Sisters, Mothers, Daughters: Pentecostal Perspectives on Violence against Women 9004513191, 9789004513198

Table of contents :
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
Notes on Contributors
Notes on the Cover Illustration
Introduction
Bibliography
Chapter 1 Pneumatology in the Time of #MeToo: An Exploration of the Spirit’s Role in Suffering
1.1 Pentecostal Theology and the Problem of Suffering
1.2 Sexual Violence as a Specific Form of Suffering
1.3 The Presence of the Spirit in the Suffering of Women Who Experience Abuse
1.4 Shelly Rambo’s Spirit and Trauma
1.4.1 A Theology of the Middle Spirit
1.4.2 Spirit as Breath, as Moving Differently in Time, and as Love
1.5 Pentecostal Engagement with Rambo’s Pneumatological Proposal
1.5.1 The Spirit and Witness
1.5.2 The Spirit as Paraclete
1.6 Conclusion
Bibliography
Chapter 2 Toxic Spirituality: Reexamining the Ways in Which Spiritual Virtues Can Reinforce Violence Against Women
2.1 Toxic Spirituality
2.1.1 Suffering: Spiritual Masochism
2.1.2 Forgiveness: Cheap Grace
2.2 Reweaving the Virtues: A Way Forward
2.2.1 From Endurance to Empowerment
2.2.2 From Forgiveness to Healing
2.3 Conclusion
Bibliography
Chapter 3 Nevertheless, She Persisted: Freeing Women’s Bodies from Silent Theological Sacrifice Zones
3.1 The Global Context
3.2 Method
3.3 Theological Sacrifice Zones?
3.4 Domestic or Intimate Partner Violence
3.5 Women’s Theologizing Spaces and Empowerment
3.6 Sydney’s Fraternity of Confessing Anglicans
3.7 Pentecostal Empowerment for Service in an Anglican Context
3.8 Speaking Up: Fixing Her Eyes and Julia Baird
3.9 Conclusions
Bibliography
Chapter 4 Shaming the Men into Keeping Up with the Ladies: Constructing Pentecostal Masculinities
4.1 Historiography: Studying Lay Experiences, Not Clergy
4.2 Keeping Up with the Ladies: Benevolent Sexism
4.3 Men’s Fellowship: Embracing Binary Gender Roles
4.4 Masculine Tropes in paoc Publications
4.4.1 Harnessing Niagara: The Power of Men’s Work
4.4.2 When He Was Converted: The Power of Self-Control
4.5 What Has the Postwar to Do with the Present?
4.6 Conclusion
Bibliography
Chapter 5 Speak to the Heart: Orthopathic Hermeneutics and Telling the Whole Story of the Woman Cut into Pieces
5.1 The Texts of Terror and Traditional Hermeneutics
5.1.1 Orthopraxy, Orthodoxy, and the Woman of Judges 19
5.1.2 Reception History
5.1.2.1 Patristics
5.1.2.2 Mainline
5.1.2.3 Pentecostalism
5.1.2.4 Feminism
5.1.3 Redefining Power
5.2 Orthopathy Applied
5.2.1 Affections of/in the Text
5.2.1.1 The Levite
5.2.1.2 Narration
5.2.2 An Orthopathic Example
5.3 Conclusion: Give Us Eyes to Hear
5.4 Epilogue: A Piece of My Story Is Part of Yours
Bibliography
Chapter 6 Trouble in Paradise: Exploring Gender Roles and Violence against Women in Song of Songs 5:2–8
6.1 The Female Lover in Song of Songs
6.2 The Female Lover of Song 5:2–8
6.3 Why Was She Assaulted?
6.4 The Social Construction of Gender
6.5 Conclusion: Implications for Pentecostal Hermeneutics
Bibliography
Chapter 7 Miriam Toews’ Women Talking: A Call for Artistic Prophethood
7.1 Women Talking!
7.2 The Privileges and Responsibilities Given for Biblical Interpretation
7.2.1 Leadership and Community Responses
7.2.2 Community Membership
7.2.3 Oppressive Patriarchy and the Biblical Interpretation
7.3 Observations: A World According to Prophets and Artists
Bibliography
Chapter 8 Shanghai Brothels, Spirit Baptisms: The Door of Hope Women as a Source for Pentecostal Ressourcement
8.1 Pentecost at the Door of Hope
8.1.1 Birth
8.1.2 Pentecost
8.1.3 Growth and Recession
8.2 Pentecostal Resourcement at the Door of Hope
8.2.1 Saved
8.2.2 Sanctified
8.2.3 Spirit-Filled
8.3 Conclusion
Bibliography
Chapter 9 From Medical Kits to Fighting Rape as a Weapon of War: The Development of Scandinavian Pentecostal Medical Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
9.1 Scandinavian Pentecostal Medical Mission from 1920 to 1957
9.2 The Development of Field Hospitals (1958–1999)
9.2.1 Osvald Orlien and the Hospital at Kaziba
9.2.2 celpa, cepac, and National Leadership
9.2.3 New Medical Missionaries and the Nursing School at Kaziba
9.2.4 Ingegerd Rooth, Svein Haugstvedt, and the Hospital at Lemera
9.2.5 Denis Mukwege
9.2.6 War and Violence
9.3 Fighting Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War (1999–2020)
9.3.1 camps
9.3.2 join Good Forces
9.3.3 Health for Congo
9.3.4 Survivors of Sexual Violence Program
9.4 Concluding Reflections
Bibliography
Chapter 10 A Jesus Follower Responds: To Sexualized Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
10.1 Context
10.2 An Interview with Dr. Mukwege
10.3 Reflection and Conclusions
Bibliography
Chapter 11 Toward a Pentecostal Ecclesiology: Making Room for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence
11.1 Definitions and National Statistics
11.2 Theo-Ethical Concerns for Pentecostal Communities of Faith
11.3 Practical Measures for Pentecostal Communities
Bibliography
Chapter 12 Toward a Rhetoric of the Spirit: Assault, Abuse, and a Theology of Women’s Empowerment
12.1 Are Evangelicals and Pentecostals One and the Same?
12.2 Evangelicals and Abuse
12.3 Association of Gender Role Ideology and Rhetorical Patterns
12.4 Pentecostal Theology and Empowerment for Service
12.5 Women Leaders Restore the Church’s Credibility
Bibliography
Chapter 13 The Shifting Face of Violence among Taiwanese Women in Confucian Society: A Charismatic Perspective with a Womanist Slant
13.1 The Limits of Empowerment through Education
13.2 The Shifting Face of Violence
13.3 Taiwanese Charismatic Women under Confucianism and Conservative Evangelicalism
13.4 Expanding Vocabulary as a Way to Confront Soft Violence
13.5 Postscript
Bibliography
Afterword
Appendix: Pentecostal Sisters Too: A Call to Redeem Our Bodies
A Call to Redeem Our Bodies:Weeping in Sexual Brokenness and Walking in Sexual Holiness
Preamble
What We Affirm
What We Stand Against
What We Can Do
A Call to Act
A Request to Respond and Resource
Index

Citation preview

Sisters, Mothers, Daughters

Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies Edited by William K. Kay (Glyndŵr University) Mark J. Cartledge (London School of Theology)

volume 43

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/gpcs

Sisters, Mothers, Daughters Pentecostal Perspectives on Violence against Women Edited by

Kimberly Ervin Alexander, Melissa L. Archer, Mark J. Cartledge, and Michael D. Palmer

LEIDEN | BOSTON

Cover illustration: Design by Rory Randall, used with his kind permission. For more details, see ‘Notes on the Cover Illustration’ in this volume. The Library of Congress Cataloging-​in-​Publication Data is available online at https://catalog.loc.gov

Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/​brill-​typeface. issn 1876-​2 247 isbn 978-​9 0-​0 4-​5 1319-​8 (paperback) isbn 978-​9 0-​0 4-​5 1320-​4 (e-​book) Copyright 2022 by Kimberly Ervin Alexander, Melissa L. Archer, Mark J. Cartledge and Michael D. Palmer. Published by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Hotei, Brill Schöningh, Brill Fink, Brill mentis, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Böhlau and V&R unipress. Koninklijke Brill nv reserves the right to protect this publication against unauthorized use. Requests for re-use and/​or translations must be addressed to Koninklijke Brill nv via brill.com or copyright.com. This book is printed on acid-​free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.

We dedicate this book to the women in our lives who inspired our moral vision and helped us understand that we are all created in the image of God

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You’ve invested yourself, invested your life. Why do you do that? I believe that for me to do the work that I do here, I do it primarily because I’m a human being. I do it for my fellow beings. I do it when I look at these women with the eyes of a human being, who sees in them his mother, in these girls his daughters, his sisters; in these babies his little children. I think that’s what we’re trying to develop here—​a team where each time you are in front of a person who is suffering, you develop compassion, because without compassion you can’t do this job. I think that if I stay, if I am here, if I continue working here, it is because I consider that the people who live here are my fellow human beings and because they reach out their hand to me. From Rory Randall’s interview with Dr. Denis Mukwege, recipient of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize

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Contents  Preface ix Michael D. Palmer  Acknowledgements xi  Notes on Contributors xii  Notes on the Cover Illustration xvii Introduction 1 Catherine Holtmann 1  Pneumatology in the Time of #MeToo An Exploration of the Spirit’s Role in Suffering 13 Cheryl M. Peterson 2  Toxic Spirituality Reexamining the Ways in Which Spiritual Virtues Can Reinforce Violence Against Women 33 Lisa P. Stephenson 3  Nevertheless, She Persisted Freeing Women’s Bodies from Silent Theological Sacrifice Zones 49 Tanya Riches 4  Shaming the Men into Keeping Up with the Ladies Constructing Pentecostal Masculinities 69 Linda M. Ambrose 5  Speak to the Heart Orthopathic Hermeneutics and Telling the Whole Story of the Woman Cut into Pieces 86 Casey S. Cole 6  Trouble in Paradise Exploring Gender Roles and Violence against Women in Song of Songs 5:2–​8 104 Jacqueline N. Grey

viii Contents 7  Miriam Toews’ Women Talking A Call for Artistic Prophethood 121 Martin W. Mittelstadt 8  Shanghai Brothels, Spirit Baptisms The Door of Hope Women as a Source for Pentecostal Ressourcement 135 Alex R. Mayfield 9  From Medical Kits to Fighting Rape as a Weapon of War The Development of Scandinavian Pentecostal Medical Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 154 Tommy H. Davidsson and Rakel Ystebø Alegre 10  A Jesus Follower Responds To Sexualized Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 185 Rory Randall 11  Toward A Pentecostal Ecclesiology Making Room for Survivors of Gender-​Based Violence 207 Lauren J. Raley 12  Toward a Rhetoric of the Spirit Assault, Abuse, and a Theology of Women’s Empowerment 223 Joy E.A. Qualls 13  The Shifting Face of Violence among Taiwanese Women in Confucian Society A Charismatic Perspective with a Womanist Slant 242 Judith C.P. Lin  Afterword 257 Kimberly Ervin Alexander and Melissa L. Archer Appendix  Pentecostal Sisters Too: A Call to Redeem our Bodies 261  Index 269

Preface Michael D. Palmer This volume explores issues and themes related to violence against women. We define violence broadly to include physical violence or the threat of physical violence, intimidation, economic deprivation or exploitation, sexual or verbal abuse, expressions of hate, or other behaviors which undermine the dignity and worth of women. The editors have convened an international cohort of contributing authors who write from a variety of academic and professional disciplines (e.g., theology, history, biblical studies, practical theology, and the social sciences) and who represent a variety of ecclesial traditions. What they have in common is that they approach the topic of violence against women from a pneumatological perspective. For ease of reference, we refer to these scholars—​Pentecostals, Charismatics, and Renewalists—​as pentecostals. Since the latter part of the twentieth century, pentecostal scholars have made notable contributions to understanding Pentecostal women in various aspirational roles, such as leadership roles.1 However, until now the views of pentecostal scholars concerning violence against women have not been gathered in a single volume. The significance of this fact may be understood by placing it in historical perspective. First, since the advent of the modern pentecostal movement (c.e. 1900, give or take a decade), violence against women has not been a matter of urgent concern for Pentecostals, at least not for those in positions to do something about it. Second, until the mid-​1960s, few pentecostals possessed the professional qualifications and skills necessary to address the topic authoritatively. Those that did possess the requisite qualifications and skills almost universally focused their professional attention and energies elsewhere. Third, pentecostal church leaders almost to the person failed to engage the topic in a general and principled way. Some dealt with it on an ad hoc basis, quietly and behind closed doors. Others rejected outright any suggestion that violence against women is a systemic problem in the church. What is true without question is that few pentecostal clergy ever addressed the topic of violence against women from their principal venue of authority: the pulpit. 1 See, for example. Margaret English de Alminana and Lois E. Olena (eds.), Women in Pentecostal and Charismatic Ministry: Informing a Dialogue on Gender, Church, and Ministry (Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies, Vol. 21) (Leiden, The Netherlands and Boston, U.S.A: Brill,).

x Preface To be sure, the views of a few pentecostal scholars concerning violence against women have appeared in academic journals or books alongside those of other Christian scholars. The book now in your hands represents the first sustained effort to bring together in one volume pentecostal voices from a variety of academic disciplines, ecclesial traditions, and cultural situations to address the urgent issues associated with violence against women. in that respect, it is ground-​breaking and significant.

Acknowledgements Many people have invested time and effort to see this volume appear in print. We are grateful to them and wish to acknowledge them here. The centerpieces of this book are the essays which form its essential content. We wish to express our sincere appreciation to the authors who contributed essays. They inspired and informed us in the way they embraced their task. We are especially grateful to Catherine Holtmann who wrote the Introduction. Her deep knowledge of the subject of violence against women and her skill as a writer made her a superb choice to provide a succinct and insightful orientation to the book, its individual chapters, and the thematic strands that draw them together. An anonymous reviewer read and commented extensively on the penultimate draft of the manuscript. We are grateful for the reviewer’s efforts on our behalf. Responding to her/​his critiques, recommendations, and reflections unquestionably strengthened the final product. Two Colleagues at Brill played important roles in the development of the book: William Kay, co-​editor for the series “Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies,” and Ingrid Heijckers-​Velt, associate editor for the “Theology and World Christianity” series. We thank them both for guiding us along the circuitous pathway leading to publication. Volume Editors Kimberley Ervin Alexander Melissa L. Archer Mark J. Cartledge Michael D. Palmer

Notes on Contributors Rakel Ystebø Alegre Ph.D. (Regent University), is Associate Professor of Theology at the Norwegian School of Leadership and Theology in Oslo, Norway. Dr. Alegre holds two additional advanced degrees: Master of Theology (Th.M) from the Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society in Oslo, Norway and Master of Arts (M.A.) in Latin American Studies from La Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Dr. Alegre’s scholarly interests are in the history of global Christianity. kimberly ervin alexander PhD (Open University/​St. John’s College), is Director of Academics and RSM Online at the Ramp School of Ministry in Hamilton, AL; and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Manchester Wesley Research Centre. A past-​president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies (2011), she serves on several editorial boards for Wesleyan and Pentecostal publications. She is the author of Pentecostal Healing: Models of Theology and Practice (Deo/​Brill 2006); What Women Want: Pentecostal Women Speak for Themselves (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2018) with James Philemon Bowers; and Women in Pentecostal Leadership (Cleveland, TN: Center for Pentecostal Leadership and Care, 2006) with R. Hollis Gause. Additionally, she has authored numerous articles and chapters on healing, worship, women in Pentecostalism, and early Pentecostal spiritual experience Linda M. Ambrose Ph.D. (University of Waterloo), is Professor of History at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. She is the author of numerous articles on gender and Pentecostalism, which have appeared in academic journals, including Pneuma and PentecoStudies. Her latest book (co-​authored with Michael Wilkinson) is After the Revival: Pentecostalism and the Making of a Canadian Church published by McGill-​Queen’s University Press in 2020. She is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Bernice Gerard, a Vancouver Pentecostal, who was designated as the most important twentieth-​century religious figure in British Columbia. Melissa L. Archer Ph.D. (University of Wales, Bangor), is Professor of Biblical Studies at Southeastern University, Lakeland, Florida. She published I Was in the Spirit on

Notes on Contributors

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the Lord's Day: A Pentecostal Engagement with Worship in the Apocalypse (CPT Press, 2015) and has contributed chapters in Spirit and Story: Pentecostal Readings of Scripture (2020) and Grieving, Brooding, and Transforming: The Spirit, The Bible, and Gender (Brill, 2021). Casey S. Cole is a Lecturer in Theology at Lee University, Cleveland, Tennessee, U.S.A. She holds two degrees from Lee University: a BA in language and an MA in Theological Studies. She is currently working on another graduate degree at Sewanee University of the South. Her areas of academic interest include hermeneutics, religious education, Pentecostalism, and women in ministry. Casey is involved in local parish and community ministry, foreign missions, mentoring programs and has served as a youth pastor. She is active in the campus life of Lee University and serves as faculty mentor of Lee’s Theology House. Tommy H. Davidsson Ph.D. (University of Birmingham), is Associate Professor and Academic Dean of the Norwegian School of Leadership and Theology, in Oslo, Norway. He has authored the book Lewi Pethrus’ Ecclesiological Thought 1911–​1974: A Transdenominational Pentecostal Ecclesiology (Brill, 2015). Dr. Davidsson previously worked as a Swedish Pentecostal missionary and lecturer at Continental Theological Seminary, Brussels, Belgium. He also holds an M.Div. degree from Gordon-​Conwell Theological Seminary. Jacqueline N. Grey Ph.D. (CSU, Australia), is Professor of Biblical Studies and Dean of Theology at Alphacrucis College, Australia. She is the author of numerous articles on pentecostal hermeneutics, Isaiah, and women in ministry. She is a past President of the Society for Pentecostal Studies (2017). Her books include Three’s A Crowd: Pentecostalism, Hermeneutics and the Old Testament (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2011) and Raising Women Leaders: Perspectives on Liberating Women in Pentecostal and Charismatic Contexts (Chester Hill, nsw: aps, 2009). She is currently writing a commentary on Isaiah 1–​39. Catherine Holtmann Ph.D. (University of New Brunswick) is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, and the Director of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research (mmfc). Her research focuses on gender and religion, domestic violence, immigrant women, and social action.

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Notes on Contributors

Judith C. P. Lin Ph.D. (Fuller Theological Seminary) hails from Taiwan. She works as a freelance research consultant, most recently for the Association of Theological Schools in the 2019–​20 academic year conducting research on the impact of the Henry Luce iii Fellows in Theology program. She is the author of The Charismatic Movement in Taiwan from 1945 to 1995: Clashes, Concord, and Cacophony (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). Alex R. Mayfield Ph.D. candidate (School of Theology, Boston University) is writing his dissertation on pentecostal missionaries in Hong Kong between 1907 and 1942. His research interests include world Christianity, the Pentecostal-​Charismatic movement, ecumenism, and mission history in Asia. He serves as the managing editor of Pneuma: The Journal for the Society of Pentecostal Studies and as a technical advisor on several large-​scale digital projects, such as the Dictionary of African Christian Biography and the Chinese Christian Poster Project. Martin W. Mittelstadt Ph.D. (Marquette University) is Professor of New Testament at Evangel University, Springfield, Missouri, U.S.A. He is the author of Spirit and Suffering in Luke-​Acts and Reading Luke-​Acts in the Pentecostal Tradition. Other publications include co-​edited works and essays on Luke-​Acts, ecumenism, pacifism, and reception history. Several essays include convergence of these topics. His passion is to understand Pentecostalism for fellow Canadians. He is a past president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. Michael D. Palmer Ph.D. (Marquette University), is Professor of Philosophy at Regent University, Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S.A.. In addition to publishing professional articles and reviews, he edited Elements of a Christian Worldview (Logion, 1998); co-​ edited The Wiley-​Blackwell Companion to Religion and Social Justice (Wiley-​ Blackwell, 2012); and co-​edited a two-​volume work entitled The Holy Spirit & Social Justice (Seymour Press, 2019). Cheryl M. Peterson Ph.D. (Marquette University), holds the Trinity Endowed Chair in Mission and Ministry and is Professor of systematic theology and Associate Dean for Academics at Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A. She is the author of Who is the Church? An Ecclesiology for the Twenty-​ First Century (Fortress, 2013) as well as numerous articles on ecclesiology,

Notes on Contributors

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pneumatology, ecumenism, and mission. Since 2016, she has served on the Lutheran World Federation International Dialogue Commission with the Pentecostals. She is currently writing a book on the Holy Spirit in the Christian life in dialogue with Pentecostal and charismatic theologies. Joy E.A. Qualls Ph.D. (Regent University), is Associate Professor of Communication Studies in the Department of Communication Studies and Associate Dean of the School of Fine Arts and Communication at Biola University, La Mirada, California, U.S.A. Her scholarly work focuses on religious and political rhetoric and their intersections as well as gender ideology in the church. Dr. Qualls is the author of God Forgive Us for Being Women: Rhetoric, Theology and the Pentecostal Tradition (Wipf and Stock, 2018) and is featured in several publications including Influence Magazine, The Table, and Biola Magazine as well as an author in several edited volumes. Joy is on the pastoral teaching team at Refuge OC (Orange, CA), River Church (Longmont, CO), and Pasadena City Church (Pasadena, CA), U.S.A. Lauren J. Raley Ph.D. candidate (University of Birmingham, UK), is a licensed minister with the Assemblies of God, USA, and is an adjunct professor at Southeastern University, Lakeland, Florida, U.S.A. She is writing her dissertation on pneumatological social ethics under the supervision of Dr. Daniela Augustine Rory Randall Ph.D. (Regent University) is a videographer and author. During 2006–​2021, he made twelve short term mission and teaching trips to Africa. He currently shoots videos to help resource pastors through the non-​profit organization Africa Ministry Partners. His An Open Theist Renewal Theology: God’s Love, the Spirit’s Power, and Human Freedom was published by SacraSage in 2021. His work may be viewed at AfricaMinistryPartners.org and OpenRenewal. org. Tanya Riches Ph.D. (Fuller Theological Seminary) is Senior Lecturer at Hillsong College, Sydney, Australia. She is an honorary fellow at the Edward Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion at Birmingham University and AlphaCrucis College, Sydney. She has authored numerous articles on Pentecostal worship, Hillsong Church, Aboriginal Christianity, and Disability Studies. Her monograph Worship and Social Engagement in Urban Aboriginal-​led Australian

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Notes on Contributors

Pentecostal congregations: (Re)imagining Identity in the Spirit was published in Brill’s Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Series in 2019. She is currently teaching and writing on political theology and social justice as relevant for the Neo-​Pentecostal context. Lisa P. Stephenson Ph.D. (Marquette University), is Professor of Systematic Theology and Director of the Master of Arts program in Biblical and Theological Studies, Lee University, Cleveland, Tennessee, U.S.A. Her monograph Dismantling the Dualisms for American Pentecostal Women in Ministry: A Feminist-​Pneumatological Approach, published by Brill. won the 2013 Pneuma Book Award. Dr. Stephenson has published other essays in various edited volumes and journals. Her scholarly interests include feminist theology, theological anthropology, and ecclesiology.

