salvador’s peace process and transition to democracy in the 1990s has changed the social and political context in which he worked. However, the structural violence and poverty remain a crucial challenge to Christian faith in El Salvador and elsewhere in Latin America. Ellacuría’s understanding of the virtues and potential pitfalls of theological engagement with Marxist social analysis will continue to be relevant for liberation theology as it seeks to present Christian faith in a prophetic way in the new so-called ‘post-Marxist’ context.
Publisher's web-page for book https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/resurrection-9781841270166/
David Tombs, ‘Oscar Romero and Resurrection Hope’ in S.E. Porter, M.A. Hayes and D. Tombs (eds.), Resurrection (JSNT Supplement Series 186; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), pp. 218-48. ISBN 9781841270166.
Deposited in OUR archive with permission from publisher.
David Tombs, ‘Crucifixion, State Terror, and Sexual Abuse’, Union Seminary Quarterly Review 53 (Autumn 1999), pp. 89-109.
Note
This paper was originally presented at the Society of Biblical Literature International Conference, Krakow, Poland, 20 July 1998, under the title 'Biblical Interpretation in Latin America'. It was subsequently published as David Tombs, ‘Crucifixion, State Terror and Sexual Abuse’, Union Seminary Quarterly Review 53 (Autumn 1999), pp. 89-109. It is reproduced here with kind permission from Union Seminary Quarterly Review.
Abstract
A reading of crucifixion informed by Latin American liberation theology, which foregrounds the Roman use of crucifixion as an instrument of state terror, and identifies the elements of sexual humiliation and sexual abuse in the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.
Publisher's web page for book https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/religion-and-sexuality-9781474281843/
David Tombs, ‘Machismo and Marianismo: Sexuality and Liberation Theology’, in M.A. Hayes, W. Porter and D. Tombs (eds.), Religion and Sexuality (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), 438 pp. ISBN 9781474281843.
Deposited in OUR archive with permission from publisher.
Note
This chapter was initially presented at the conference 'Religion and Sexuality', at Roehampton Institute London on 18 and 19 October 1997, sponsored by Roehampton Institute's Faculty of Arts and Humanities, the Roehampton Chaplaincy, and the Centre for Advanced Theological Research.
Abstract
This chapter examines the models of ‘machista men’ and ‘marianista women’ to typify stereotypical expectations of gender and sexuality. These ascribe to all women the traditional Christian emphasis on Mary as asexual virgin and self-sacrificing mother. It then argues that these widely accepted cultural attitudes have had disastrous consequences from the time of conquest to the present day. The second part of the chapter explores contributions by Latin American women theologians to more creative and liberating understandings of sexuality. Liberative images of Mary are presented as important challenges to more traditional ‘marianista’ attitudes and a reading of Mary as a ‘Mother of the Disappeared’ is suggested as one example of this liberating process.
Publisher webpage for book https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/images-of-christ/
David Tombs, ‘Liberating Christology: Images of Christ in the Work of Aloysius Pieris’, in Stanley E. Porter, Michael A. Hayes and David Tombs (eds.), Images of Christ: Ancient and Modern (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997), pp. 173-88.
Deposited in OUR archive with permission from publisher.
Publisher's web page for book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/approaches-to-new-testament-study-9781850755678/
David Tombs, ‘The Hermeneutics of Liberation’ in S.E. Porter and D. Tombs (eds.), Approaches to New Testament Study (JSNT Supplement Series 120; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), pp. 310-355. ISBN 9781850755678.
Deposited in OUR archive with permission from publisher.