Notes on the Cover Illustration The cover illustration was designed by Rory Randall, 2021. It is used here with his permission. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Cover Image Collage Content: Top Row, Left to Right Alma Ruth Azua Bushnell entered cross-​cultural missionary service in 1990. In 2019 she founded Practice Mercy Foundation, a faith based, grassroots initiative that serves indigenous and Central American women and their children, who live in dire circumstances in the Rio Grande Valley, along the Mexico-​Texas border. Photo used by permission of Alma Ruth Azua Bushnell. Faye Hasian Simanjuntak is the founder of Rumah Faye, a non-​ governmental organization in Indonesia that works to rescue Indonesian children from human trafficking, violence, and exploitation. She launched Rumah Faye when she was only 15 years old. Photo used by permission of Faye Hasian Simanjuntak. Beth Grant is Co-​founder and Executive Director of Project Rescue, an organization launched in India to liberate women from a life of exploitation in sex trafficking and prostitution. The organization’s working premise is that life-​changing rescue—​rescue that creates the conditions for human dignity and offers survivors of sexual exploitation hope for a different future—​requires an intensive long-​term commitment. Photo used by permission of Beth Grant. Ethel Abercrombie (1874–​1940), from England, travelled to Ningpo, China, in 1898. In 1907, she made her way north to Shanghai to assist at the Door of Hope mission and never left. Her main task there was to supervise the homes for older girls. By all accounts she worked unceasingly and was regarded as a formidable opponent in court when arguing for a young woman to be remanded to the Mission’s care rather than released back to abusive family members or exploitative madams. Photo used with appreciation to Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library, which holds the report in which the image appears but not the copyright. Irene Kabidu is a social worker at Panzi Hospital in Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her faith, compassion, and commitment to caring for the whole person are representative of the staff

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Notes on the Cover Illustration

at Panzi. Panzi is led by Dr Denis Mukwege, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 (along with Nadia Murad) for “their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.” Photo used by permission of Irene Kabidu 6.

7.

8.

9.

Middle Row: Left to Right Favor Women Empowerment meeting. In meetings like this one, Favor International staff personnel and volunteers with special knowledge or skills, train local people (in this case women) to launch small businesses, share the gospel, or educate others. Photo used by permission of Carole Ward. Margaret Gaines (1931–​2017) served as a missionary in Tunisia, Israel, and Palestine for nearly six decades. Initially, she sought endorsement from the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). But when the cog missions board declined to endorse her because she was young and single, Gaines used her own money to travel to Tunisia. Her first convert in Tunisia was Yvette Pelisier, whom Gaines brought into her home after Pelisier’s father abused her. Much of Gaines’ mission work was devoted to educating Arab girls. Photo used by permission of the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center, Cleveland, Tennessee. Vilma Almirón. For more than 20 years, Vilma Almirón, from Argentina, has volunteered in Bangkok, Thailand, with organizations that focus on helping women involved in prostitution. Photo used by permission of Vilma Almirón. Abegeweit First Nation Healing Centre is situated on Prince Edward Island, Canada. The Healing Centre’s mission is to improve the health and safety of Canada’s First Nation community. The women are, from left to right: Deborah Gould Jadis (Mi’kmaq people), manager of the Healing Centre; Shannis Gray (Mi’kmaq people), clinician and therapist for the Healing Centre; Lalana Paul (Cree), Director for Abegweit’s mmiwg (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls) Program; Jai Metabawin (Cree), Healing Centre Support Services. Photo used by permission of Terry LeBlanc, Director, naiits: An Indigenous Learning Community.

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Notes on the Cover Illustration

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Bottom Row: Left to Right

Elsie Gladys Dieterle (1871–​1967) was for many years the senior missionary at Door of Hope mission in Shanghai, China, in charge of the Children’s Refuge. Her time at Door of Hope (1920s-​1930s) overlapped with Ethel Abercrombie’s tenure there. The two were close Pentecostal colleagues. Both were regarded as exceptionally hard-​working and dedicated. Photo used with appreciation to Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library, which holds the report in which the image appears but not the copyright. 11. Ruth Lesmana, an Australian-​Indonesian woman, served from 2012–​ 2019, as Director of Training for Global Alms, Inc., an Australian not-​ for-​profit organization that seeks to combat human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and physical abuse. During that time, she worked and lived primarily along the Thai-​Myanmar border, where her language skills in Burmese and Thai enabled her to work alongside the local people. Ruth currently works for House of Welcome, a non-​profit organization in Sydney, Australia, which assists refugees and asylum seekers. Photo used by permission of Ruth Lesmana. 12. Marketplace in central Madurai, India, 2012-​07-​31. Photo used by permission of Michael D. Palmer. 13. Pandita Ramabai (1858–​1922) taught Sanskrit in England beginning in 1883. While in England, she converted to Christianity and was baptized. Later she traveled to the United States to study. In 1889 she returned to India and began her social reform work, initially focusing on the education of girls and widows. By 1905 Ramabai had responsibility for over 2,000 people who were living at the Mukti Mission. That ministry is still in existence today. Photo is used by permission of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, Springfield, Missouri. 14. Médine Moussounga Keener, originally from Congo Brazzaville, is now Community Formation Pastoral Care coordinator at Asbury Theological Seminary. She coauthored with her husband Craig, Impossible Love: The True Story of an African Civil War, Miracles and Hope Against All Odds. Among other things, Keener describes her 18-​month ordeal as a refugee in a war-​torn part of Africa. She also coauthored with Sue Russell a Bible study book titled Loved: Women Who Found Hope and Healing in Jesus. Photo used by permission of Médine Moussounga Keener.

Introduction Catherine Holtmann Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation and global social problem. In the midst of the covid-​19 pandemic, the United Nations1 refers to violence against women as a “shadow pandemic.” In the year prior to the outbreak of covid-​19, it is estimated that 243 million women and girls between the ages of 15–​49 were the victims of sexual and/​or physical violence by an intimate partner. All forms of violence against women and girls have intensified as a consequence of the public health directives to slow down the spread of the coronavirus, advising people to isolate—​stay home, work from home, study from home and physically distance in public. These measures have had enormous social costs including massive job losses and business closures, economic hardship, a rise in racism and xenophobia, and increases in incidences of violence against women and girls. While most victims of violence do not seek help from public service providers, those services have become more difficult to access, making the role of informal support for survivors more important than ever before. The publication of this collection of Pentecostal perspectives on violence against women and girls is timely. Sisters, Mothers, Daughters: Pentecostal Perspectives on Violence Against Women makes unique and important contributions to the literature on religion and violence. This book addresses multiple forms of violence against women and girls, offers a breadth of disciplinary perspectives from diverse social contexts, and aligns with and expands upon existing research on the experiences of violence against women through a Christian lens. The contributors wrestle with the particular theologies and practices of Pentecostal Christians and their implications for better understanding the suffering of victims and the supports necessary for the safety and healing of survivors as well as the changes necessary for violence prevention. The chapters cover a range of forms of violence against women and girls. Several chapters highlight historical and contemporary examples of structural gender inequality within the Pentecostal church which favors men’s roles over women’s, despite belief in the equality of all people in the Holy Spirit. Structural inequality is supported by the concept of gender complementarity which 1 “Shadow Pandemic: Violence against Women during COVID” UN Women, accessed 22 January 2021, https://​www.unwo​men.org/​en/​news/​in-​focus/​in-​focus-​gen​der-​equal​ity-​in -​covid-​19-​respo​nse/​viole​nce-​agai​nst-​women-​dur​ing-​covid-​19.

© Catherine Holtmann, 2022 | DOI:1 0.1163/9789004513204_002

2 Holtmann manifests in, what Ambrose refers to in Chapter 4, either benevolent or hostile sexism. Along with scholars working from a feminist theoretical perspective, she argues that violence against women is rooted in structural imbalances of power and control. Men have greater access to power in all social institutions, and violence is used as means of maintaining power when necessary. Some argue that violence is constitutive of male power.2 Lin (Chapter 13) refers to structural inequality between Christians as “soft violence” against women. The most hidden manifestation of men’s use of violence as a form of control occurs in the family home and the book also addresses sexual assault and child sexual abuse within families. Intimate partner or domestic violence occurs between husbands and wives and can include physical, sexual, emotional, financial, and spiritual abuse. It is the most prevalent form of violence against women in the world today3 and likely the most pernicious because abusive behaviors co-​ mingle with loving ones making it difficult for victims to identify, especially religious victims.4 Children who are exposed to severe domestic violence in the home suffer physiological and emotional harm almost to the same extent as if they were direct victims of abuse.5 Women’s victimization through physical and sexual violence by male strangers outside the home is also covered in this edited collection. The very people that women might appeal to for protection in public spaces, men responsible for law enforcement, also engage in acts of violence against them. Violence against women perpetrated by men responsible for public safety is often used to discipline those who try to defy the social order. Two chapters address the topic of the rape of women and girls used as a weapon of war between ethnic groups. The brutal rape and disfigurement of bodies signify a profound hatred of the gendered and racialized “other.”6 And finally, the sex trafficking of women and girls, a modern form of sexual slavery, is also included. 2 Catherine MacKinnon, “Desire and power,” in Theorizing Feminisms: A Reader, ed., E. Hackett and S. Haslanger (New York, Oxford University Press, 2006), 256–​265. See also Sylvia Walby, “Violence” in Globalization and Inequalities: Complexity and Contested Modernities (London, sage Publications), 191–​217. 3 “UNite to end violence against women” accessed 21 March2022, https://​www.unwomen.org/​ en/​what-​we-​do/​ending-​violence-​against-​women/​take-​action 4 Nancy Nason-​Clark, “When terror strikes in the home: The interface between religion and domestic violence,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 42, no. 3 (2006): 304. 5 Gewirtz, A. and J. L. Edleson, “Young Children’s Exposure to Adult Domestic Violence: Toward a Developmental Risk and Resilience Framework for Research and Intervention” National Centre on Domestic and Sexual Violence, accessed 5 August 2020, http://​www.ncdsv.org/​ima​ ges/​UI-​SSW_​E​arly​Chil​dhoo​dDVa​ndPo​vert​y_​1-​2004.pdf. 6 Arjun Appadurai, Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization (Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1996), 155–​156.

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The chapters in this volume are written from a variety of scholarly disciplinary perspectives and the foci arise from a range of social contexts. The contributors’ disciplinary perspectives include theology, biblical criticism, ecclesial history, commentary on literary fiction, and sociology of religion. The social contexts which inform and shape the authors’ perspectives include North and South America, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Scandinavia, Australia and Taiwan. The disciplinary and contextual diversity is an important approach because the problem of violence against women is enormously complex and shaped by cultural contexts. As previously mentioned, feminist theory posits that violence against women is best explained by examining mechanisms of power and control. From a sociological perspective, power is conceptualized as both structural and personal. Patriarchy—​the ideology that gives men more access to power than women—​operates through the institutional structures of government, the economy, law, education, religion, health care, civil society and culture. It has been challenged by successive waves and culturally informed feminist/​womanist movements but remains the dominant ideology throughout the world, albeit to differing degrees in specific social contexts. The power of institutional structures in each context exerts pressure on people to think and behave in ways that preserve (white) male privilege. People can conform to or resist these pressures. Both responses involve the strategic harnessing of power by individuals and groups. Collective understanding and resistance to violence against women emerge as new ways of thinking and acting based on gender equality are fostered within the educational, cultural, political, legal, economic, social and religious institutions of a society. Change happens differently and on a variety of levels in each institution, but social institutions influence one another over time. Change is never linear. Religious institutions, like the Pentecostal church, have an influence on the cultures in which they are embedded and cultures shape Pentecostalism. The church can be a part of the collective response to the problem of violence against women in the ways that it manifests itself in that culture. The contributors to this book show how churches can collaborate with people from other institutional sectors addressing the problem through harnessing a variety of resources. This book offers a myriad of opportunities or entry ways into the difficult topic of violence against women. The theological perspectives can help Pentecostal Christians make sense of the diverse experiences of violence against women within their belief system. Several chapters help readers unpack the meaning of stories of violence against women in biblical texts. Exploring the meaning of these “texts of terror” both in the time that they were written as well as in our own time show how God’s word is revelatory and continually speaks to the signs of the times. These theological and biblical reflections can be useful to

4 Holtmann Pentecostal leaders as they develop the skills to break the silence about violence against women and girls in their congregations. The chapters that highlight the history of Pentecostal involvement in contributing towards and opposing the perpetration of violence against women and girls will help sensitize church leaders to the resources available and the care that is necessary for the work of transforming patriarchal ecclesial structures into structures that promote gender equality and nonviolence. The chapters that highlight the work of men’s and women’s groups within the Pentecostal Assemblies which support missionary efforts and the capacity building of lay leadership, as well as those that include examples of how the faith of Pentecostal individuals grounds the work of healing victims and social change, provide examples for all believers of the many ways in which they can contribute to preventing and responding to the problem of violence against women. The inclusion of a commentary on a novel (by one of my favourite Canadian authors) stresses the important role that the arts can play in heightening the awareness of a broad public audience on this issue. The novel, like all good religious art throughout the ages, is profoundly respectful of the significant role that religion plays in the lives of many women, despite the ways in which it increases their vulnerability and the vulnerability of their children to abuse. The poignancy with which the novelist describes how women use their lived religion to act and support one another on the risky journey towards safety and healing can be a sublime reading experience of redemption for anyone. The richness of this edited collection contributes to and expands the literature by scholars who study the intersection of Christianity and interpersonal violence.7 This growing body of research covers a range of Christian denominations in Canada, the U.S. and Europe including evangelical Protestants, Roman Catholics, Seventh-​day Adventists, Russian Orthodox, and Mennonites. This first publication based on the analysis of violence against women and girls by scholars with expertise on Pentecostalism widens this range. The fact that Pentecostals make up one quarter of all Christians in the world today, with

7 See Sylvia Asay, “Awareness of domestic violence with the evangelical community: Romania and Moldova,” Journal of Family Violence 26(2011): 131–​138; Elena Chernyak and B. Barrett, “A chicken is not a bird, is a woman a human being? Intimate partner violence and the Russian Orthodox church,” Currents: Scholarship in the Human Services 10, no 1(2011): 1–​24; Chris G. Ellison et al., “Are there religious variations in domestic violence?” Journal of Family Issues 20, no 1 (1999): 87–​113; S.W. Gengler and J. W. Lee, “Ministers’ understanding of battered women: Differences among Catholic male priests, Protestant female ministers and Protestant male ministers,” Journal of Religion and Abuse 3, no 3 (2001): 41–​59. More studies on different Christian groups are listed in the bibliography.

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substantial numbers in the global South,8 makes this contribution even more significant. There are beliefs and practices that diverse Christian churches share based on their common historical origins and biblical texts. These common origins and texts mean that members of Christian churches also share a mutual challenge in navigating the relationship between patriarchal ideologies, structural gender inequality and violence against women. While scholarship on violence against women highlights how different denominations grapple with this relationship in unique ways there is much to be learned from descriptions of how members of each tradition harness Christian spiritual resources to respond to the needs of victims of violence in their midst and to call those who perpetrate violence to account. In this way, research and theology on violence against women and girls prods Christian churches to work together and unite in addressing this global problem that robs far too many people from experiencing the fullness of life. It is critically important that Christian leaders draw from their strengths when collaborating with secular service providers and policy makers in a community response to family violence. Those strengths include the respect and moral authority they have as spiritual leaders, educational programming offered by their churches for people of all ages, wealth of experience through working with couples and families at all stages of the life course, access to people in times of suffering and crisis, ability to provide spiritual guidance and comfort, engagement with marginalized persons in their communities, and regular opportunities to speak publicly.9 The chapters in this volume extend the body of research and scholarly contributions to our understanding of the problem of violence against women and girls by applying unique Pentecostal Christian perspectives to diverse manifestations of violence against women and girls. First and foremost is the authors’ focus on the centrality of the Holy Spirit in Pentecostal beliefs, practices and gendered identities. Secondly, the book shows that addressing the problem of violence against women is the responsibility of the whole church and includes multiple components, including social engagement outside the church walls by Pentecostals through mission work. Thirdly, several chapters describe and analyze contemporary movements within Pentecostalism and how women and survivors are harnessing the power of technology to create change. 8 Corneliu Constantineanu and Christopher J. Scobie, “Introduction: Pentecostal identity, spirituality, and theology,” in Pentecostals in the 21st Century: Identity, Beliefs, Praxis, edited by Corneliu Constantineaunu and Christopher J. Scobie. (Eugene, OR, Cascade Books, 2018). 9 Nancy Nason-​Clark, “Learning to build bridges between churches and community-​based resources,” accessed 25 January 2021, from https://​www.the​rave​proj​ect.org/​resour​ces/​learn​ ing-​to-​build-​brid​ges-​betw​een-​churc​hes-​and-​commun​ity-​based-​resour​ces/​.

6 Holtmann Chapter 1 by Peterson explores the Spirit’s role in the suffering of survivors of sexual violence. Interpersonal violence, including sexual violence, can result in physical and emotional symptoms of trauma due to the memories or lingering feelings related to an extraordinary experience that shatters a survivor’s fundamental sense of safety in the world. Not all survivors experience trauma. Among those that do, the healing process is complex, often lengthy and for some, their suffering has no end. For Pentecostals experiencing the latter, Peterson offers reflections on the Spirit of the middle way. This is the Spirit who was present with the disciples on Holy Saturday during the time between Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. She suggests that this understanding and acknowledgment of the Spirit’s presence in the midst of trauma can act as a bridge between the experience(s) of sexual violence and God’s promise of new life. This can bring solace to Pentecostal survivors who long for but do not yet experience healing from trauma. Peterson’s reflections on the Spirit’s accompaniment through survivors’ experiences of trauma following sexual violence are complemented by the content of Chapter 11 by Raley. In it she describes a Pentecostal theology of healing and how pastors and congregations can support the healing of survivors of all kinds of gender-​based violence, especially sexual violence. Raley points out that the initial response to a survivor’s disclosure of violence sets the stage for how she shapes the narrative of her experiences and her path to healing. A trauma-​informed congregational response can include training and education for leaders and congregations as well as practical and spiritual support for survivors. Raley suggests that practices of spiritual support include the adaptation of Pentecostal ordinances of anointing and foot washing. Importantly, these adapted spiritual practices can help to shape the identity of individual Pentecostal survivors of sexual violence as well as the collective identity of the healing community. In Chapter 2, Stephenson continues the exploration of the relationship between Pentecostal pneumatology and violence against women by highlighting how the spiritual values placed on suffering and forgiveness can prolong violence against women. Pentecostal women living with intimate partner violence need assistance from religious leaders in discerning the difference between healthy conflict and toxic abuse. The dynamics of a coercive and controlling relationship can include the manipulation of Christian women’s beliefs and practices. In situations of spousal abuse, forgiveness does not provide an invitation to reconciliation but rather prolongs suffering. Stephenson points out how Pentecostal leaders can help women as they renegotiate their understanding of the process of forgiveness of those who have acted abusively, including the role of the community in ensuring that justice occurs.

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Interpretation of the relationship between the Spirit, gender, and violence against women in the scripture is addressed by two authors in this collection. Chapter 5 features a “text of terror”—​a phrase coined by Phyllis Trible—​which refers to passages from scripture that describe interpersonal violence. Cole offers an orthopathic interpretation the story of the Levite’s Concubine from Judges 19. Such an interpretation acknowledges the horrific nature of the violence perpetrated against the concubine as affectively revelatory. Emotional reactions to the violent narrative amongst contemporary Pentecostal listeners can allow the Spirit to speak to their hearts through feelings of anger, disgust and despair. Then a skilled and trauma-​informed leader can guide believers to a way forward in practising Christian love and seeking justice for the survivors of violence in our midst. Mittelstadt models this kind of leadership in his reflection on the novel Women Talking by Miriam Toews in Chapter 7. This contribution highlights the centrality of biblical stories in the lives of Christians. While sacred texts contain the meta-​narratives of a tradition, religious people’s narratives exist alongside these narratives. Sexually abused Christians can make sense of their own stories in conversation with the stories of faith. The women in Toews’ novel know that the sexual violence committed against them and their children by the men of the community was wrong—​theirs is an orthopathic understanding. But they are unsure how to respond. Despite the complete lack of social support for their trauma, the women’s decision-​making process is informed by the resources they do have—​their understanding of scripture. The women talk their way to a faith-​informed decision. They decide to leave the only way of life they have ever known and seek safety in an unknown future, trusting that the Spirit will lead them. According to Mittelstadt, the novel is prophetic art. “Toews’ imagined gathering of women on the margins must prompt conversations about authority and power and the importance of mutuality in life-​giving communities” ( p. 129). In Chapter 6, Grey explores gender roles, women’s sexuality, and violence in the Song of Songs. Grey highlights how the depiction of the female lover in the text resists the feminine gender roles of the time in which the text was written. Rather than being merely submissive to his desires, the female lover is sexually assertive in relationship to her male lover. The physical and sexual violence she experiences at the hands of the city watchman (police) are interpreted as the consequences of her socially unacceptable attitude and behaviours. Grey argues that rather than interpreting this text as a cautionary tale for women for the purpose of reinforcing patriarchy, Pentecostals can learn to appreciate the female lover’s agency and courage in offering a counter cultural response to the patriarchal structuring of gender and sexuality.

8 Holtmann The pneumatologically grounded belief of Pentecostals concerning gender equality is applied in calls for the transformation of patriarchal church structures by the authors of Chapters 4, 12 and 13. As mentioned, Ambrose’s Chapter 4 exposes the legacy of benevolent sexism of a history of complementarian gendered lay leadership within the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Recent statistics on the gender of church leaders in Canadian Pentecostal churches show enormous gender inequality—​less than 6% of pastors in 2020 are women—​ despite Pentecostal beliefs in gender equality. Ambrose warns that the history of structural gender inequality, the influence of reformed theology, due to the conflation of evangelicalism with Pentecostalism, and mounting disclosures of sexual abuse through the #ChurchToo movement are exposing the contradiction between Pentecostal beliefs and practices. This situation is prompting people to walk away and join more progressive churches or the growing ranks of religious “nones.” The Pentecostal belief in radical gender equality as the basis for leadership is further addressed in Chapter 12 by Qualls. Referring directly to revelations of clergy sexual abuse in multiple Christian churches and high rates of intimate partner violence in the US, Qualls asserts that “a Pentecostal theology of Spirit empowerment and the rhetoric of women’s leadership” (p. 224) can assist in condemning the abuse of power that has fueled the perpetration of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse by men against women and girls. She reminds readers of the Pentecostal church’s historical and theological origins during which belief in the power of the Spirit fueled counter-​cultural rhetoric and created opportunities for women’s empowerment and leadership. The reinforcement of the “soft violence” of traditional Confucian patriarchal gender structures by charismatic Christian churches in Taiwan is the subject of Chapter 13 by Lin. Despite their high levels of education and income, Christian Taiwanese women are primarily responsible for unpaid caretaking in families. Many women hire foreign women live-​in care-​workers in order to manage their religious and secular identities as well as paid and unpaid responsibilities. Lin argues that the exploitation of foreign care-​workers perpetuates the structural inequality of women and looks to Black womanist theology for examples of a strategy of resistance rooted in a biblical hermeneutic of suspicion. Information about the history of Pentecostal mission work and its relevance for contemporary Pentecostal social engagement on violence against women and girls in collaboration with secular institutions outside of the boundaries of churches is provided in three chapters in Sisters, Mothers, Daughters: Pentecostal Perspectives on Violence Against Women. Chapter 8 by Mayfield sensitively connects the early 20th century mission work by Pentecostal women in Shanghai in the service of Chinese women survivors of violence to the need for action on the modern global trafficking of women and girls for the sex trade. The topic

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is handled sensitively by acknowledging the Door of Hope Mission’s roots in colonial violence while at the same time describing the multiple forms of social support that the Pentecostal women provided for Chinese survivors. These faith-​informed supports included the offer of salvation through escape from rape, torture, forced drug addiction, and slavery; legal and financial assistance; education and training opportunities; and choices about the future, some of which did not rely on dependent relationships with men. Chapters 9 and 10 both deal with significant Pentecostal mission work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (drc). The UN estimates that there are approximately 4.5 million displaced persons in the drc and over 800,000 drc refugees elsewhere as a result of violent conflict that began in the 1990s.10 Rape is used as weapon in this long-​term civil war and in 2019 alone, the UN documented 1,409 cases of conflict-​related sexual violence.11 Authors Davidsson and Ystebø Alegre provide the history of work begun by Scandinavian Pentecostal missionaries responding to the spiritual and medical needs of people in the DRC since the early 20th century in Chapter 9. They describe in detail how working together with the Congolese for decades, Scandinavian Pentecostal missionaries established medical education and training centres for Congolese women and men and constructed and staffed hospitals, medical stations, field hospitals, orphanages, and maternity clinics throughout the country. Chapter 10 features an interview between author/​videographer Rory Randall and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Denis Mukwege, a Pentecostal pastor and chief medical doctor at the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, drc. Mukwege was recognized for providing medical care and rehabilitation for thousands of victims of brutal sexual violence and preventing maternal mortality. Both chapters highlight the crucial collaboration between faith-​based organizations, health care workers, international non-​governmental organizations, therapeutic professionals, legal and financial experts, and charities in responding to the complex health and psycho-​social needs of survivors, holding perpetrators accountable, raising awareness and using education to end the use of rape as a weapon of war, and working for socio-​political change in the drc. Finally, in Chapter 3, contributor Riches employs a social scientific analysis of the experiences of contemporary Christian women in Australia. She draws 10 11

“Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” Council on Foreign Relations Global Violence Tracker, accessed 28 January 2021, from https://​www.cfr.org/​glo​bal-​confl​ict-​trac​ ker/​confl​ict/​viole​nce-​dem​ocra​tic-​repub​lic-​congo. “Democratic Republic of the Congo: Report of the Secretary-​General to the Security Council,” accessed 28 January 2021, from https://​www.un.org/​sexua​lvio​lenc​einc​onfl​ict/​ countr​ies/​dem​ocra​tic-​repub​lic-​of-​the-​congo/​.

10 Holtmann upon the concept of “sacrifice zones” to describe the silence women experience from their churches concerning the problem of intimate partner violence. Many of the women interviewed had some association with Hillsong, a megachurch with roots in Pentecostalism, widely known for its music and dynamic Sisterhood ministries. Ironically, perhaps, Australia is also known for having some of the most extensive research on domestic violence, innovative knowledge transfer, and progressive anti-​violence against women legislation in the world (www.anrows.org.au), making religious leaders’ inattention to the problem even more problematic. In contrast to the silence of religious leaders, Riches provides evidence of how religious survivors of violence and women allies are using information technology to shatter the holy hush.12 The Fixing Her Eyes movement uses its website (www.fixinghereyes.org) and associated social media channels to provide a platform for women’s testimonies, information and training resources, videos, conference promotion, and social support networks. The harnessing of online resources by religious groups to promote their beliefs and practices, attract new followers, support the spiritual and practical needs of existing members, and provide multiple modes of interaction for faith communities whose membership is literally global, presents both opportunities and challenges with which all Christian churches must contend.13 The challenge that technologically sophisticated and savvy groups present to traditional authority structures is obvious. Yet the opportunities for supporting and amplifying the spiritual experiences of marginalized individuals and groups, like Christian women victims and survivors of violence, are tremendous. This has been highlighted during the covid-​19 pandemic and technological innovations to disseminate violence against women and domestic violence services and resources abound including “social media (e.g. WhatsApp, Snapchat, other live chatrooms), Zoom, Apps, expanded resources for online supports and helplines, new telephone consultations, alarm bracelets, and new ads for services using various forms of media.”14

12 13 14

Nancy Nason-​Clark et al., “The RAVE project: Developing web-​based religious resources for social action on domestic violence.” Critical Social Work 10, no 1 (2009). Stephen McMullin, “Christian congregational life in a changing social environment,” in Exploring Religion and Diversity in Canada: People, Practice and Possibility edited by Catherine Holtmann (New York, Springer, 2018): 144–​148. Lori Weeks, “What initiatives have been created to meet the needs of women experiencing domestic violence during COVID 19,” p. 2, accessed 5 January 20201 https://​www.unb .ca/​mmfc/​resour​ces/​.

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I hope that copies of Sisters, Mothers, Daughters: Pentecostal Perspectives on Violence Against Women make their way into the lives of Pentecostals in many corners of the globe. The book offers fresh and innovative perspectives at the intersection of Christianity and violence against women that can transform Pentecostal identities, beliefs, and practices as the faithful join collective social efforts to respond to this serious and widespread problem.

Bibliography

Appadurai, A. Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1996. Asay, S.M. “Awareness of Domestic Violence with the Evangelical Community: Romania and Moldova.” Journal of Family Violence 26 (2011): 131–​38. Council on Foreign Relations. “Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Council on Foreign Relations, https://​www.cfr.org/​glo​bal-​confl​ict-​trac​ker/​confl​ict/​ viole​nce-​dem​ocra​tic-​repub​lic-​congo. Chernyak, E., and B. Barrett. “A Chicken Is Not a Bird, Is a Woman a Human Being? Intimate Partner Violence and the Russian Orthodox Church.” Currents: Scholarship in the Human Services 10, no. 1 (2011): 1–​24. Constantineanu, C., and C.J. Scobie. Introduction: Pentecostal Identity, Spirituality, and Theology. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2014. Ellison, Christopher G., John P. Bartkowski, and Kristin L. Anderson. “Are There Religious Variations in Domestic Violence?”. Journal of family issues 20, no. 1 (1999): 87–​113. Flannery O.P., A., ed. Vatican Council Ii: The Conciliar and Post-​Conciliar Documents. Revised edition ed. Northport, NY: Costello Publishing Co., 1988. Gengler, S.W., and J.W. Lee. “Ministers’ Understanding of Battered Women: Differences among Catholic Male Priests, Protestant Female Ministers and Protestant Male Ministers.” Journal of religion and abuse 3, no. 3/​4 (2001): 41–​59. Gewirtz, A., and J.L. Edleson. “Young Children’s Exposure to Adult Domestic Violence: Toward a Developmental Risk and Resilience Framework for Research and Intervention.” In Early Childhood, Domestic Violence, and Poverty: Helping Young Children and Their Families. Iowa City, IA: National Centre on Domestic and Sexual Violence, 2004. Holtmann, C. “From the Top: What Does It Mean When Catholic Bishops Speak out on Issues of Family Violence?.” In Strengthening Families and Ending Abuse: Churches and Their Leaders Look to the Future, edited by N. Nason-​Clark, B. Fisher-​Townsend and V. Fahlberg, 139–​59. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2013. MacKinnon, C. “Desire and Power.” In Theorizing Feminisms: A Reader, edited by E. Hackett and S. Haslanger, 256–​65. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2006.

12 Holtmann McMullin, S. “Christian Congregational Life in a Changing Social Environment.” In Exploring Religion and Diversity in Canada: People, Practice and Possibility, edited by C. Holtmann, 135–​56. New York: Springer, 2018. Nason-​Clark, N. “Has the Silence Been Shattered or Does a Holy Hush Still Prevail? Defining Violence against Women within Christian Churches.” In Bad Pastors: Clergy Malfeasance in America, edited by A. Shupe, 69–​89. Albany, NY: New York University Press, 2000. Nason-​Clark, N. “Learning to Build Bridges between Churches and Community-​Based Resources.” Religion and Violence E-​ Learning, https://​www.the​rave​proj​ect.org/​ resour​ces/​learn​ing-​to-​build-​brid​ges-​betw​een-​churc​hes-​and-​commun​ity-​based -​resour​ces/​. Nason-​Clark, N . “Making the Sacred Safe: Woman Abuse and Communities of Faith.” Sociology of religion 61, no. 4 (2000): 349–​68. Nason-​Clark, N., B. Fisher-​Townsend, C. Holtmann, and S. McMullin. Religion and Intimate Partner Violence: Understanding the Challenges and Proposing Solutions. Oxford University Press, 2018. Nason-​Clark, N, C. Holtmann, B. Fisher-​Townsend, S. McMullin, and L. Ruff. “The RAVE project: Developing web-​based religious resources for social action on domestic violence.” Critical Social Work 10, no 1 (2009). Penner, C. “Violence against Women in the Mennonite Brethren Church: Abuse Policies Are Not Enough.” Directions 45, no. 2 (2016): 192–​208. Popescu, M.L., R. Drumm, S. Dewan, and C. Rusu. “Childhood Victimization and Its Impact on Coping Behaviors for Victims of Intimate Partner Violence.” Journal of Family Violence 25 (2010): 575–​85. Trible, P. Texts of Terror. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1984. UN. “Democratic Republic of the Congo: Report of the Secretary-​General to the Security Council.” Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, https://​www.un.org/​sexua​lvio​lenc​einc​onfl​ict/​countr​ ies/​dem​ocra​tic-​repub​lic-​of-​the-​congo/​. UN. “The Shadow Pandemic: Violence against Women During Covid 19.” UN Women, https://​www.unwo​men.org/​en/​news/​in-​focus/​in-​focus-​gen​der-​equal​ity-​in-​covid -​19-​respo​nse/​viole​nce-​agai​nst-​women-​dur​ing-​covid-​19. UN. “Unite to End Violence against Women.” UN Web services section, https://​www .unwo​men.org/​en/​what-​we-​do/​end​ing-​viole​nce-​agai​nst-​women/​take-​act​ion. Walby, S. “Violence.” In Globalization and Inequalities: Complexity and Contested Modernities, 191–​217. London: sage Publications, 2009. Weeks, L. “What Initiatives Have Been Created to Meet the Needs of Women Experiencing Domestic Violence During Covid 19.” Fredericton, NB: Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, 2020.

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Pneumatology in the Time of #MeToo An Exploration of the Spirit’s Role in Suffering Cheryl M. Peterson There are a number of theological challenges to be addressed when dealing with the topic of sexual violence and other forms of abuse against women, from theological anthropology and the imago Dei, to the doctrines of God, salvation, and theories of the atonement.1 One question often asked is: “Where is God in my suffering—​and healing—​from sexual abuse and violence?” Most theologians have approached this question from the framework of either the first article (God the Father, the doctrine of creation), or the second article (God the Son, the doctrine of redemption).2 In what follows, I offer a constructive pneumatological response for consideration by Pentecostal theologians. First, I examine two theological responses to suffering in Pentecostal theology: a pneumatology of victory over suffering, and a pneumatology of the cross. Next, I outline Shelly Rambo’s theology of the “middle Spirit” which offers a way of speaking of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the immediate aftermath of trauma, and which also offers an alternative to the Holy Spirit as victory-​bringer, on the one hand, or co-​sufferer, on the other.3 In the ­chapter’s final section, I bring Rambo’s pneumatological proposal into conversation with Pentecostal theology. I argue that Rambo’s understanding of “witness” could assist Pentecostals in responding to the needs of women (and 1 While the focus of this essay and volume is on violence against women, as women are targeted at much higher rates, it is important to acknowledge that boys and men are also victims of physical and sexual violence. 2 For example, see Joy A. Schroeder, “Sexual Abuse and a Theology of Embodiment: Incarnating Healing,” The Long Journey Home: Understanding and Ministering to the Sexually Abused, ed. Andrew J. Schmutzer (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2011), 186–​196. 3 It is important to note at the outset that Rambo does not always clearly identify the “middle Spirit” with the Holy Spirit. She writes that the “middle Spirit” is “not clearly figured as the Holy Spirit” until Chapter 20 of John’s Gospel, but elsewhere describes the middle Spirit as an “expression” of the Holy Spirit. For my own constructive purposes, I am interpreting this concept more in terms of how Christians experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in their suffering, rather than as an “interim figure” that is not yet the Holy Spirit or Paraclete. Shelly Rambo, Spirit and Trauma: A Theology of Remaining (Louisville: Westminster/​John Knox Press, 2010), 99.

© Cheryl M. Peterson, 2022 | DOI:10.1163/9789004513204_003

14 Peterson others) experiencing sexual violence. Her concept of the “middle Spirit” also can inform a Pentecostal understanding of the work of the Paraclete, as the one who accompanies women into the promise of new life through the liminal experience of Holy Saturday. 1.1

Pentecostal Theology and the Problem of Suffering

Such an exploration requires theological attention to suffering, which has been a neuralgic issue for Pentecostals. Since its origins, the public witness of Pentecostal and charismatic Christians has, as Oliver McMahan puts it, “neglected, avoided, and even worked hard to deny the experience of pain and grief.”4 He supports this statement with an analysis of The Apostolic Faith, the newspaper of the Azusa Street Mission. Amidst the many testimonies related to God’s blessing, power, miracles, signs and wonders, and the prophetic fulfillment of Pentecost, McMahan found there to be “little mention of pain, no effort to weep, no desire to embrace the powerless, no desire to embrace the powerless, but rather only a quest to escape infirmity through healing, rapture.”5 As Kimberly Ervin Alexander shows in her study on healing in early North American Pentecostalism, the purpose of healing in Pentecostalism was not to escape or deny suffering, but to receive God’s blessing of wholeness in body as well as spirit promised through Christ’s atonement.6 Sickness and disease were understood largely to result from the Fall.7 Miraculous healings were signs that revealed the power of God;8 they also freed the formerly infirmed to become witnesses and workers in the vineyard themselves. Nor is the Spirit’s role limited to healing the sick, as Alexander points out.9 For some early Pentecostals, the Spirit guided believers in their approach to healing and by equipping and 4 Oliver McMahan, “Grief Observed: Surprised by the Suffering of the Spirit,” in Passover, Pentecost, and Parousia: Studies in Celebration of the Life and Ministry of R. Hollis Gause, ed. Steven Jack Land, Rickie D. Moore, and John Christopher Thomas (Blandford Forum, Dorset, UK: Deo Publishing, 2010), 300. 5 According to his research, on average, such testimonies filled 80% of the paper’s content. McMahan, “Grief Observed,” 302, 306–​07. 6 Kimberly Ervin Alexander, Pentecostal Healing: Models in Theology and Practice, Journal of Pentecostal Supplement Series 29, Gen. Ed. John Christopher Thomas (Dorset: Blanford Forum/​Deo Publishing, 2006, 2013). See for example, 77–​78, 103. 7 Alexander, Pentecostal Healing, 75–​76, 88–​89. 8 Alexander, Pentecostal Healing 79–​82. 9 Alexander, Pentecostal Healing 78.

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empowering the believer to trust God.10 In case such as St. Paul’s, in which healing is not granted, the Spirit’s work was often understood in terms of testing the believer through personal suffering. For example, J.B. Ellis wrote, “If God heals us it is to manifest His power to the world; if He does not it gives us an opportunity to show that we are willing to suffer with Him, and the Bible says, ‘If we suffer with him, we shall reign with him.’”11 Alexander’s perspective is helpful in framing how Pentecostals understand healing in light of suffering, and not in denial of it. Yet there remains in Pentecostalism a tendency toward triumphalism in the face of suffering, the idea that all suffering in this life will be conquered by God’s mighty power. According to Daniel Castelo, “This Pentecostal worldview, as typically formulated and propagated, cannot account—​either conceptually or practically—​ for those cases in which healings and miracles do not occur,” meaning that “Pentecostals and charismatic Christians are often at a loss for how to make sense of their suffering.”12 Chris Green concurs, pointing out that “a theologically and pastorally adequate account of suffering” has yet to be developed by Pentecostals.13 However, a number of contemporary Pentecostal theologians recently have begun this work, exploring the Spirit’s involvement in human suffering in new and fresh ways. For example, William Menzies offers a third alternative to “pious resignation” in the face of suffering, on the one hand, and “cosmic bellhop theology,” on the other. He argues that the latter, although it may mean well, is misguided and leads to a harmful triumphalism that is at odds with the “hard facts of reality.” His proposal of “apostolic intervention” calls for believers to intercede for those in need, by flowing with God’s Spirit, until there is some sort of resolution, either a healing or a “release granted by God.”14 Others, such as Veli-​Matti Kärkkäinen, and Chris Green have sought to counter triumphalistic tendencies in Pentecostal practice by means of a 10 Alexander, Pentecostal Healing 138. 11 Ellis, Church of God Evangel 14, no.3 (Jan. 20, 1923), 3, cited in Alexander, Pentecostal Healing 109–​110. See also 76, 113, 132–​133. See also R. Hollis Gause, Living in the Spirit: The Way of Salvation, revised and expanded ed. (Cleveland, TN: cpt Press, 2009), 90–​91. 12 Daniel Castelo, “What if Miracles Don’t Happen? Empowerment for Longsuffering,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 23 (2014): 237, 242. 13 Chris Green, “The Crucified God and the Groaning Spirit: Toward a Pentecostal Theologia Crucis in Conversation with Jürgen Moltmann,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 19 (2010): 127. 14 William Menzies, “Reflections on Suffering: A Pentecostal Perspective,” in The Spirit and Spirituality: Essays in Honor of Russel P. Spittler, ed. Wonsuk Ma and Robert P. Menzies (New York: T&T Clark, 2004), 145–​147.

16 Peterson theologia crucis or theology of the cross, drawing on the theological insights of Martin Luther and Jürgen Moltmann. Luther insisted that one only knows God’s identity through the self-​revelation of God in Jesus Christ on the cross.15 For Moltmann, “the cross does not merely reveal God’s willingness to identify with humanity in its godlessness and godforsakeness, but in fact possibilizes the Trinity’s suffering with and for creation.”16 By drawing on the theology of the cross, these Pentecostal theologians are not suggesting that suffering is an end or goal in itself. Neither do they deny the possibility of victory and transformation.17 Instead, they propose a role for the Spirit that also includes interceding, accompanying, and groaning for and with those who suffer, in the anticipation and hope of ultimate healing and deliverance.18 1.2

Sexual Violence as a Specific Form of Suffering

All of these theologians address the Spirit’s role in suffering in a general way, or with a specific focus on human suffering related to illness or infirmity. They do not seem to have in mind the suffering that accompanies violence and sexual abuse, which more precisely, is a form of trauma.19 This is not unique to Pentecostals, of course. For example, in Douglas John Hall’s much-​read study on God and human suffering, he does not once refer to women’s experience of sexual violence.20 On the other hand, while the feminist theological literature addressing sexual abuse and violence continues to grow, few have wrestled in

15 16 17 18

19

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See Cheryl M. Peterson, “Theology of the Cross and the Experience of God’s Presence: A Lutheran Response to Pentecostal Wonderings,” Dialog: A Journal of Theology 55, no. 4 (Winter 2016): 316–​323. Green, “The Crucified God,” 131. Green, “The Crucified God,” 140–​141. Oliver McMahan adds that in the face of suffering, part of the church’s testimony is to serve as a “signpost of the suffering of the Spirit,” by which he means the Spirit who suffers with us, enabling us to share our sufferings with one another, “joining with the Spirit as we suffer together.” McMahan, “Grief Observed,” 313. Cheryl Bridges Johns, in her outline of a Spirit-​filled feminist hermeneutic, is an important exception. She refers to sexual trauma experienced by women in Biblical narratives in discussing the Spirit’s work in human suffering. Her essay is discussed below in more detail. See Johns, “Grieving, Brooding, Transforming: The Spirit, the Bible, and Gender,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 23 (2014): 141–​153, especially 152. Douglas John Hall, God and Human Suffering: An Exercise in the Theology of the Cross (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1987). He does make reference to other forms of violence and suffering caused by humans, and includes one general reference to “sexual oppression.” See Hall, 43, 74, 88–​89, 103, 110, 174, 176.

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depth on the question of God’s connection to this form of suffering.21 This essay is intended as a constructive step moving forward in this exploration, and as a challenge to theologians from all Christian traditions to take into account the trauma of sexual violence when addressing the theological problem of human suffering, and God’s involvement in it. The statistics are so staggering that it is no stretch to call the trauma of sexual violence a pandemic.22 The Centers for Disease Control report that more than one in three women have experienced sexual violence involving some physical contact, and one in five women have experienced completed or attempted rape.23 Given such figures, one cannot deny that there are women in Pentecostal and other Christian congregations who have experienced and will experience the trauma of sexual violence. The kind of suffering one experiences from such a trauma is psychological as well as physical; it drastically alters how a person views herself, the world, and God, causing her to “reorganize herself around that event to the extent that it becomes integral to her identity.”24 Memories of the abuse, often fragmented, continue to haunt them in the aftermath and make healing difficult. As Susan Brinson writes, reflecting on her recovery from sexual assault, “the intermingling of mind and body is also apparent in traumatic memories that remain in the body, in each of the senses, in the heart that races and skin that crawls whenever something resurrects the only slightly buried terror.”25 Trauma can be distinguished from other kinds of suffering in the impairment of one’s capacity to process and integrate the traumatic event. As Shelly Rambo puts

21

A notable exception is Amy Carr, whose work focuses on how to speak “rightly” of divine providence in the midst of affliction, especially sexual abuse and trauma. She finds the tendency (seen in the work of Marie Fortune and others) to limit “discourse about providence in affliction to the claim that God motivates moral outrage and compassion” as inviting a “potentially shallow view of divine providential activity, particularly as refracted within the prism of affliction, trauma, or abuse.” Amy Carr, “A Hermeneutics of Providence amid Affliction: Contributions by Luther and Weil to a Cruciform Doctrine of Providence,” Pro Ecclesia 16, no. 3 (2007): 278–​298, especially 280. See also Marie F. Fortune, “The Transformation of Suffering: A Biblical and Theological Perspective,” in Violence against Women and Children: A Christian Theological Sourcebook, ed. Carol J. Adams and Marie F. Fortune (New York: Continuum, 1995), 85–​91. 22 Elizabeth O. Pierre, “Sexual Violence: The Sacred Witness of the Church,” Review and Expositor 115, no. 3 (2018): 362. 23 “Sexual Violence is Preventable,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed June 27, 2020, https://​www.cdc.gov/​inj​ury/​featu​res/​sex​ual-​viole​nce/​index.html. 24 Pierre, “Sexual Violence,” 363. 25 Brinson, Aftermath, p. 44; cited in Schroeder, “Sexual Abuse and a Theology of Embodiment,”190.

18 Peterson it, “Trauma is the suffering that does not go away. The study of trauma is the study of what remains.”26 1.3

The Presence of the Spirit in the Suffering of Women Who Experience Abuse

What would a Pentecostal theology of suffering look like that took into account the suffering of women (and, in fact, of all victims) who experience such trauma? More specifically, how might we think theologically about the role and work of the Spirit in such situations? Diane Langberg points out that for many survivors of sexual violence, two irreconcilable realities exist: the reality of a God who promises to love and provide strength for those who suffer, and the on-​going reality of the abuse. The human mind has difficulty holding these realities together, so that one usually wins; either they face the abuse and believe that God is not to be trusted, or they cling to God as their victory and try to deny that the abuse is a “big deal.” Worse is when church leaders minimize the damage by “using timetables for healing, redefining the victim’s story, or suggesting that the proper amount of faith will provide a quick and immediate fix for the devastation.”27 While some women may experience the Holy Spirit as bringing an immediate victory over their suffering, others who have survived the trauma of sexual violence will not. For some of these women, the idea of a “suffering Spirit,” the presence of God in their suffering, as they cry out to God, in the power of the Spirit, may bring hope and healing. This is more than knowing that God hears one’s cries and groaning in order to help them bear their suffering; it involves the Spirit of God entering into and experiencing their suffering in order ultimately to transform and heal it. With the emphasis on the Spirit’s role as “suffering with,” this may not be the most theologically helpful way forward, because of the “suffering that remains” for survivors of trauma, which is a very specific form of suffering. I propose a third way to think theologically about the role of the Spirit in the suffering of women who experience violence, sexual abuse, and sexual assault, through an engagement of the work of theologian Shelly Rambo. In her 2010 book, Spirit and Trauma: A Theology of Remaining, Rambo develops a theology that witnesses to that which remains after a trauma. In this 26 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 15. 27 Diane M. Langberg, “What Every Minister Should Know about Sexual Abuse: A Counselor Shares Some Concerns,” in Long Journey Home, 227.

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space, the “Middle Spirit”—​which she defines as the presence of the divine in the journey of a survivor during the time between violence and the full healing of the resurrection—​has a particular role to play by providing a bridge between the events of the cross and the resurrection. As she writes, “this understanding of Spirit is not so clearly aligned with life. Instead, this Spirit occupies a more tenuous position between death and life.”28 1.4

Shelly Rambo’s Spirit and Trauma

1.4.1 A Theology of the Middle Spirit The question that guides Rambo’s work is: “Can theology witness to this suffering that does not go away, to the storm that is ‘always here?’ If so, how?”29 Her book explores trauma not in order to discover what theology might learn from trauma theory, but rather how these might inform each other, especially with regard to what she calls the “middle space” between death and life.30 The capacity to witness to trauma is the first step in healing from such an experience. Yet, those who personally experience trauma, as well as those who witness trauma, often find themselves caught in this middle space, which disorients their place in the world and call into question what is being experienced or witnessed. Rambo points out that at the heart of Christianity is a traumatic event, the death of Jesus, and invites her readers to consider the witness of the disciples through the lens of this trauma. She considers two different ways that the Christian tradition has interpreted the act of witness: as faithful imitation of Jesus, which often includes some kind of sacrifice; and proclamation, or testimony. In the case of trauma, witness is neither “a straightforward proclamation of something that has taken place,” or a “straightforward imitation of what has taken place.” Instead, such a witness becomes “a tenuous orientation to suffering that presses central theological claims about death and life in and against themselves.”31 Rambo makes the uncomfortable suggestion that in such situations, the Spirit’s role is less as the “giver of life” and more as a witness to the

28 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 114. 29 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 15. Here she echoes the words of a Hurricane Katrina survivor. 30 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 32. See for example, Serene Jones, Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) and Jennifer Beste, God and the Victim: Traumatic Intrusions on Grace and Freedom (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007). 31 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 42.

20 Peterson life that emerges out of death. The role of the Spirit is to enable the survivors of trauma to examine the “uncontainable truths” that their trauma produces. She illustrates her thesis by examining the biblical narrative of two disciples in John’s gospel, Mary Magdalene and the Beloved Disciple. Their post-​ resurrection experiences of Jesus usher them into the space of death, the space of witness, over which hovers the promised Paraclete, “the interim figure whose arrival is indeterminate,” who will not be fully known as Holy Spirit until the risen Christ breathes on them and commissions them. In this middle space, they encounter a different expression of Spirit, who enables them to move on, the power to persist, to bear with, to bridge the old and the new. This is not a conquering, victorious Spirit, or even a Spirit who “suffers with,” but rather, One who accompanies them into a new reality, a life that breaks through the experience of trauma.32 In the Johannine farewell discourse, Jesus promises his disciples that they will not be alone, that he will send them a Paraclete. He couples this promise with the imperative to “remain in my love.” Their ability to do so is made possible through the Paraclete, who carries them forward while keeping them connected to Jesus, and everything that he has taught them. “The Paraclete takes up residence in them, providing a critical link between past, present, and future.”33 Furthermore, the Paraclete comes as a witness himself who will also transform them into witnesses after his death (John 15:27). Rambo suggests that the call to “remain” communicates “a different kind of presence that will be required in the wake of Jesus’ death,” “one that takes the form of bearing with, of enduring, and of persisting. It is an accompanying and attending presence that always carries with it the marks of suffering and death.”34 1.4.2 Spirit as Breath, as Moving Differently in Time, and as Love Rambo applies her interpretation of the Johannine Paraclete to the “middle space” in which people find themselves in the aftermath of trauma, a space between death and life.35 She wonders whether the “sole association” of the Spirit with life and resurrection prevents us from seeing the critical relationship the Spirit has to death, as a kind of bridge, as One who “searches for forms of life when life cannot be recognized as such.”36 Rambo draws on Catherine Keller’s image of the Spirit “as the figure hovering in the depths before creation 32 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 99. 33 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 103. 34 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 104. 35 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 113. 36 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 115.

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is spoken into being” and applies these insights to the event of the cross.37 She brings the biblical images of breath and Paraclete together to create a “pneumatology of the middle in which the spirit is figured as the breath of witness between life and death.”38 She explores the idea of a “middle Spirit” through three inter-​related aspects: the Spirit as breath, the Spirit as moving differently through time, and the Spirit as love. Rambo connects the idea of the Spirit as breath to the act of witnessing itself; the breath “powers a testimony to what was unknown, unaccounted for … what is unsaid, unspoken, and inaccessible through language,” here evoking Paul’s image in Romans 8:26 of groans too deep for words.39 The Paraclete, who in John 14–​16 is promised and arrives in John 20:22, takes on the role of divine witness, reminding the disciples of Jesus’ teaching and presence, remaining and abiding with them to help them move forward in the aftermath of trauma and death. “The breath powers them, directs them. It powers them to give form to the chaos, to transform it.”40 Transformation comes as the Spirit gives rise to new forms of life, life post-​trauma. This requires imagination, which the Spirit also enables. This movement of God’s breath is not linear, always with a clear end in sight, Rambo says, because the central problem of trauma is that it a repetitive experience. A cleanly linear narrative of salvation history can too easily dismiss the dislocations and displacements of trauma, to ignore the “uncomfortable space of Holy Saturday” in the rush to Easter victory.41 In her view, the Paraclete moves differently through time with those who experience trauma, abiding with them, enabling them to remember not only the events of the past, but also the memory of Jesus, helping them to become his witnesses in the present. The Spirit is also the love that remains. By remain, Rambo means “the power of persisting in light of the event of death and an uncertain future.”42 The

37 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 114–​115. 38 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 115. 39 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 120. 40 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 122. 41 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 128. Rambo devotes a chapter to Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theological reflections on “Holy Saturday” (wherein Christ descends into hell) in light of Adrienne von Spehr’s mystical visions as the key to Christian redemption. For him “Holy Saturday is the site of divine abandonment, in which the Son not only takes on the forsakenness and sins of the world, but, in hell, experiences that abandonment.” This is the ultimate picture of divine love, of God’s solidarity with humanity; within a Trinitarian framework the Spirit is the one that bridges the journey from death and hell to new life. See Rambo, 68, 75. 42 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 131.

22 Peterson disciples are those who “witness to what remains” after they see their Lord be crucified. Survivors find themselves occupying a space very much like Holy Saturday, in the space between death and life, between endings and beginnings. It is an uncomfortable space that is easy to dismiss, to move past, in the rush to get to the “new life” and “victory.” Rambo suggests that Holy Saturday provides a vocabulary compatible with the experience of a survivor of trauma. Her pneumatology of remaining offers an implicit critique of the way the narrative of redemption can easily gloss over the trauma of suffering and violence. She roots her pneumatology in neither the resurrection nor the cross, but in the space of Holy Saturday. It is from this “middle space” that the Spirit moves in an oscillatory way. First, the Spirit moves to witness to that which remains after death, or trauma. The Spirit then moves to witness a process of coming into life again, of sensing it again through one’s own body, the first step of which is regaining one’s own breath, and the Breath of the Paraclete within. 1.5

Pentecostal Engagement with Rambo’s Pneumatological Proposal

1.5.1 The Spirit and Witness One need not agree with all of Rambo’s theological inclinations in order to appreciate the rich way that she brings trauma theory into conversation with theology, especially her focus on the “middle space” and the “middle Spirit” and what it might mean for the church’s witness to trauma.43 Indeed, Rambo’s use of witness as a primary role for the “middle Spirit” offers an interesting point of connection to Pentecostalism, which is, above all, a Christian movement deeply concerned with fulfilling Jesus’ mandate to his disciples in Acts 1:8: “You shall be my witnesses.” Pentecostals historically emphasize the work of the Spirit in terms of empowerment, of empowering believers with the spiritual gifts and power needed in order to witness to the life-​giving gospel in Jesus Christ: the savior, healer, Spirit-​baptizer, and coming king. This includes those who have experienced God’s healing amidst personal suffering; they themselves are witnesses to the power of God that has brought them healing and restoration. Rambo invites us to consider that the same disciples who witnessed to the power of the Jesus’ resurrection were also witnesses to a trauma, the death 43

There are aspects of Rambo’s constructive theological proposal that are problematic for many Pentecostals, that for the most part, I have not included in my discussion: for example, her heavy reliance in places on Process Theology, and her revision of the redemption narrative of the Christian faith that seems to replace Christology with pneumatology.

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of their Lord. For those women who have experienced trauma through sexual violence and other abuse, that is, “the suffering that does not go away,” Rambo’s proposal offers a different pathway to healing, one that considers the “middle space” between death and life. The middle Spirit or Paraclete enters this space, providing a bridge between death/​trauma and life, by becoming a witness to it, by enabling the survivor to speak her truth, to testify to that which she experienced, through cries and groans sometimes too deep for words (Romans 8:26).44 For Pentecostals, the evocation of Romans 8:26 suggests the intercessory work of the Spirit, as the one who brings to voice, perhaps even in unknown tongues, the testimony God desires. In his call for a Pentecostal theologia crucis, Chris Green offers a discussion of this passage of Paul, suggesting that the believer groans because of his awareness of his “radical impotence in and revealed by God’s indwelling ‘empowering presence.’”45 The role of the Spirit in this case is to intercede on behalf of the believer’s failed prayer, and ‘overcomes this weakness by [the Spirit’s] own intercession.’46 The Spirit meets the believer at the point of weakness, and gives voice to the intercession, that serves as a form of empowerment. Frank Macchia explores the connection between Romans 8:26 and glossolalia, asserting that such pneumatic cries reflect both believers’ sense of eschatological weakness and their yearnings for the liberation and redemption to come.47 For the survivor of trauma, such groans do not simply reveal one’s weakness or inability to pray in the face of such suffering, they also witness to the “suffering that does not go away.” The Spirit empowers the survivor to “witness to the deep abyss of human experiences, to bear something of that death within,”48 by telling the story of the often-​unbearable nature of one’s survival. This suggests a different kind of testimony, one that may provide hope to those women who find themselves in the “middle space” between death and life, because of trauma and abuse. This is followed by the second movement of the Paraclete, through the “love that remains,” by which the Spirit accompanies the survivor into a new life that does not deny the trauma and its scars but carries it 44 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 120. 45 Green, “The Crucified God,” 137. 46 Green, “The Crucified God,” 138. 47 Frank D. Macchia, “Sighs too Deep for Words: Toward a Theology of Glossolalia,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 1 (1992): 60, 69. Macchia proposes that there is a place for glossolalia in worship when it connects with believers’ “passion to share God’s pathos for the world,” by groaning with the suffering creation for the sake of its liberation from bondage. See Macchia, 70. 48 Rambo, Spirit and Trauma, 133.

24 Peterson forward. The crucified and risen Christ who appeared in the upper room to breathe on his disciples the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, returned bearing the scars of his own trauma. Rambo’s notion of witnessing also suggests a different kind of empowerment: the empowerment not of certain and immediate victory over suffering, as is often highlighted in Pentecostalism, but an empowerment of voice to speak to the cause of suffering, and to bring voice to one’s trauma. Feminist theologians from various Christian traditions have long emphasized the need for women to find a voice and to be heard. For the most part, however, they have not addressed this need pneumatologically. According to Andrea Hollingsworth, Pentecostal theology has a contribution to make in this regard, because Pentecostals offer a “way to speak of the Holy Spirit as the divine voice through which persons are empowered to find their own voices.”49 This divine voice “is the origin, condition, and goal of all creaturely vocative efforts whatsoever—​the eternal source of empowering prophecy and prayer, as well as the absolute ground of the human desire to speak and be spoken to; hear and be heard.”50 The Spirit enables women to speak out in the face of injustice and abuse. Hollingsworth’s work offers a point of connection to the pneumatology Rambo offers to survivors of trauma. Survivors can use their voices to offer testimony and truth-​telling about the abuse that takes place in our congregations and the wider society. The #MeToo is largely a movement dedicated to giving women that voice, allowing them to be heard and encouraging their testimony to be taken seriously. This can then begin their process of healing a process in which they will also be accompanied by the “middle Spirit.” Rambo’s concepts of the “Middle Spirit” and “middle space” also can help congregations think about how best to accompany survivors of sexual violence in this process. The first step churches can take is by allowing survivors a “middle space” in which they can bring attention to their unspeakable trauma. The church’s ministry to women who experience sexual violence can be strengthened through expanding its testimony of the Spirit’s role in healing trauma, the “suffering that remains.” Some questions for congregations to consider: How can the church become more of a “middle space” for women who have experienced trauma? Can the church be a space for sharing truths that may be unspeakable with groans and cries? A space where the church can accompany women on a journey that is not linear, but instead is often cyclical and 49 50

Andrea Hollingsworth, “Spirit and Voice: Toward a Feminist Pentecostal Pneumatology,” Pneuma 29 (2007): 205. Hollingsworth, “Spirit and Voice,” 205.

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oscillatory? What would it mean for the church to “remain in love” with such women? How might the church’s ministries of healing and prayer be reshaped in order to address the pain of trauma and abuse experienced by such women? 1.5.2 The Spirit as Paraclete A distinctive feature of Pentecostal pneumatology is the endowment of spiritual gifts and empowerment that accompany Spirit baptism, but Pentecostals can find in the Johannine Paraclete a motif of the Spirit’s advocacy as well. As Marius Nel notes, “The endowment of this gift takes place in the context of a Pentecostal emphasis which is every believer’s responsibility to be a witness of truth, grounded in a distinct belief in the priesthood and prophethood of all believers.”51 Pentecostals primarily draw on Luke and Acts in developing this pneumatological focus, the fulcrum of which is Acts 2:1–​21: the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise in Acts 1:8 to send “power from on high.” In the Pentecost event, the Spirit falls on all believers, enabling them to speak in other tongues, and to prophesy about God’s mighty works. While John’s gospel is not nearly as prominent in these discussions, some Pentecostal scholars have sought to relate the distinctive Johannine concept of the Paraclete or Advocate to these Pentecostal emphases. In a survey of Pentecostal exegetical scholarship on John 14–​16, Nel notes that John’s introduction of the term Paraclete arose from “a primary forensic context of a judicial trial and prosecution.” He states, “John features consistently throughout his Gospel the motif of a trial, accentuated by his usage of courtroom terminology, especially ‘witness.’”52 The figure of the Paraclete is introduced in the midst of a discourse concerned with Jesus’ imminent departure, and what that means for the disciples.53 Jesus assures his followers that he will not leave them alone, because he promises to send them another Paraclete, “an advocate who will aid them in the cosmic trial that is already underway between Jesus and the unbelieving world, and implicating the disciples.”54 The role of the Paraclete is to assist them in representing Christ and his truth before a hostile and unbelieving world.55 51 52 53 54 55

Marius Nel, “The notion of the Holy Spirit as Paraclete from a Pentecostal perspective,” In die Skriflig 50, no.1 (2016): 1–​8, a2095, accessed June 27, 2020, doi: https://​doi.org/​10.4102/​ ids.v50i1.2095. Nel, “The notion of the Holy Spirit as Paraclete,” 7. See also John Christopher Thomas, He Loved Them to the End: The Farewell Materials in the Gospel According to John, The Stanley Lectures (Cleveland, TN: cpt Press, 2015), 36–​39. Nel, “The notion of the Holy Spirit as Paraclete,” 7. It is worth noting that many institutions, including church bodies, assign a well-​qualified, understanding advocate to people who have made accusations of sexual violence, so such

26 Peterson Pentecostal scholar Rodolfo Galvan Estrada offers a close reading of John 15:26 that supports and deepens this point.56 In contrast to the view of those commentators who interpret the Spirit’s testimony as being directed solely to the world,57 Estrada argues that this passage refers to the Paraclete as an “inner testifier,” who “speaks to the conscience of the believer,” both “within the believer and through the believers.”58 The Paraclete’s role is to lead the disciples into a deeper understanding of their faith, to support and aid the disciples in their faith and their witness to the world.59 Indeed, Estrada proposes that Jesus “perceives a crisis of faith that prompts the sending of the Paraclete to testify of his identity.”60 This aid involves not only reminding the disciples of the teachings of Jesus while he was with them on earth, but also assuring them that “the exalted Christ still speaks.”61 For Pentecostal scholar Crinisor Stefan, this includes “new revelation,” that is, “predicting future events related to the life of the community and individuals, providing direction for the community in its witnessing ministry.”62 Mark Cartledge applies these ideas to the church’s public theology and ministry, by drawing attention to the literal translation of the word Paraclete in Greek, as “walking alongside of,” or one could also say, “accompanying,” the disciples, and mediating to them the presence of Jesus Christ.63 He offers this image as a metaphor for how contemporary disciples of Christ might engage in public witness of their faith in a world often hostile to Christ and his kingdom. Cartledge treats the Paraclete sayings in the context of Jesus’ love commandment, stating that it is “in this context of dual love and obedience Jesus prays to the Father for another Paraclete.”64 The Paraclete empowers them to give

56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64

persons need not go through the process of reporting and testifying, etc., alone. There is an analogous role for the Paraclete. “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.” (New Revised Standard Version). For example, see Thomas, He Loved Them to the End, 38. Rodolfo Galvan Estrada iii, “The Spirit as an Inner Witness in John 15:26,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 22 (2013): 90. Estrada, “The Spirit as Inner Witness,” 92. Estrada, “The Spirit as Inner Witness,” 93. Crinisor Stefan, “The Paraclete and Prophecy in the Johannine Community,” Pneuma: The Journal for the Society of Pentecostal Studies 27, no. 2 (2005): 287. Stefan, “The Paraclete and Prophecy,” 273. Stefan is careful to note that this “new revelation” is not independent; the revelation the Spirit brings is the revelation of Christ and not a new doctrine. See Stefan, 287. Mark J. Cartledge, “Spirit-​Empowered ‘Walking Alongside:’ Towards a Renewal Theology of Public Life,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 27 (2018): 14–​36. Cartledge, “Spirit-​Empowered ‘Walking Alongside,’” 19.

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witness to Jesus in and to a world that will oppose them, even as the Paraclete also convicts the world of its sin and opposition to God in this “cosmic trial.” It is also the role of the Paraclete to guide them in the truth, both by reminding them what Jesus already taught them, but also by declaring “the things that are to come” (John 16:12–​15). Like Stefan, Cartledge is careful to note that this “new revelation” cannot contradict previous revelation, for ultimately it is the Spirit’s role to glorify Jesus, the focus of God’s revelation (John 1:14).65 Theologically, this could be interpreted proleptically, in terms of the unfolding of the in-​breaking kingdom of God, in the sense that “more will be revealed” to the disciples from God’s promised future. As an aspect of what it means to “walk alongside of,” the Paraclete will guide the disciples into a fuller awareness and understanding of the kingdom that has broken into the present through Christ’s death and resurrection. This offers a point of connection to the Paraclete as the one who guides us through “Holy Saturday” toward the resurrection life, which will not be experienced in its fullness until the kingdom arrives in its fullness, upon Jesus’ return. Cartledge suggests that one way to relate these ideas to public theology and ministry is to serve “social justice now as a participation in and an anticipation of the eschatological justice to come.”66 To do this requires that the church allow its voice to be empowered to speak authentically to a world that does not want to hear about injustice, violence, terror, and trauma to those who are created in the image of God, including the victims of sexual violence. A Pentecostal and charismatic understanding of the Paraclete’s ministry as “walking alongside of” in ways shaped both by God’s eschatological justice, and the love commandment, can be enriched by insights Rambo’s analysis offers. As we have seen, Rambo’s discussion of the Paraclete is shaped by the Johannine narratives describing the post-​resurrection appearances to Mary Magdalene and the Beloved Disciple, who encounter Jesus in their own “Holy Saturday,” as those who have experienced the traumatic death of their Lord but do not yet know of his resurrection. For Rambo, the Paraclete enables one to speak truth by giving witness to the trauma itself, but also accompanies—​ walks alongside of—​the survivor through the liminal (and at times, even hostile) space of Holy Saturday. Both the model of the Spirit as “co-​sufferer” and Rambo’s “middle Spirit” speak to the Spirit’s presence or accompaniment with the one who is suffering, but the form of accompaniment is somewhat different. In the co-​sufferer

65 66

Cartledge, “Spirit-​Empowered ‘Walking Alongside,’” 28. Cartledge, “Spirit-​Empowered ‘Walking Alongside,’” 33.

28 Peterson model, God is present with the one suffering in order to help her bear that suffering and feel God’s strength and ultimate victory throughout the ordeal. Daniel Castelo draws on the New Testament picture of Jesus’ own exercise of power, which reflect themes of “humiliation, longsuffering, and bearing,” in making the case that Pentecostals can understand spiritual empowerment for witness in ways that do not result in miraculous healings. For example, “spiritual empowerment” can “denote engaging in longsuffering so as to witness to the Spirit’s steadfast presence in the many dimensions of life,” specifically “to be aided by the Spirit to endure suffering and pain with the prospect that these do not have the final say on our lives’ meaning and significance.”67 For Rambo, the path forward is less clear, and the future less uncertain, as the Spirit leads one into the “middle space” of healing. Pentecostal Christians can affirm Rambo’s language here as descriptive of the experience of those survivors of trauma, where the future does seem uncertain and the path toward integration and healing may feel out of reach at times, without also having to affirm that God’s future is ultimately an “uncertain” one. Amy Carr suggests that “Rambo might find her own account of a Christian witness to remaining better developed if she were to reflect more forthrightly about both ends of the space she still calls ‘middle.’”68 Pentecostals would affirm the need in particular for reflection on the divine end or goal for creation, shown forth eschatologically by the in-​breaking of God’s kingdom in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Holy Saturday may be the space in which survivors of trauma find themselves inhabiting in order to begin their healing, but Holy Saturday ultimately gives way to Easter morning and the resurrection promise of new life and hope for the people of God. As Carr writes, “This larger Christian testimony suggests that insofar as God in Christ remains perpetually in Holy Saturday, always accompanying in the Spirit those locked in hell, God does so not only as a post-​traumatic Spirit of remaining in love, but also as one who raises from death and hell those who are united with Christ.”69 The work of Andrew Sung Park and Cheryl Bridges Johns are informative here. For Park, the Paraclete is the “wounded and resurrected Holy Spirit” in the liberative and healing work of the death and resurrection of Christ. He interprets the atonement as a Triune event, in which the Holy Spirit accompanies Jesus through the excruciating events of his trial, his torture, and his 67 68 69

Castelo, “What if Miracles don’t Happen?” 244–​245. Amy Carr, Extended Review of Spirit and Trauma: A Theology of Remaining, by Shelly Rambo, Conversations in Religion and Theology 9, no. 2 (Nov. 2011): 144. Carr, “Extended Review,” 145.

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crucifixion; the Holy Spirit grieves alongside of Jesus when he cries out to the Father on the cross. He writes, “With Jesus, the Holy Spirit sighed and was deeply wounded. The intensity of Jesus’ unfair execution developed han in the Holy Spirit.”70 Han is a Korean concept that resonates well with Rambo’s definition of trauma as the “suffering that remains.” Han, according to Park, is “a deep, unhealed wound of a victim that festers in her or him,” a “frustrated hope” that produces “sadness, resignation, resentment, and helplessness.”71 It is seen in victims of abuse and sexual violence, as well as other forms of oppression and dehumanization. Park goes on to say that the Paraclete who suffered han on the cross, and knows the depth of human suffering and pain, also accompanied Jesus in the resurrection, and experienced the exhilarating joy of the new life that it brings. Indeed, as Paul writes in Romans 8:11, the Spirit is the agent of the resurrection itself. Rambo’s refusal to root her pneumatology in the resurrection reflects her concern that the traditional narrative of redemption can too easily avoid the trauma of suffering and violence. Following Park, the Spirit who is the “giver of life” also was willing to go to the depths of pain and suffering with Jesus, the Son, as the Paraclete, accompanier, into the middle space of Holy Saturday, and who will accompany the survivor into a new life that does not gloss over the scars and the journey of healing. Cheryl Bridges Johns proposes a Spirit-​filled hermeneutic that offers a broader scriptural context for interpreting the transforming work of the Spirit that resonates in significant ways with Rambo’s proposal. While appreciative of other feminist approaches, she finds that they often fall short in not viewing scripture as a “vessel of God’s economy, a place where God’s Spirit comes to dwell,” and to accompany women in their marginalization and experiences of sexual violence and other abuse.72 She outlines the mystery of the Spirit’s three-​fold accompanying work in scripture: “grieving over brokenness, brooding over the chaos, and transforming creation.”73 Johns points to the feminine concept of Shekinah from the Hebrew Bible to connote “God’s willed presence among God’s people,” and accompaniment through “hostile territory.”74 This same grieving Spirit of Shekinah was also present with the women in the Biblical narratives who experienced sexual 70

Andrew Sung Park, Triune Atonement: Christ’s Healing for Sinner, Victims, and the Whole Creation (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 61. 71 Park, Triune Atonement, 39–​40. 72 Johns, “Grieving, Brooding, Transforming,” 151. 73 Johns, “Grieving, Brooding, Transforming,” 151. 74 Johns, “Grieving, Brooding, Transforming,” 151.

30 Peterson violence, and that in the reading of these texts today, “Shekinah is there, calling for us to go deeper through the doors of suspicion and deeper through the gates of remembrance into the realm of grief.”75 For the next movement, Johns draws on the biblical image of the Spirit as a “brooding, hovering, mother bird” who spreads her wings over the brokenness of creation. This calls for those who suffer to abide in their pain, and to wait in the darkness, “under the wings of the Spirit” in anticipation of the fullness of God’s transforming and healing power and love.76 This image resonates with Rambo’s idea of the “middle space” and directly evokes the image of the Spirit hovering over the abyss borrowed from Catherine Keller. The final movement of the Spirit is one of transformation. Through the ministry of the Word, the Spirit’s sanctifying light exposes the sin of sexism and patriarchy, eventually bringing the fullness of God’s new creation, and the possibility of new life. Rambo’s focus on the Spirit’s role in healing from trauma offers a similar movement that eventuates in transformation, as we have seen. 1.6

Conclusion

The purpose of this chapter was to explore what Shelly Rambo’s theology might contribute to Pentecostal responses to suffering, especially the trauma suffered by women who are victims of sexual and other forms of violence. Rambo’s concept of the “middle Spirit” offers an alternative to a common Pentecostal emphasis on a pneumatology of triumph, whereby the one who suffers immediately experiences full healing and victory over their suffering, or a pneumatology of the cross, in which the focus is more on the Spirit as co-​sufferer. Rambo’s interpretation of the Spirit in the liminal space of Holy Saturday, especially through the lens of the Johannine post-​resurrection appearances of Jesus to Mary Magdalene and the Beloved Disciple, offer new insights into Pentecostal understandings of witness, and the Spirit as Paraclete. Pentecostals can affirm with Rambo the Spirit as a witness to the truth of the “suffering that remains” from trauma, and especially sexual violence, and as the One who will accompany survivors into the promise of new life on the other side of Holy Saturday. I wish to thank Amy Carr, Joy Schroeder, and Lisa Stephenson who provided invaluable feedback on initial drafts of this chapter. I also wish to thank the volume editors for their additional, helpful constructive feedback.

75 76

Johns, “Grieving, Brooding, Transforming,” 152. Johns, “Grieving, Brooding, Transforming,” 152–​153.

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Bibliography

Alexander, Kimberly Ervin. Pentecostal Healing: Models in Theology and Practice. Journal of Pentecostal Supplement Series 29, General editor, John Christopher Thomas. Blanford Forum, Dorset, UK: Deo Publishing, 2006. Beste, Jennifer. God and the Victim: Traumatic Intrusions on Grace and Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Carr, Amy. “A Hermeneutics of Providence amid Affliction: Contributions by Luther and Weil to a Cruciform Doctrine of Providence.” Pro Ecclesia 16, no. 3 (2007): 278–​298. Carr, Amy. “Extended Review of Spirit and Trauma: A Theology of Remaining,” by Shelly Rambo. Conversations in Religion and Theology 9, no. 2 (2011): 141–​149. Cartledge, Mark J. “Spirit-​ Empowered ‘Walking Alongside:’ Towards a Renewal Theology of Public Life.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 27 (2018): 14–​36. Castelo, Daniel. “What if Miracles Don’t Happen? Empowerment for Longsuffering.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 23 (2014): 236–​245. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Sexual Violence is Preventable.” Accessed June 27, 2020. https://​www.cdc.gov/​inj​ury/​featu​res/​sex​ual-​viole​nce/​index.html. Estrada, Rodolfo Galvan, iii. “The Spirit as an Inner Witness in John 15:26.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 22 (2013): 77–​94. Fortune, Marie F. “The Transformation of Suffering: A Biblical and Theological Perspective.” In Violence against Women and Children: A Christian Theological Sourcebook, edited by Carol J. Adams and Marie F. Fortune, 85–​ 91. New York: Continuum, 1995. Gause, R. Hollis. Living in the Spirit: The Way of Salvation. Revised and expanded edition. Cleveland, TN: cpt Press, 2009. Green, Chris. “The Crucified God and the Groaning Spirit: Toward a Pentecostal TheologiaCrucis in Conversation with Jürgen Moltmann.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 19 (2010): 127–​142. Hall, Douglas John. God and Human Suffering: An Exercise in the Theology of the Cross. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1987. Hollingsworth, Andrea. “Spirit and Voice: Toward a Feminist Pentecostal Pneumatology.” Pneuma 29 (2009): 189–​213. Johns, Cheryl Bridges. “Grieving, Brooding, Transforming: The Spirit, the Bible, and Gender.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 23 (2014): 141–​153. Jones, Serene. Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. Langberg, Diane M. “What Every Minister Should Know about Sexual Abuse: A Counselor Shares Some Concerns.” In The Long Journey Home: Understanding and Ministering to the Sexually Abused, edited by Andrew J. Schmutzer, 224–​234. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2011.

32 Peterson Macchia, Frank D. “Sighs too Deep for Words: Toward a Theology of Glossolalia.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 1 (1992): 47–​73. McMahan, Oliver. “Grief Observed: Surprised by the Suffering of the Spirit.” In Passover, Pentecost, and Parousia: Studies in Celebration of the Life and Ministry of R. Hollis Gause, edited by Steven Jack Land, Rickie D. Moore, and John Christopher Thomas, 296–​314. Blandford Forum, Dorset, UK: Deo Publishing, 2010. Menzies, William. “Reflections on Suffering: A Pentecostal Perspective.” In The Spirit and Spirituality: Essays in Honor of Russel P. Spittler, edited by Wonsuk Ma and Robert P. Menzies, 141–​149. New York: T&T Clark, 2004. Nel, Marius. (2016). “The notion of the Holy Spirit as Paraclete from a Pentecostal perspective.” In die Skriflig 50, no. 1, a2095. Accessed June 27, 2020. doi: https://​doi.org/​ 10.4102/​ids.v50i1.2095. Park, Andrew Sung. Triune Atonement: Christ’s Healing for Sinner, Victims, and the Whole Creation. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. Peterson, Cheryl M. “Theology of the Cross and the Experience of God’s Presence: A Lutheran Response to Pentecostal Wonderings.” Dialog: A Journal of Theology 55, no. 4 (2016): 316–​323. Pierre, Elizabeth O. “Sexual Violence: The Sacred Witness of the Church.” Review and Expositor 115, No. 3 (2018): 362–​371. Rambo, Shelly. Spirit and Trauma: A Theology of Remaining. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010. Schroeder, Joy A. “Sexual Abuse and a Theology of Embodiment: Incarnating Healing.” In The Long Journey Home: Understanding and Ministering to the Sexually Abuse, edited by Andrew J. Schmutzer, 186–​196. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2011. Stefan, Crinisor. “The Paraclete and Prophecy in the Johannine Community.” Pneuma: The Journal for the Society of Pentecostal Studies 27, no. 2 (2005): 273–​296. Thomas, John Christopher. He Loved Them to the End: The Farewell Materials in the Gospel According to John. The Stanley Lectures. Cleveland, TN: cpt Press, 2015.

­c hapter 2

Toxic Spirituality

Reexamining the Ways in Which Spiritual Virtues Can Reinforce Violence Against Women Lisa P. Stephenson The qualities that Christianity idealizes, especially for women, are also those of a victim: sacrificial love, passive acceptance of suffering, humility, meekness, etc. … Given the victimized situation of the female in sexist society, these “virtues” are hardly the qualities that women should be encouraged to have.1

∵ Violence against women is described by the World Health Organization as a “major public health problem” and by the World Bank as a “global pandemic.”2 Given the statistics, these descriptions are not mere hyperbole. Global estimates indicate that about one in three women worldwide (35%) have experienced either physical and/​or sexual intimate partner violence or non-​partner sexual violence in their lifetime. In addition, as many as 38% of the murders of women are committed by a male intimate partner. Around the world, more than 700 million currently living women were married as children (below 18 years of age), with more than 250 million of those women being married before they were fifteen. Almost half of all human trafficking victims are adult women, and women and girls together account for approximately 70% of the

1 The fact that this quote is almost fifty years old, but still relevant today (at least among certain demographics of Christianity, including Pentecostalism) is troubling. Mary Daly, Beyond God the Father (Boston: Beacon Press, 1973), 77. Italics are mine. 2 World Health Organization, “Violence Against Women,” November 29, 2017, accessed February 5, 2020, https://​www.who.int/​news-​room/​fact-​she​ets/​det​ail/​viole​nce-​agai​nst -​women; The World Bank, “Gender-​Based Violence (Violence Against Women and Girls),” September 25, 2019, accessed February 5, 2020, https://​www.worldb​ank.org/​en/​topic/​social​ deve​lopm​ent/​brief/​viole​nce-​agai​nst-​women-​and-​girls.

© Lisa P. Stephenson, 2022 | DOI:10.1163/9789004513204_004

34 Stephenson total victims. And at least 200 million women and girls alive today have suffered female genital mutilation.3 Elaine Storkey helps to put all of these numbers into perspective by noting that, “As the statistics calmly tell us, acts of violence to women aged between 15–​44 across the globe produce more deaths, disability and mutilation than cancer, malaria and traffic accidents combined.”4 A brief from the United Nations’ entity called “UN Women” summarizes the effects of all of this brutality and notes that the impact ranges from immediate to long-​term physical, sexual and mental health consequences for women and girls, including death. It negatively affects women’s general well-​being and prevents women from fully participating in society. Violence not only has long-​lasting consequences for women but also their families, the community and the country at large.5 Failure to address this significant crisis is not an option, but what can the Pentecostal church do about it? There are many fronts Pentecostalism can involve itself in to fight against this injustice. However, rather than merely looking outside of its four walls to fix the problem it must also turn inward and reexamine the ways in which it has been silent to the abuse and even, at times, encouraged it. Though this may seem a harsh accusation at first impression, when reading accounts of women who have suffered violence—​especially domestic violence—​and then sought help in the church, a reoccurring theme is that too often certain Christian virtues are invoked to silence the woman and avoid dealing with the violence. And, while there can be merit to these virtues, in certain contexts their application can be toxic when defined in particular ways. This is the case especially in situations of violence against women when they are wrongfully used to encourage suffering and elicit forgiveness.6 3 World Health Organization, “Violence Against Women;” UN Women, “Ending Violence Against Women and Girls,” accessed February 5, 2020, https://​www.unwo​men.org/​-​/​media/​ headq​uart​ers/​atta​chme​nts/​secti​ons/​libr​ary/​publi​cati​ons/​2013/​12/​un%20wo​men%20e​ vaw-​themb​rief​_​us-​web-​rev9%20pdf.pdf?la=​en. Catherine Clark Kroeger and Nancy Nason-​ Clark detail by country the abuse women endure in No Place for Abuse: Biblical and Practical Resources to Counteract Domestic Violence, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove: ivp Books, 2010), 20–​45. 4 Elaine Storkey, Scars Across Humanity: Understanding and Overcoming Violence Against Women (Downers Grove: ivp Academic, 2018), 2. 5 UN Women, “Ending Violence Against Women and Girls.” 6 While “violence” against women is frequently associated with physical abuse, in this chapter I am also using it as an umbrella term to include verbal and emotional abuse too. All of these acts against women are equally destructive, though they manifest differently.

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Therefore, in this chapter I will seek to bring to light why certain spiritual virtues unwittingly undermine women’s wellbeing and demonstrate how these virtues can be toxic in situations of abuse and violence. I will proceed by examining Christianity’s emphasis on the spiritual virtues of suffering and forgiveness, expounding on how and why these virtues become toxic in situations of violence and abuse. Then, not wanting to abandon these spiritual virtues altogether, I will offer alternative renderings that prove to be more beneficial. Given both the plight of violence against women globally and the pervasive spread of Pentecostalism worldwide, this faith tradition especially has a responsibility to attend to the language and models of Christian spirituality that they are promoting in order to confront and oppose violence against women rather than enabling it. 2.1

Toxic Spirituality

Carolyn Holderread Heggen, a Christian psychotherapist, identifies several religious beliefs that she claims are related to the abuse of women based on what she has observed in her clients’ narratives and in the further research she has conducted. While she is careful to note that the religious beliefs alone do not necessarily cause abuse, she maintains that when they interact with other factors they help constitute an environment prone to abuse while simultaneously dampening women’s wills to defend themselves and their children. Among the five beliefs that Holderread Heggen lists, only two will be examined in this chapter. The first belief is that suffering is a Christian virtue. The second is that Christians must promptly forgive those who sin against them.7 Both of these beliefs embody spiritual virtues or disciplines that Christians have historically prized. It is important, therefore, to give due attention to the way in which these virtues have become central to Christianity and the manner in which they have been deployed in order to understand more fully their harmfulness in situations of violence and abuse. To this we now turn. 2.1.1 Suffering: Spiritual Masochism The act of suffering is not foreign to Christian spirituality given the centrality of the cross and historic emphasis on the redemptive nature of Christ’s suffering. 7 The other three beliefs are the following: God intends for men to dominate and for women and children to submit; woman is morally inferior to man because of her role in the Fall; and marriage must be preserved at all costs. See Carolyn Holderread Heggen, Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches (Scottdale: Herald Press, 1993), 82–​97.

36 Stephenson However, the problem arises when the cross is made into a symbol of virtue for all suffering. A masochistic view of suffering is one that encourages patiently enduring whatever suffering comes one’s way rather than seeking to eliminate it.8 Patricia Wismer claims that women especially are susceptible to perpetuating a masochistic view of suffering because of their socialization and religious training. Heggen agrees with her and refers to it as the “doctrine of feminine suffering.” By this she means that women see themselves as more naturally fitting for the role of “suffering servant” because they perceive themselves to be capable of suffering more patiently and nobly than men.9 This attitude can be heard in sentiments like “Men could never have babies because they would not be able to endure the pain,” and “Men are big babies when sick; we women just push through it.” In this kind of environment, females tend to see abuse as their cross to bear, as their way of identifying with the sufferings of Christ. This may result in a pattern of endurance which minimizes the offensiveness of abuse and fosters the acceptance of victimization.10 An example of this approach in a situation of violence against women among Pentecostalism is when a mother encouraged her daughter to remain in an abusive relationship by saying, continue praying for him because there is nothing God cannot change. God does not like divorce. God went through the same suffering but did not quit. Accept him. He is in the process of changing. He will become better.11 Moreover, Meredith Fraser recounts the ‘testimony’ of a woman who was an evangelist’s wife and was recommending herself as a role model to other 8 Heggen, Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches, 94; Patricia L. Wismer, “For Women in Pain: A Feminist Theology of Suffering,” in In the Embrace of God: Feminist Approaches to Theological Anthropology, ed. Ann O’Hara Graff (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 1995), 143. 9 Female suffering can be closely intertwined with ideas of female submission. When females are taught that part of being a woman is submitting to men, then continuing to subsist in suffering is another form of being submissive. 10 Heggen, Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Church, 94; Wismer, “For Women in Pain,” 143. 11 Isabel Apawo Phiri, “Domestic Violence in Christian Homes: A Durban Case Study,” Journal for the Study of Religion 14, no. 2 (2001): 95. Italics added. The research for this case study was conducted in a Pentecostal church in South Africa.

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Pentecostal women, especially pastor’s wives. She and her husband had traveled from Australia to Tennessee for him to preach. In getting ready for the service that evening the husband had asked the wife to iron his shirt. Not happy with his wife’s efforts, he verbally and emotionally abused her multiple times until she got it ‘right.’ According to the wife, the church service that night was successful because the power of God was felt and lives were changed. In reflecting on the incident in third person, the wife says, Jesus never said He would make life easy for His people. … They never knew the kind of price that was paid for their salvation. The price was paid at Calvary once and for all, but there are personal Calvarys [sic] that no one ever knows about. You may be asking, was it all worth the pain? … she knows her life was deeply enriched for having been privileged to be part of that ministry. Yes, she would do it all again if she had to …12 With a masochistic view of suffering, not only is abuse glorified, but it is understood to be salvific and sanctifying for some. That is, the abuse may serve to save the perpetrator’s soul or to purify the victims. One client told Heggen: If my gentle spirit in the midst of his violence finally causes him to see the face of Jesus in me, every blow I have sustained throughout our marriage will have been worth it.13 Another client who had suffered violent battery throughout her thirty years of marriage said, The one advantage of my husband’s abuse is that I don’t expect to spend long in purgatory after I die; I’ve already been refined and prepared for heaven by my years of hell on earth.14 12

13 14

While many women are no longer expected to iron their husband’s shirts, the point of the example is not what the wife was being asked to do but how she was then treated by her husband and her interpretation of that treatment. Meredith Fraser, “A Feminist Theological Analysis of White Pentecostal Australian Women and Marital Abuse,” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 19, no. 2 (Fall 2003): 163–​64. This story was published in Women by Design, a glossy Australian Pentecostal women’s magazine. Carolyn Holderread Heggen, “Religious Beliefs and Abuse,” in Women, Abuse and the Bible: How Scripture Can be Used to Hurt or to Heal, ed. Catherine Clark Kroeger and James R. Beck (Carlisle, UK: Paternoster Press, 1998), 23. Heggen, “Religious Beliefs and Abuse,” 23. Persons experiencing suffering usually want to know why they are suffering, seeking both the cause of it and the meaning or purpose. Identifying salvific and sanctifying elements in the suffering offers an existential meaning

38 Stephenson Similarly, a victim of domestic abuse was told by her pastor that “Each time your husband hits you … just think of it as an opportunity to be a little closer to Jesus and the angels.”15 2.1.2 Forgiveness: Cheap Grace Like suffering, forgiveness is also a central focus within Christian spirituality. However, the problem arises when the process of healing is conflated into the sole act of forgiveness, and forgiveness itself is considered the ultimate goal. Regrettably, forgiveness that has been short-​circuited is merely cheap grace and, in the end, is not helpful for the victim or the perpetrator. Meredith Fraser notes that this is confirmed among Australian Pentecostal women who have found that consistent forgiveness only empowers their husbands’ poor behavior.16 Encouragement for the victim to forgive their perpetrator is a frequent spiritual cliché offered to Christian victims of violence. Moreover, they are not only strongly encouraged to forgive, but to do so quickly and to move on. This is the case especially when the perpetrator and victim are both members of the same religious community because the unresolved conflict makes everyone uncomfortable. The brokenness in the individual situation affects the broader Christian community. Fraser tells the story of a Pentecostal woman, who had endured consistently vicious and degrading verbal abuse coupled with life-​threatening terror for years [and] was told by her pastor, when she sought help, that men are like gas ovens and women are like electric ovens. Her pastor told her to forgive her husband for his years of unrelenting torment and to go home and make love to him. She reported that she nearly vomited as she received this advice.17 Julia Baird and Hayley Gleeson share a horrific domestic abuse case of a woman named Sally who suffered verbal, physical, and sexual abuse from her

15 16 17

or purpose to the victim, even if it is grossly distorted. As such, it can serve as a coping mechanism. See Marie M. Fortune, “The Transformation of Suffering: A Biblical and Theological Perspective,” in Violence Against Women and Children: A Christian Theological Sourcebook, ed. Carol J. Adams and Marie M. Fortune (New York: Continuum, 1995), 85–​89. Joy M. K. Bussert, Battered Women: From a Theology of Suffering to an Ethic of Empowerment (New York: Division for Mission in North America, 1986), 64. Fraser, “A Feminist Theological Analysis of White Pentecostal Australian Women and Marital Abuse,” 158. Fraser, “A Feminist Theological Analysis of White Pentecostal Australian Women and Marital Abuse,” 154.

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husband for years. When she turned to her Pentecostal church for comfort and help, the counselors there told her simply to forgive him.18 Steven Tracy relays the story of an adolescent girl who had been sexually molested by a church leader for years. Finally gathering the courage to disclose, she detailed the abuse in a letter and gave it to her pastor. Upon receiving it, the pastor called her into his office, took out the letter, ripped it up in front of her, and told her that God commands us to forgive and forget. He then charged her with the sin of unforgiveness. The abuse continued on for several more years.19 Within Pentecostalism the added belief of positive confession adds a further complexity to the issue. That is, some Pentecostals subscribe to a cosmology that maintains that one can call into existence things that do not exist (cf. Rom 4:17). And, in the case of female violence, abused and violated women engage in the process of forgiving and acting as if nothing is wrong as they call into existence what is not by pretending that it is.20 Failure on behalf of the victim to offer immediate forgiveness can lead to shame and condemnation—​feelings that are self-​inflicted by the victim, as well as the religious community at large. One of Heggen’s clients, who had suffered severe sexual and physical abuse by her father, said that when she shared her story with her pastor he told her, “Only a bitter, self-​pitying woman would even remember these things after all those years.”21 Failure of the victim to offer immediate forgiveness can also lead to a fear on behalf of the victim that God will not forgive her. This charge is sometimes used by the perpetrator himself to silence or control the victim, or by others offering counsel into the situation. Heggen recounts the story of a sexually abused victim who said, My dad would come into my room and fondle me at night. Before he’d even leave, he would demand I forgive him. He said that if I ever told anyone, even when I was an adult, it meant that I hadn’t really forgiven him. I would go to hell because God wouldn’t forgive me.22

18

Julia Baird and Hayley Gleeson, “‘Submitting to Your Husbands’: Women Told to Endure Domestic Violence in the Name of God,” abc News, October 21, 2018, accessed May 14, 2020, https://​www.abc.net.au/​news/​2017-​07-​18/​domes​tic-​viole​nce-​chu​rch-​sub​mit-​to -​husba​nds/​8652​028?nw=​0. 19 Steven Tracy, “Sexual Abuse and Forgiveness,” Journal of Psychology and Theology 27, no. 3 (1999): 219. 20 Fraser, “A Feminist Theological Analysis of White Pentecostal Australian Women and Marital Abuse,” 154. 21 Heggen, “Religious Beliefs and Abuse,” 24. 22 Heggen, Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches, 96.

40 Stephenson 2.2

Reweaving the Virtues: A Way Forward

2.2.1 From Endurance to Empowerment As noted earlier, an emphasis on suffering and forgiveness has led too many women to endure the suffering they face. They have accepted victimization and sought ways to coexist with the violence. Commenting on this, Marie Fortune says, Victims are encouraged to endure when support and advocacy to get away from the violence are not provided, when they are told to go home and keep praying, and when they are expected to keep the family together even though the violence continues and they are in danger. This “doormat theology” teaches that it is God’s will that people suffer and the only option is to endure it. There is no space to question or challenge the suffering that comes from this injustice, to feel anger, or to act to change’s one’s circumstance. The result of this theology is that a victim remains powerless and victimized and her/​his physical, psychological, and spiritual survival are jeopardized. This understanding of the meaning of suffering comforts the comfortable and afflicts the afflicted but ignores the demands of a God who seeks justice and promises abundance of life.23 In light of this, Fortune maintains that a more helpful way to approach the experience of suffering—​especially in the instance of violence against women—​is to distinguish between voluntary and involuntary suffering. Voluntary suffering is a painful experience, but one that is chosen by the individual and, thus, optional. This kind of suffering is entered into for the purpose of accomplishing a greater good; it is part of a particular strategy toward a focused goal. For example, people choose to participate in civil disobedience, which has resulted in violence, imprisonment, and sometimes even death for these activists. While the consequences of their participation are unwarranted, they are not altogether unexpected. People chose to endure this kind of suffering in order to change the unjust circumstances surrounding them; circumstances that are causing even greater suffering for many others.24 Involuntary suffering, on the other hand, is inexcusable under any circumstance. It is not chosen by the individual but inflicted by someone else against the victim’s own will. This kind of suffering is the result of another person’s sin

23 24

Fortune, “The Transformation of Suffering,” 89. Fortune, “The Transformation of Suffering,” 87–​88.

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41

and does not serve any useful purpose other than to cause pain and destruction. It is not justified and there is no greater good. And, while it is certainly possible to feel God’s presence amidst involuntary suffering, this does not then signify that one should idealize this kind of suffering. Many victims of violence come out of their experience with crushed spirits and profound emotional, spiritual, and physical pain; not to mention those who actually lose their lives. Violence against women is a form of involuntary suffering and, as such, should not be endured. To fail to reject this kind of brutality is not only detrimental to the victim, but to the perpetrator as well because it allows the perpetrator to continue in his sin. Endurance that accepts the violence ignores the perpetrator’s sinfulness and does not hold him responsible. This acquiescence on the part of the victim deprives the perpetrator of an opportunity to repent and seek help.25 Viewing the event of the cross through the lens of voluntary/​involuntary suffering decidedly rejects the notion that women should continue in their suffering, irrespective of one’s Christological views. This is more explicit among those who resist traditional atonement views and opt to understand the cross as an execution caused by socio-​political tensions (e.g., feminist and liberation theologies). As such, Christ is understood to be the victim of the unjust actions of others and his suffering on the cross must be categorized as involuntary and, thus, to be avoided. But even among those who maintain traditional atonement views that Jesus was a willing, sacrificial victim whose death was either willed by God or necessary to propitiate God, Christ’s suffering is not congruent with that of women’s suffering. From this perspective, Christ willingly submitted to the suffering for a cosmic redemptive cause and, as such, Christ’s suffering is categorically “voluntary” and different from women’s “involuntary” suffering. Thus, regardless of which atonement paradigm one subscribes to, the cross cannot be used to legitimize violence against women and their perpetual suffering in such circumstances.26 Consequently, rather than adopt an ethic of endurance towards involuntary suffering—​which makes one a perpetual victim—​one should seek an ethic of empowerment—​which means moving from a victim to a survivor. An ethic of empowerment entails at least two facets: making justice and healing the brokenness. With respect to the first, the victim must fight back against her 25 26

Fortune, “The Transformation of Suffering,” 87–​89. Focusing only on the event of the cross when looking at Jesus’ life is to miss the other situations where Jesus was subjected to potential situations of suffering and violence but defended himself against it or avoided it (Mark 3:22–​30; Luke 4:28–​30; John 8:48–​59; 10:31–​39). See Kroeger and Nason-​Clark, No Place for Abuse, 128.

42 Stephenson situation. She must resist endurance and passivity in the face of involuntary suffering and exhibit a passion for justice in the presence of injustice. She must begin to believe that the way things are is not the way that they have to be or should be. And she must embrace righteous anger in the face of evil. With respect to the second, the victim must find a way forward for herself personally. To do so means to shift one’s focus from the cross to the resurrection in order to see how new life can emerge from the suffering endured.27 The resurrection maintains that even in the midst of profound suffering, God is present and new life is possible. While the resurrection does not justify involuntary suffering, it brings hope that it can be redeemed.28 2.2.2 From Forgiveness to Healing Forgiveness is a spiritual resource available to those who have suffered violence. But, as noted above, it has been abused and the responsibility for reconciliation between perpetrator and victim has been placed solely on the victim. A way forward that does not abandon the significance of forgiveness within Christian spirituality and that is attentive to the needs of the victim, is to broaden one’s framework from one of forgiveness to one of healing. Healing is a process and forgiveness is one aspect of that process—​as such, it is one of the last steps and not the first. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus mentions forgiveness and notes the preliminary steps:

27

28

Whereas some want to see the cross as a sign of comfort in the midst of suffering—​ because Jesus is one who identifies with those who are oppressed and those who suffer—​ and mean well by trying to connect the cross to situations of violence against women, in this context these sorts of platitudes tend to be received in such a way that glorifies suffering and reinforces women’s belief that it is “Christ-​like” to remain in a violent relationship. Hence, the need to shift from the cross to the resurrection. See Bussert, Battered Women, 65–​66. Fortune, “The Transformation of Suffering,” 90–​91; Bussert, Battered Women, 65–​66. While there is hope that one’s painful suffering and experience can be redeemed, Fortune notes that this is a retrospective insight. As such, initially victims will not view their experience this way and this should not be forced on the victims. “As victims cope with the crisis, reflect on their experience, and integrate their responses, then they may start to experience redemption of the suffering. This process is a long one. … In the recovery process, and with constructive support, most victims do come to the conclusion that they have grown emotionally and spiritually from the experience. However, realization should not be put forth prematurely.” See Marie Marshall Fortune, Sexual Violence: The Unmentionable Sin (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 1983), 197–​200.

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If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying, “I repent,” you must forgive them. luke 17:3–​4, niv29

Here rebuke and repent precede forgiveness. Fortune suggests that these prerequisites are best understood as elements of justice. Forgiveness before justice is “cheap grace” and cannot contribute to authentic healing and restoration to wholeness for the victim or for the offender. It cuts the healing process short and may well perpetrate the cycle of abuse. It also undercuts the redemption of abusers by preventing them from being accountable for their abusive behavior.30 Pamela Cooper-​White even suggests that premature forgiveness is actually tacit permission—​and perhaps even an invitation—​to continue violence.31 The path to justice begins with the perpetrator acknowledging the damage that has been done. When one is confronted, one is called to accountability for unjust acts. To confess is to take responsibility for those unjust acts. Next, repentance—​understood as a fundamental change—​is needed. Not only is this harder, but it requires time, difficult work, therapy or treatment, and accountability. Fundamental change is not expressed in words, but in actions that prove oneself over the course of time.32 Besides changed behavior, true

29

Admittedly there are many different texts within scripture concerning forgiveness that one could use and the biblical concept of forgiveness is complex. However, I am choosing this text because it is representative of what one finds when considering the whole of scripture on the issue. See Tracy, “Sexual Abuse and Forgiveness,” 219–​29; Frederick W. Keene, “Structures of Forgiveness in the New Testament,” in Violence Against Women and Children: A Christian Theological Sourcebook, ed. Carol J. Adams and Marie M. Fortune (New York: Continuum, 1995), 121–​34. 30 Marie M. Fortune, “Forgiveness: The Last Step,” in Violence Against Women and Children: A Christian Theological Sourcebook, ed. Carol J. Adams and Marie M. Fortune (New York: Continuum, 1995), 202. 31 Pamela Cooper-​White, The Cry of Tamar: Violence Against Women and the Church’s Response (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995), 256–​57. 32 An apology is not a sure indicator of repentance, especially in the case of violence against women. As Lenore Walker’s well-​known “cycle of violence” highlights, it is to be predicted that there will be a “honeymoon” phase after the violence. But any kind and contrite behavior may just be a temporary reprieve that at some point will be followed again by another incident. See Cooper-​White, The Cry of Tamar, 106–​07; Lenore E. Walker, The Battered Woman (New York: Harper & Row, 1979), 55–​70.

44 Stephenson repentance also involves a desire to make amends for the sin and to bear the consequence of the abuse. While there is nothing that can be done or given to the victim to make up for the pain, suffering, and loss, some form of restitution on behalf of the perpetrator can be an important further step. In this step restitution should require a sacrifice on the part of the perpetrator that should benefit the victim. This can, and frequently does, take the form of providing materially for the restoration of those harmed (e.g., paying for medical expenses, housing costs, or therapy that the victim has to undergo because of the abuse), but is not necessarily limited to that. Restitution is not retribution, but a very concrete and symbolic act of justice-​making.33 In situations in which the perpetrator is unwilling or unavailable to be subject to the process above, it becomes the responsibility of the wider community (family, friends, church, and legal system) to make justice for the victim. Fortune suggests the following four elements as necessary for justice. First, others must acknowledge the harm done to the victim, communicating their belief in her and outrage at the situation. Second, others must deal with the offense and break the silence that has surrounded it. Third, others must listen to the whole story and avoid minimizing the seriousness of the situation. Fourth, others must protect any who might be at risk of further violence from the perpetrator. This includes separating women and children from violent men until the home is made safe again. Through these actions, the victim will feel heard and supported.34 It is only after progress has been made towards justice—​either by the perpetrator or the community at large—​that the victim can then enter the stage of forgiveness. Before defining what forgiveness is, it is helpful to delineate what it is not. It is not forgetfulness; victims will not forget experiences of violence and abuse, but they can be put into perspective so that they no longer dominate one’s life. It is not excusing the abuse, pretending that it is okay. It is not absolving the offender because this is not the victim’s responsibility; absolution is something only God can extend.35 It is not spiritualizing the abuse and should not be used as a way to try and avoid dealing with the pain of the situation. It

33 34 35

Fortune, “Forgiveness,” 202; Heggen, Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches, 121–​26. Fortune, “Forgiveness,” 202–​03. Steven Tracy denotes three types of forgiveness expressed in the bible: judicial (the pardoning of forgiveness by God), psychological (an inner, personal forgiveness), and relational (an outward forgiveness). While victims can extend psychological and relational forgiveness, they are not responsible for judicial forgiveness. Only God can remit sin. See Tracy, “Sexual Abuse and Forgiveness,” 221–​22.

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is not becoming a doormat and giving in to men’s tendency to dominate and overpower others, and women’s tendency to give up too much for too little in return. It is not trusting the abuser, because trust and forgiveness are two different processes.36 It is not a circumvention to anger and should not be used as a mask of niceness and harmony.37 Instead, to forgive is a conscious decision of the victim to let go of the intense emotional pain associated with her abuse and replace it with inner resolution and peace. Forgiveness disarms the power of abuse to continue causing pain and turmoil and revictimization.38 And this step of healing must be carried out according to the victim’s timetable. As Heggen notes, forgiveness itself is a process that usually occurs in a spiraling movement rather than linear. It may proceed with the Spirit’s gentle first nudgings, to determined attempts to release the anger, then back to struggles with pain, then more strength and commitment to let go of the captivating power of despair. With time and healing, the central painful core exerts less controlling power. With each circuit, the victims [sic] finds herself at a higher, freer level than the last.39 Along with forgiving the perpetrator, many victims also need to forgive themselves and release themselves from self-​blame and condemnation.40 Finally, reconciliation is the last step in the process of healing. Unlike forgiveness—​which can take place even in situations where the perpetrator denies the abuse and personal culpability—​reconciliation requires both parties. When the perpetrator has confessed, repented, and sought restitution, and when the victim has processed through the stage of forgiveness, then

36 Heggen, Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches, 126–​29. 37 Anger is a healthy response to victimization and a part of the natural process of recovery and healing. To short-​circuit it produces denial and repression. See Fortune, Sexual Violence, 204–​08; Ellen Bass and Laura Davis, The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, 3rd ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 1994), 133–​43; Carroll Saussy, The Gift of Anger: A Call to Faithful Action (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995), 65–​112; Carroll Saussy and Barbara J. Clarke, “The Healing Power of Anger,” in Through the Eyes of Women: Insights for Pastoral Care, ed. Jeanne Stevenson Moessner (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), 107–​22. 38 Heggen, Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches, 129–​30. 39 Heggen, Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches, 132. 40 Cooper-​White, The Cry of Tamar, 258–​59.

46 Stephenson the two parties can seek to restore the relationship that was damaged or lost. Reconciliation is a worthwhile goal but is not always possible to achieve.41 2.3

Conclusion

Change does not come easily, and the virtues of suffering and forgiveness mentioned above are long-​standing traits of Christian spirituality. However, the Pentecostal church must attend to the ways in which these virtues are constructed and deployed within its spirituality. Pentecostalism can no longer continue to be complicit in acts of violence against women and must seek to rectify its own teachings and actions that undermine women’s wellbeing. As one scholar notes, It will be uncomfortable to look at the ways in which some of our deepest beliefs may jeopardize the well-​being of women and children. However, the cost of perpetuating a theology which may violate some of our most vulnerable people is great indeed. We dare no longer overlook that price.42

Bibliography

Baird, Julia and Hayley Gleeson. “‘Submitting to Your Husbands’: Women Told to Endure Domestic Violence in the Name of God.” abc News. October 21, 2018. Accessed May 14, 2020. https://​www.abc.net.au/​news/​2017-​07-​18/​domes​tic-​viole​nce-​chu​rch-​sub​ mit-​to-​husba​nds/​8652​028?nw=​0. Bass, Ellen and Laura Davis. The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. 3rd ed. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Bussert, Joy M. K. Battered Women: From a Theology of Suffering to an Ethic of Empowerment. New York: Division for Mission in North America, 1986. Cooper-​White, Pamela. The Cry of Tamar: Violence Against Women and the Church’s Response. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995. Daly, Mary. Beyond God the Father. Boston: Beacon Press, 1973.

41 Heggen, Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches, 133–​34. To view a similar process of healing see Tracy, “Sexual Abuse and Forgiveness,” 225–​27. 42 Heggen, Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches, 97.

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Fortune, Marie M. “Forgiveness: The Last Step.” In Violence Against Women and Children: A Christian Theological Sourcebook. Edited by Carol J. Adams and Marie M. Fortune, 201–​06. New York: Continuum, 1995. Fortune, Marie M. “The Transformation of Suffering: A Biblical and Theological Perspective.” In Violence Against Women and Children: A Christian Theological Sourcebook. Edited by Carol J. Adams and Marie M. Fortune, 85–​ 91. New York: Continuum, 1995. Fortune, Marie Marshall. Sexual Violence: The Unmentionable Sin. Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 1983. Fraser, Meredith. “A Feminist Theological Analysis of White Pentecostal Australian Women and Marital Abuse.” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 19, no. 2 (2003): 145–​67. Heggen, Carolyn Holderread. Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches. Scottdale: Herald Press, 1993. Heggen, Carolyn Holderread. “Religious Beliefs and Abuse.” In Women, Abuse and the Bible: How Scripture Can be Used to Hurt or to Heal. Edited by Catherine Clark Kroeger and James R. Beck, 15–​27. Carlisle, UK: Paternoster Press, 1998. Keene, Frederick W. “Structures of Forgiveness in the New Testament.” In Violence Against Women and Children: A Christian Theological Sourcebook. Edited by Carol J. Adams and Marie M. Fortune, 121–​34. New York: Continuum, 1995. Kroeger, Catherine Clark and Nancy Nason-​Clark. No Place for Abuse: Biblical and Practical esources to Counteract Domestic Violence. 2nd ed. Downers Grove: ivp Books, 2010. Phiri, Isabel Apawo. “Domestic Violence in Christian Homes: A Durban Case Study.” Journal for the Study of Religion 14, no. 2 (2001): 85–​101. Saussy, Carroll. The Gift of Anger: A Call to Faithful Action. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995. Saussy, Carroll and Barbara J. Clarke. “The Healing Power of Anger.” In Through the Eyes of Women: Insights for Pastoral Care. Edited by Jeanne Stevenson Moessner, 107–​22. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996. Storkey, Elaine. Scars Across Humanity: Understanding and Overcoming Violence Against Women. Downers Grove: ivp Academic, 2018. Tracy, Steven. “Sexual Abuse and Forgiveness.” Journal of Psychology and Theology 27, no. 3 (1999): 219–​29. UN Women. “Ending Violence Against Women and Girls.” Accessed February 5, 2020, https://​www.unwo​men.org/​-​/​media/​headq​uart​ers/​atta​chme​nts/​secti​ons/​libr​ary/​ publi​cati​ons/​2013/​12/​un%20wo​men%20e​vaw-​themb​rief​_​us-​web-​rev9%20pdf .pdf?la=​en. Walker, Lenore E. The Battered Woman. New York: Harper & Row, 1979.

48 Stephenson Wismer, Patricia L. “For Women in Pain: A Feminist Theology of Suffering.” In In the Embrace of God: Feminist Approaches to Theological Anthropology. Edited by Ann O’Hara Graff, 138–​58. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 1995. The World Bank. “Gender-​Based Violence (Violence Against Women and Girls).” September 25, 2019. Accessed February 5, 2020. https://​www.worldb​ank.org/​en/​ topic/​social​deve​lopm​ent/​brief/​viole​nce-​agai​nst-​women-​and-​girls. World Health Organization. “Violence Against Women.” November 29, 2017. Accessed February 5, 2020. https://​www.who.int/​news-​room/​fact-​she​ets/​det​ail/​viole​nce-​agai​ nst-​women.

­c hapter 3

Nevertheless, She Persisted

Freeing Women’s Bodies from Silent Theological Sacrifice Zones Tanya Riches Historically, Christian theologies have constructed and maintained boundaries between sacred and public space in particular ways, but notably by prescribing or recommending gender roles within the family, church, and society. Many of the early pentecostal women were trailblazers who founded the global movement.1 However, in response to continuing challenges to female leadership within global pentecostalism (and Christianity more broadly), pentecostal theology has felt the need to re-​examine the role of women in public ministry. Such examination is important in light of a theological commitment to the Spirit’s role authorizing women for ministry in the church. This chapter adopts an ethnographic approach to argue beyond this point and demonstrate how Spirit-​ empowered women’s ministry today plays a vital role outside the church—​or in public.2 Here, women’s ministry space is shown to play a role in empowering women to redress silence on social issues such as domestic and family violence. This chapter also examines the theological and social implications of excluding women’s voices in church and society, arguing that a pentecostal theology suitable for proclamation in the polis today must take into account the gendered issues omitted from many Western churches and preaching pulpits. In other words, the thesis of this chapter is that, in addition to facilitating segregated spaces for women’s theologizing, the church must intentionally mainstream women’s voices and the issues that affect them. This chapter, therefore, situates “mainstreaming” as a work of the Spirit globally.3

1 Jacqui Grey, “Torn Stockings and Enculturation: Women Pastors in the Australian Assemblies of God.” Australasian Pentecostal Studies 5/​6 (2002), 48. 2 Amos Yong. “What Spirit(s), Which Public(s)? The Pneumatologies of Global Pentecostal-​ Charismatic Christianity.” International Journal of Public Theology 7 (2013): 241. 3 Irene Guijt and Meera Kaul Shah. The Myth of Community: Gender Issues in Participatory Development. (London: Intermediate Technology Publications, 1998), 46; also, Annie Hoogvelt. Globalization and the Postcolonial World: The New Political Economy of Development. (London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001), 54.

© Tanya Riches, 2022 | DOI:10.1163/9789004513204_005

50 Riches 3.1

The Global Context

The #metoo movement became a global phenomenon in 2017 when survivors of sexual and physical abuse raised their voices on social media in solidarity in pursuit of more structural justice in the law courts and policy. The #itstime campaign by the film industry and subsequent convictions of prominent producer Harvey Weinstein were direct outcomes of this activism. In government, the phrase “nevertheless she persisted” was meaningfully adopted as a feminist meme following Senator Elizabeth Warren’s objection to Senator Jeff Session’s appointment as US Attorney General due to his human rights record. Warren was cautioned by the Presiding Senate Chair, Steve Daines while reading aloud a letter from Coretta Scott King. Despite gaining permission to continue, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell interrupted, ultimately leading to the silencing of Warren’s voice during the confirmation hearings. After the event, McConnell tellingly stated, “…she was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.” Following this, US women’s history month adopted this phrase as its slogan in 2018. It served as a strong message (perhaps, a prophetic utterance) for women who continue to speak out for their sisters’ justice in public life. The persistence of women to continue to vocalize in public space can here be contrasted against a continued silencing of women’s issues. As the 2020 sps conference theme noted, arguably, there is still a need for a #churchtoo reckoning in which these learnings are adopted and applied to church theologies and structures. 3.2

Method

This chapter attempts theologically engaged sociology informed by contemporary feminist social research. There are various barriers to undertaking such a quest. Notably, as Jeff Hearn admits, sociology has failed to grapple with violence within intimate or domestic relationships.4 He articulates a complex representation of domination or the “hegemonic masculinity” embedded in social formations, which is (variously) reproduced in the power dynamics of “structure, practice, process, and outcome.” As noted earlier, similar relevant concerns can be raised for the discipline of theology and how theological concepts

4 Jeff Hearn. “The Sociological Significance of Domestic Violence: The Implications” Current Sociology 61, no. 2 (2013): 152.

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are applied or preached within pastoral ministry. Therefore, this chapter suggests “sacrifice zones” as a useful concept for explaining the silence across these disciplines regarding domestic or intimate partner violence. I draw on the concept specifically to describe a lack of public theologizing around this issue, which is relevant to both genders but disproportionately affects women. This chapter also observes how the Spirit is overcoming this silence within religious practice in Sydney, Australia. In the two aforementioned disciplines, arguably, ethnography provides enough broad convergence for discussion and fruitful comparison. For example, Andrew Buckser notes the significance of theological (religious) ideas for constructing the notion of public and private space.5 Correspondingly, Pentecostal scholars such as Leah Payne6 and Joy Qualls7 note how Pentecostal women ministers defied the gendered dynamics of space to preach., This chapter relies on ethnographic research to construct its narrative. It first outlines the concept of “sacrifice zones” before highlighting resonances with the urgent issue of domestic violence, as presented by feminist contemporary social researchers. Then, gendered theological spaces in Sydney are described (via Hillsong’s women’s ministries and complementarianism in Sydney’s Anglican diocese). Finally, the path of one woman, Jen Barker, is traced as she transitioned between these spaces seeking Spirit empowerment, resulting in a public campaign to end violence against women in the church but also society. Most interview data used in this chapter was obtained in previous research that investigated Pentecostal women’s empowerment within the Hillsong Sisterhood women’s ministries despite recent popular and scholarly criticism.8 ,9 The women I spoke with identified variously in denominational affiliation but were all clearly affected by the power discourses and structural dynamics 5 Andrew Buckser, “Constructing the Jewish public space: Community, identity, and collaboration.” The Immanent Frame: Secularism, religion and the public sphere. 2014. https://​tif .ssrc.org/​2014/​09/​10/​const​ruct​ing-​the-​jew​ish-​pub​lic-​space-​commun​ity-​ident​ity-​and-​collab​ orat​ion/​. 6 Leah Payne, Gender and Pentecostal Revivalism: Making a Female Ministry in the Early Twentieth Century. (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), 15. 7 Joy Qualls, God Forgive Us for Being Women: Rhetoric, Theology, and the Pentecostal Tradition. (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2018), 2. 8 Tanya Riches, “Hillsong in a Feminine Key” in The Hillsong Movement Examined: You Call Me Out Upon the Waters, eds. Tanya Riches and Tom Wagner. (New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2017), 85. 9 This chapter’s findings were not intended to contradict subsequent revelations about issues at Hillsong that have affected women and disempowered victims. It represents the view of its women participants; however, it is important to recognise these public complaints and complexities for women.

52 Riches of the theologies about women preached in their cities. This was particularly true of those who lived in Sydney. Much interview data, however, was associated with the movement of women through religious spaces. The selection that demonstrated this clearest was from Jen Barker, an Anglican woman who spoke of how she had attended Hillsong’s ministries for a time before returning to her own church. I supplemented this data to understand better how she and a group of Australian renewal Christian women mobilized to tell their truth amidst a national crisis of domestic and family violence. In particular, this testimony describes how the Fixing Her Eyes community formed at the edges of Sydney’s Pentecostal women’s spaces, ultimately collecting fourteen thousand women. Together with journalist Julia Baird, this group actively sought to expose continuing links between complementarian theologies and family/​domestic violence. These Christian women’s persistence to speak beyond women’s gatherings into mainstream spaces has arguably resulted in the (somewhat reluctant) amplification of violence as a theological issue relevant to Sydney’s churches of all denominations, including pentecostal. 3.3

Theological Sacrifice Zones?

“Sacrifice zone” is a political term used to discuss ethical decisions that arise in contemporary life, but particularly those prioritizing some populations over others. This term entered popular usage in the 1980s, referring to the decommissioning of nuclear waste facilities in the United States.10 More specifically, it decried the state’s abandonment of radioactive areas and its lack of intention to make them safe for human habitation. Initially coined for military zones, it soon extended to the residential zones in nearby proximity. Scholars have recently adopted it to explain political inactivity regarding extreme environmental weather events, rising ocean levels, and waste disposal.11 In all these cases, one or more groups are sacrificed in public ways. Journalist Naomi Klein explains: [T]‌he first sacrifice zones were the black lungs of the coal miners and the soot over cities like Manchester and London. We told ourselves … there’s this natural cleaning-​up process as capitalism evolves [but] … we didn’t

10 11

David Taylor, Politics of Abandonment, 2. David Taylor, 3.

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move beyond pollution; we just moved the pollution … and there’s way more of it … And that idea that there are some places that just have to be sacrificed in order for industrial progress to continue is an idea that just keeps growing … until the people who thought they were safe are no longer safe.12 This statement references the inaction of both state and industry in the Neoliberal context. Often, Pentecostal churches (particularly megachurches in the West) position themselves as apolitical. By staying silent, they argue that they are not taking sides. However, silence can be political too. Here, extending the concept of “sacrifice zones” to the church’s theologizing on domestic or intimate partner violence, I will outline how the church’s silence is a distinctly political position that unintentionally allows abuse against women to continue. This is becoming evident even as the Spirit moves women to action in mainstream space. Here I will focus upon social research that addresses Australia, relevant to the metropolitan city of Sydney, the site of most of my ethnographic work and research. 3.4

Domestic or Intimate Partner Violence

This section highlights recent work concerning domestic or intimate partner violence undertaken by social researchers, often operating with a feminist lens. Most separate one-​off or situational violence from the phenomenon now labelled “domestic violence” or “intimate partner violence.” Journalist Jess Hill notes meaningfully that, Domestic abuse is not just violence. It’s worse. It is a unique phenomenon, in which the perpetrator takes advantage of their partner’s love and trust and uses that person’s most intimate details—​their deepest desires, shames and secrets—​as a blueprint for their abuse.13

12

13

Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis, Interview. “This Changes Everything: Naomi Klein & Avi Lewis Film Re-​imagines Vast Challenge of Climate Change.” Democracy Now! October 2, 2015. https://​www.democ​racy​now.org/​2015/​10/​2/​this_​changes​_​eve​ryth​ing_​naom​i_​kl​ein _​avi. Jess Hill. See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse, (Carlton, VIC: Black Books, Inc, 2019), 10.

54 Riches According to the federal government, family or domestic violence and sexual abuse “is a major health and welfare issue” in Australia.14 In fact, intimate partner violence is deemed the greatest health risk for women aged 25–​44.15 More than one woman a week has been killed by her current or former partner in Australia since 2012.16 Extensive research has been undertaken to identify the profiles of both victims and abusers. Thus, Federal Social Services Minister Christian Porter announced on the national broadcaster abc (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) that domestic violence is a problem “almost overwhelmingly, almost exclusively” perpetrated by men against women and girls.17 It is important to note here that the Attorney General has, since writing, himself been implicated in this problem. Despite this, in any discussion forum, there is always a quick “what about men” response.18 The strong Australian pro-​male activist movement often boycotts the official government statistics and instead highlights instances of violence by women against men, claiming to rebalance an alleged emotive “feminist propaganda.” However, the abc reports that “when a woman was violent against their partner, she was typically either defending herself or her kids.”19 In this context, an abuser tends to take advantage of all the power dynamics society affords to maintain physical and psychological control and intimidation in their home.20 Therefore, attempts to characterize this as an interpersonal and non-​gendered discussion is insidiously dangerous. Despite the constant Australian news coverage and prominent murders since 2014, the church has largely been silent on this topic, which has been framed as a “political” issue. In church pulpits across the city, there has been 14

15 16 17 18 19 20

Quote as stated on the report abstract, aihw Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia, 2018. (Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018). https://​www .aihw.gov.au/​repo​rts/​domes​tic-​viole​nce/​fam​ily-​domes​tic-​sex​ual-​viole​nce-​in-​austra​lia -​2018/​conte​nts/​summ​ary. aihw, Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia, x (emphasis added). abs (Australian Bureau of Statistics). Crime Victimisation, Australia 4530.0 Report. (Canberra: Australian Government Report, 2009). xi. https://​www.ausst​ats.abs.gov.au/​ ausst​ats/​sub​scri​ber.nsf/​0/​96D24​600F​95E0​26AC​A257​8390​00E0​60C/​. https://​www.abc.net.au/​tv/​qanda/​txt/​s4340​550.htm. Triple J Hack. “What about men? Challenging the MRA claim of a domestic violence conspiracy” Triple J (2017). https://​www.abc.net.au/​trip​lej/​progr​ams/​hack/​chal​leng​ing-​the -​mra-​claim-​of-​a-​domes​tic-​viole​nce-​con​spir​acy/​8632​190. abc News. Fact file: Domestic violence in Australia. 15 Apr 2016. https://​www.abc.net.au/​ trip​lej/​progr​ams/​hack/​chal​leng​ing-​the-​mra-​claim-​of-​a-​domes​tic-​viole​nce-​con​spir​acy/​ 8632​190. Kevin Giles, The Headship of Men and the Abuse of Women: Are They Related in Any Way? (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2020), 12.

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little mention of the prevalence of family violence, recognition of its gendered nature, or attempt to redress toxic/​dominant masculinity. Silence fosters assumptions that such issues are not experienced within Christian families, a notion that is now slowly being dispelled. For example, Anglican minister Kevin Giles identifies particular theological ideas present in both the US Southern Baptist Convention and the Sydney Anglican Diocese, particularly “headship” or complementarian theology, which may encourage dominance through gender stereotypes.21 This is a controversial assertion, and complementarians claim any link represents a co-​option of this theological position. However, when topics such as violence are not discussed while, in contrast, submission is preached regularly, this silence increases the power of abusers and the stigma for survivors. Therefore, arguably, women become a sacrifice zone of Australian society. Similarly, when weekly murders are not addressed or considered central to the evangelical function or the gospel’s message-​as-​ preached, then, arguably, these women become a sacrifice zone of the church. 3.5

Women’s Theologizing Spaces and Empowerment

Ethnographic data reveals a complex overall picture concerning Pentecostal women’s participation in the church. Globally there is a consistency of data—​ from Chesnut’s review of tiny South American village churches22 to Gerardo Marti’s work in LA megachurches23—​demonstrating women to be the most active participants of the Pentecostal church.24,25 Few would consider themselves marginalized. In fact, this runs against Pentecostal narratives—​they are told the Spirit empowers them for work and service in various ways. However, feminist scholars often also charge these churches with sexism.26,27,28 By 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Kevin Giles, K. The Headship of Men and the Abuse of Women, 30. Andrew Chesnut. Born Again in Brazil: The Pentecostal Boom and the Pathogens of Poverty. (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1997), 60. G. Marti. Hollywood Faith: Holiness, Prosperity, and Ambition in a Los Angeles Church. (NYC: Rutgers University Press, 2008), 112. Cheryl Sanders. Empowerment Ethics for a Liberated People: A Path to African American Social Transformation. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995). p55. Irene Barker. “Charismatic Economies: Pentecostalism, Economic Restructuring and Social Reproduction.” New Political Science 29, no. 4 (2007): 407. Marian Maddox. “Rise up Warrior Princess Daughters”: Is Evangelical Women’s Submission a Mere Fairy Tale? Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 29, no. 1 (2013): 9. Jacqui Grey. “Torn Stockings and Enculturation: Women Pastors in the Australian Assemblies of God.” Australasian Pentecostal Studies 5/​6 (2002): 48. Elizabeth Miller. “Women in Australian Pentecostalism: Leadership, Submission, and Feminism in Hillsong Church.” jasr 29, no. 1 (2016): 52.

56 Riches promoting beauty culture norms and an individualized faith, the detractors argue, Pentecostals fail to transform the social and economic structures of capitalist society that oppress women.29 This complexity led me to examine my own church in detail. In 2017, I co-​edited a volume examining the history and ministries of Hillsong Church. My chapter investigated the women’s ministries, interviewing thirteen attendees of Hillsong’s weekly “Sisterhood” gatherings and annual Colour Conference.30 Within these interviews, it became clear that Hillsong’s women’s events gathered not only the local congregation but also many other Christian women. So, it became essential to situate pentecostalism within Sydney’s landscape of historical denominations, recognizing how these traditions and their theologizing affected women in the church.31 In particular, women participants from Sydney described how conservative cessationist or complementarian viewpoints shaped their spirituality and limited their role and voice. These interviewees often felt God’s Spirit calling them towards Hillsong’s events (and Hillsong Church) for periods, explained by them as liberation. Although empowerment is notoriously difficult to define in developmental terms, I finally settled on a woman’s “increased choice.”32 Development scholars Moghadam and Senftova widen this definition to encompass “a multi-​ dimensional process of civil, political, social, economic, and cultural participation and rights.”33 By synthesizing various development models, they present six indicators, including basic capabilities or choice; bodily integrity (e.g.

29

Marian Maddox. “Prosper, Consume and Be Saved.” Critical Research on Religion 1 (2013): 108. 30 Tanya Riches. “Hillsong in a Feminine Key.” In the Hillsong Movement Examined: You Call Me out Upon the Waters, eds Tanya Riches and Tom Wagner. (New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2017), 85. 31 Denise Austin, “Flowing Together: The Origins and Early Development of Hillsong Church within Assemblies of God in Australia” in The Hillsong Movement Examined: You Call Me out Upon the Waters. eds Tanya Riches and Tom Wagner. (New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2017), 21. 32 Naila Kabeer. Reflections on the Measurement of Women’s Empowerment. In Discussing Women’s Empowerment: Theory and Practice, ed. Anne Sisask. (Stockholm: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, 2001), 17. 33 Valentine Moghadam., and Lucie Senftova. Measuring Women’s Empowerment: Participation and Rights in Civil, Political, Social, Economic, and Cultural Domains. International Social Science Journal 57, no. 184 (2005): 389. The authors note the various existing indices (e.g. the Gender Empowerment Measure or gem) as flawed, and more useful for lobbying national governments than measuring inequality.

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privacy and dignity); literacy and educational attainment; as well as increased economic; political; and cultural participation in society. When reviewed through this typology, the women in Sydney who attended Hillsong meetings were undoubtedly empowered by them. However, although women’s choices and capabilities increased in these selected dimensions, there were complexities to the empowerment articulated by women, which related to their decisions to participate in theological spaces, and the wider church and society. There are also tensions surrounding the evaluation of theological spaces and their effects on women. For example, segregated gendered spaces afford women in Sydney room to theologize freely, i.e., explore issues related to sexuality and gender, domestic violence, human trafficking, child-​rearing, miscarriage, and infertility. However, as women’s ministries addressed issues successfully, this also created an association between these topics and the space in which they were addressed—​in other words, some issues arguably became “femininized.” Meanwhile, discussion on these topics often remained absent in mainstream church spaces.34 The failure to meaningfully theologize in public or together as a community about domestic or intimate partner violence has arguably resulted in the amplification of this as a women’s (or victim’s) issue, reinforcing gender dominance. Women described attending conferences where they felt free to speak about this issue but then returned to churches in which complementarian theologies were regularly preached on a Sunday. Arguably, where teaching on men’s dominance and women’s submission exists in the pulpit, this exacerbates an unfortunate dynamic and increasing perception of women’s safety as optional, here designated as a “sacrifice zone.” I will now outline the critique that formed against these conservative theologies due to their impact on women in Sydney. 3.6

Sydney’s Fraternity of Confessing Anglicans

In Sydney (where Hillsong Church was founded), the Anglican church (Church of England) has a strong presence as Australia’s historic state church. This diocese is well known as evangelical but also for promoting and exporting complementarianism globally. Theological complementarianism sets the women’s 34

Nancy Nason-​Clark et al., Religion and Intimate Partner Violence: Understanding the Challenges and Proposing Solutions (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018), 101, in other contexts, there have been various successful initiatives undertaken in mainstream congregational spaces, including “Family Violence Awareness Sunday” which uses the Sunday service to address violence and the appropriate responses.

58 Riches role in the church and marriage under “male headship,” or within a hierarchy of gender roles. Nancy Nason-​Clark et al. describe complementarianism this way: While emphasizing equality between women and men in terms of dignity, value, essence, and human nature, complementarians argue that men and women were created for distinct roles, with men exercising loving authority over women, and women offering willing, glad-​hearted, and submissive assistance to men. This situation portrays a woman’s role as complementary but subordinate to the man. Theologically, there are various links to John Piper, The Gospel Coalition, and the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.35 Sydney’s diocese is also overrepresented in these networks and gafcon, or, “The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans,” a group that intentionally seeks to shift the Anglican communion back towards more traditional or conservative views on sexuality and gender. Assessing the outcomes of these theologies has proved controversial. However, Erica Hammence, a female Anglican minister who has actively engaged in domestic violence training, argues that complementarianism, whether intentionally or not, communicates gender dominance.36 She reflects this way: Domestic and family violence is complex, but most practitioners and theorists agree that at its heart, it is about power and control … there are many things in complementarian teaching that are open to misuse by abusers. In particular, complementarianism can act to peripheralize women within churches, and in those contexts it’s easy to see how abuse can flourish undetected. In complementarian contexts, women have as much room to speak as the male leaders allow. That’s a profoundly vulnerable position to be in, and one which I suspect some male ministers are not always able to empathise with. If a woman suffering abuse wasn’t

35

36

The Rev A. Sempell has indicated that some within the Sydney diocese would like to leave the global communion, however the division of assets would be too difficult. In Michael Koziol. “Archbishop accused of trying to ‘split’ Anglican church over same-​sex marriage” The Sydney Morning Herald. October 16, 2019. https://​www.smh.com.au/​natio​nal/​arc​hbis​ hop-​accu​sed-​of-​try​ing-​to-​split-​angli​can-​chu​rch-​over-​same-​sex-​marri​age-​20191​016-​p53​ 18r.html. Hammence has played an important role in creating the safer resources for churches which can be found at: https://​www.saferr​esou​rce.org.au.

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completely confident that she would be believed, that the particular nature of the abuse would be understood, and that she would be supported by her church’s leader, she would most likely continue to suffer alone.37 Notably, various complementarians have attempted to shift the religious culture of Sydney in response to these concerns. For example, Reverend John Dickson qualified his position on preaching by using didaskō (translated “teach”) from 1 Timothy 2:12 to argue that women should not authoritatively transmit the apostolic deposit of the faith, i.e., lead a church, but they may preach within it.38 However, such amplification of women’s voices was refuted by twelve clergy in the edited volume Women, Sermons and the Bible issued by the same publisher a year later, refusing Dickson’s position. This debate highlighted for many women working in the sector that the issue was indeed, as Hammence suggests, rather clearly about “power and control.” 3.7

Pentecostal Empowerment for Service in an Anglican Context

Jen Barker was one of my interviewees who attended Hillsong’s Sisterhood and various Colour Conferences. A Sydney Anglican schoolteacher, for a time, she and her family also attended Hillsong Church.39 She highlighted freedom in worship as what drew her to these pentecostal services: The Holy Spirit was invited … and then I saw Australian women on the platform, who just spoke so beautifully, and eloquently, and humbly about their faith … about Jesus passionately with real joy. You just go, “Oh my gosh. [chuckle] What is it that they’ve got …?”40 Pentecostal teaching on marriage provided a direct contrast to her previous understandings regarding gender roles. She says: I used to think it would be a good thing to try and understand how to be a better wife … so I used to buy [cd s] and listen to them as I did the 37 38 39 40

Erica Hammence. “Reflecting on complementarianism and domestic violence” Common Grace (2018). https://​www.saferr​esou​rce.org.au. John Dickson. Hearing Her Voice. (Sydney: Matthias Media. 2013), 1. Personal Communication with Jen Barker. 10 May 2016. Jen Barker. 10 May 2016.

60 Riches housework. But it just never made sense to me … I had a woman who [said] things to me like, “Jen, you must find it really hard to be submissive to your husband … how do you go with that?”41 She reflected that while many of the Hillsong leaders claimed to be complementarian,42 their theologies were operationalized differently from other preachers in the same city: Robert Fergusson … got up and gave away Bibles that year, and said, “Women, you have the Holy Spirit, you’re able to read, you’re educated, trust yourself.”43 During one of these meetings, Jen had an experience of the presence of God. On the last night when Christine Caine started speaking, I started crying, and I couldn’t stop … People around me [were] conscious … Jen is crying … this girl, who normally has it all together is sobbing. But it was just the most overwhelming sense of God speaking to me … the overall message was, “Fix your eyes on Jesus.”44 My grandma, who is a very English lady, had said to me a couple of weeks ago before conference … “Turn your eyes upon Jesus,” and we started singing it together.45 Although Jen loved these women’s spaces, she became very conscious of their limits for her own ministry calling: whilst I was standing there, I [had] a real conviction of, “Jen, this place is amazing and you are welcome to stay here but it’s not where I want you to be, I want you to go back to the Anglican Church because you can’t do anything here.”46 41 42

43 44 45 46

Jen Barker. 10 May 2016. Kate Bowler, The Preacher’s Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2019), 10, this book comes to different conclusions than my own based on Bowler’s interviews with preachers rather than congregants or participants. Pers. Comm. with Jen Barker. 10 May 2016. Jen Barker. 10 May 2016. Jen Barker. 10 May 2016. Jen Barker. 10 May 2016.

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She articulated these tensions as taking her place “within the crowd” versus active participation. Therefore, she saw her choice to leave as consistent with the pentecostal teaching that she felt drawn to: Bobbie [Houston] does really emphasize, “Go back to your church, take back what you’ve learned from here and make a difference in your own community.” And so even though I pop in occasionally at Hillsong, because sometimes I just need to sing [chuckle] really loudly, and I want to hear women on the platform or those kinds of things … I do feel that part of the legacy from Colour is “Take what you’ve learned here and go make a difference in your local church.” I didn’t feel more empowered going back to my church, I probably felt less empowered. But I felt like I had to do something about it.47 3.8

Speaking Up: Fixing Her Eyes and Julia Baird

In September 2015, after returning to the Anglican church, Jen pioneered “Fixing Her Eyes” (fhe). This group’s website (www.fixinghereyes.org) describes an online community, “… where women can gather and encourage one another to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” Its pages promote female author-​contributors drawn from all denominations across Sydney who provide biblical teaching on various relevant topics. In addition, the website offers specific training resources created for and by women.48 The fhe Facebook page gathers over fourteen thousand Australian Christian women. As on the website, the social media pages offer content that encourages women’s devotional and spiritual life, amplifies women’s writing and teaching on the Bible, and allows for theologizing about issues relevant to Australian women. Due to the barriers to women’s participation in more traditional ministry avenues and churches, the movement’s impact has been outward, or 47 48

Jen Barker. 10 May 2016. Importantly, a section of this website is devoted to resources on domestic violence. It includes testimonials of Christian women survivors, as well as resources to assist people (and their pastors) facing situations of violence. There are also ways women can actively promote better responses from denominations.

62 Riches mainstream focused. Therefore, Fixing Her Eyes’ footprint has been vastly different on the issue of domestic violence in the city of Sydney. For example, Kylie Maddox Pidgeon described writing an article in 2016 that questioned the links between domestic violence and complementarianism. It was rejected after revision numerous times by Presbyterian magazine The Pulse. However, she noted: It was published on fhe, and got shared, and some people said thank you, and it helped them to join the dots, and it sparked some conversation. I began to remember what having a voice meant. Someone who backed you, encouraged you, handed you the microphone and sat down to listen. And I was delighted at the response. It was well-​received, amplified, and seemed to be stepping the conversation forward. Then Julia and Hayley’s work came out, and everyone was talking. Survivors were brave enough to speak and be heard. fhe played a big part in shaping the conversation.49 Another interviewee highlighted various pieces on biblical passages that addressed abuse (such as the stories of Dinah and Bathsheba) and an article written in specific response to the complementarian teaching at Sydney’s 2017 Equip women’s conference.50 In 2017, this group of women made an incredible impact on the issue of gender violence as they worked collaboratively with journalist Julia Baird to uncover domestic and family abuse within Australia’s churches.51 Julia Baird is an Anglican and an abc journalist from a well-​known political family in Sydney. She has a PhD in the history of women’s politics. Her Sydney Morning Herald series on violence, religion, and gender was also screened on mainstream television. The basis of her series was that evidence in the United States suggested that men most likely to abuse their wives were evangelical Christians attending church sporadically.52 Despite Australian church leaders’ 49 50 51

52

Personal Communication with Kylie Maddox Pidgeon, 20 January 2020. Kylie Maddox Pidgeon. “Jesus and the Women’s Fringe” Fixing Her Eyes (2017). https://​ www.fixing​here​yes.org/​sin​gle-​post/​2017/​06/​04/​Jesus-​and-​the-​wom​ens-​fri​nge. Kristin Diemer. Personal Safety Survey: Additional Analysis of Relationship and Sex of Perpetrator. (Canberra: abs, 2016), 1. https://​viol​ence​agai​nstw​omen​andc​hild​ren.files .wordpr​ess.com/​2015/​07/​abs-​perso​nal- ​saf​ety-​sur​vey-​vic​tim-​perp​etra​tor-​sex-​and-​relati​ onsh​ip6.pdf. Julia Baird, with Haley Gleeson. ‘Submit to your husbands’: Women told to endure domestic violence in the name of God. abc News. 22 October 2018. https://​www.abc.net.au/​ news/​2017-​07-​18/​domes​tic-​viole​nce-​chu​rch-​sub​mit-​to-​husba​nds/​8652​028.

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vocal opposition to family violence in media interviews, she argued, the church was not only failing to address it sufficiently but was enabling and concealing it due to its silence on and lack of research into this topic. Baird’s campaign featured the testimony of twenty women who described family violence and abuse within Sydney.53 This unexpectedly also shined a light on domestic violence within pentecostal churches. Here are some quotes from Baird’s pentecostal contributors: Sarah: So much of what has been said about the misuse of scripture in the abc’s reports on domestic violence and the church has struck a chord with me. Unfortunately, my husband used religion to hurt me too. I heard the very same words—​that a wife must “submit” to her husband and do what he says—​come out of his mouth … 54 Georgia: he often used religion to justify his abuse. It usually followed the lines of, “You can’t leave me, we’re married, and Christians can’t get divorced.” I also believe he had a twisted perspective of “male headship” and the role of a man in a marriage, however, he never articulated this in theological terms.55 Anna: We were pushed into getting married by the church because, they said, we were “sinning” by having sex outside of marriage. He regularly used scriptures from the Bible (for example, Ephesians 5:22: “Wives, submit to your husbands”) to coerce me into submitting to him, and to control and manipulate me. … I recall a time when I was crouched in the corner of our kitchen, wetting myself in fear, while he held his fist in my face, threatening to punch me. It seemed to go on forever. My young children watched on; the argument had started over him threatening one of the kids after he helped himself to food.56

53

54 55 56

J. Baird. “In praise of the oddities and outliers resisting bonkers fundamentalism in Sydney” Sydney Morning Herald. 26 October 2019. https://​www.smh.com.au/​natio​nal/​ nsw/​in-​pra​ise-​of-​the-​oddit​ies-​and-​outli​ers-​resist​ing-​bonk​ers-​fun​dame​ntal​ism-​in- ​syd​ ney-​20191​024-​p53​41q.html. J. Baird, and H. Gleeson. “Shattering the silence: Australians tell their stories of surviving domestic violence in the church.” abc News. 22 October 2018. https://​www.abc.net.au/​ news/​2017-​08-​18/​sha​tter​ing-​sile​nce-​surviv​ing-​domes​tic-​viole​nce-​in-​chu​rch/​8788​902. Baird and Gleeson. 22 October 2018. Baird and Gleeson, 22 October 2018.

64 Riches The Fixing Her Eyes site promoted Baird’s work widely. It contributed an additional eleven testimonies of domestic and family violence amongst Christians,57 followed by similar journalistic and peer-​reviewed articles.58 It echoed their calls for further research. 59 Without this contribution, the national religious conversation would not have turned. 3.9

Conclusions

This chapter argues that in addition to providing segregated spaces for women’s theologizing, the church must intentionally mainstream women’s contributions. Without Julia Baird and the Fixing Her Eyes community’s persistence in raising the voices of the experts in domestic and family violence as well as publishing testimonial accounts of Christian women survivors in online and mainstream media platforms, this #churchtoo issue would not have been highlighted. This demonstrated the dynamics of gender dominance for Christian women in Sydney; and, that Christian men may be using theologies as a rationale for abuse within the home.60 The cost of sacrificing or silencing women’s issues is quantifiable. Feminizing the issue of domestic violence has created, I have proposed here, a “sacrifice zone” with women’s bodies actively bearing this neglect. Failing to regularly teach men or mainstream this issue has created an overwhelming social dynamic that has been demonstrated to touch many Christian families in all denominations. Questions remain as to why church leaders in Sydney, Australia have not addressed domestic violence more adequately. Often, the reasoning given is that the Sunday preaching space is designed for evangelism, which is necessary for the church to continue its growth trajectory. However, using such logic

57 58

59 60

Anonymous. “Her Story of Domestic Violence” Fixing Her Eyes. 2017. http://​www.fixing​ here​yes.org/​sin​gle-​post/​Her-​Story-​of-​Domes​tic-​Viole​nce. Maddox Pidgeon, Kylie. “Complementarianism and Domestic Abuse: A Social Science Perspective on Whether “Equal but Different” is Really Equal at All.” In Discovering Biblical Equality. Pierce, Ronald W., Cynthia Long Westfall, editors and Christa L. McKirland, associate editor. 572-​596. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. 2021. J. Baird, and H. Gleeson. “Australian church leaders call for urgent response to domestic violence.” abc News. 22 October 2018. https://​www.abc.net.au/​news/​2017-​07-​22/​chu​rch-​ lead​ers-​dem​and-​urg​ent-​respo​nse-​domes​ticv​iole​nce/​8732​100. In particular, the NCLS research found that "the prevalence of intimate partner violence among church-​attending Anglicans was the same or higher than among other Anglicans.” Powell, Ruth. and Pepper, Miriam. National Anglican Family Violence Research Report for the Anglican Church of Australia. NCLS Research Report. Sydney: NCLS Research, 2021, 5.

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this omission is deeply flawed. Church leaders promoting complementarian family structures (whether in their pure patriarchal form or more contemporary or pentecostalized versions) who neglect to address power dynamics and violence within their own congregations and who have failed to pray for and act preventatively towards the deaths of women in their cities are failing to take their evangelistic mission seriously. This undoubtedly affects women but also inhibits the witness of the whole community of God. Various research projects now review complementarian theology in context, and examine theologies upon spousal control patterns,61 with more research underway in Australian church contexts.62 This chapter highlighted a particular instance in which the Spirit gave agency to women to move beyond the walls of the church into public space. The micro-​level testimony explored here was of a Christian woman named Jen Barker drawn into the pentecostal church and then outside of it, with a powerful contribution to the Australian church and society. However, this represents the global #metoo movement and overwhelming public desire to highlight women’s issues, which may also be similarly viewed as a movement of the Spirit. Undoubtedly, this national epidemic of family and domestic violence must continue to receive attention with preventative theologies articulated in “mainstream” spaces for any lasting change to occur.63

Bibliography

abc News. “Fact File: Domestic Violence in Australia.” abc, 15 April, 2016. https://​www .abc.net.au/​trip​lej/​progr​ams/​hack/​chal​leng​ing-​the-​mra-​claim-​of-​a-​domes​tic-​viole​ nce-​con​spir​acy/​8632​190.

61 62 63

Most notably, Powell, Ruth. and Pepper, Miriam. National Anglican Family Violence Research Report for the Anglican Church of Australia. NCLS Research Report. Sydney: NCLS Research, 2021. For example, Alphacrucis College student Jemma Floyd is conducting similar PhD research but specifically on Australian Pentecostal churches. I wish to thank Amy Carr, Joy Schroeder, and Lisa Stephenson who provided invaluable feedback on initial drafts of this chapter. I also wish to thank the volume editors for their additional, helpful constructive feedback. Finally, many thanks to my research colleague Dave Taylor for providing a way to articulate what was going on concerning women and gender violence in our city, by sharing his excellent Masters Honours research. See David Taylor, Politics of Abandonment: The Biopolitics of National Sacrifice Zones. (Masters Honours thesis. University of Sydney, 2018), 2.

66 Riches abc. Q&A Hitting Home Special. 25 November 2015. Duration: 1hr 5min 22sec https://​ www.abc.net.au/​tv/​qanda/​txt/​s4340​550.htm. abs (Australian Bureau of Statistics). Crime Victimisation, Australia 4530.0 Report. Canberra: Australian Government, 2009. xi. https://​www.ausst​ats.abs.gov.au/​ausst​ ats/​sub​scri​ber.nsf/​0/​96D24​600F​95E0​26AC​A257​8390​00E0​60C/​. aihw (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare). Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence in Australia, 2018. Canberra: aihw, 2018. https://​www.aihw.gov.au/​repo​rts/​ domes​tic-​viole​nce/​fam​ily-​domes​tic-​sex​ual-​viole​nce-​in-​austra​lia-​2018/​conte​nts/​ summ​ary. Austin, Denise. “Flowing Together: The Origins and Early Development of Hillsong Church within Assemblies of God in Australia” Edited by Riches, Tanya and Thomas Wagner. The Hillsong Movement Examined: You Call Me out Upon the Waters. 21–​37. New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2017. Baird, Julia and Gleeson, Haley. “Australian Church Leaders call for urgent response to Domestic Violence.” abc News. 22 October 2018. https://​www.abc.net.au/​news/​ 2017-​07-​22/​chu​rch-​lead​ers-​dem​and-​urg​ent-​respo​nse-​domes​tic-​viole​nce/​8732​100. Baird, Julia and Gleeson, Haley. “Shattering the Silence: Australians tell their Stories of surviving Domestic Violence in the Church.” abc News. 22 October 2018. https://​ www.abc.net.au/​news/​2017-​08-​18/​sha​tter​ing-​sile​nce-​surviv​ing-​domes​tic-​viole​nce -​in-​chu​rch/​8788​902. Baird, Julia and Gleeson, Haley. ‘Submit to your Husbands’: Women told to endure Domestic Violence in the Name of God. abc News. 22 October 2018. https://​www .abc.net.au/​news/​2017-​07-​18/​domes​tic-​viole​nce- ​chu​rch- ​sub​mit-​to-​husba​nds/​ 8652​028. Baird, Julia and Gleeson, Haley. “In Praise of the Oddities and Outliers resisting Bonkers Fundamentalism in Sydney” Sydney Morning Herald. October 26, 2019. https://​ www.smh.com.au/​natio​nal/​nsw/​in-​pra​ise-​of-​the-​oddit​ies-​and-​outli​ers-​resist​ing -​bonk​ers-​fun​dame​ntal​ism-​in-​syd​ney-​20191​024-​p53​41q.html. Barker, Isabelle V. “Charismatic Economies: Pentecostalism, Economic Restructuring and Social Reproduction.” New Political Science 29 no. 4 (2007): 407–​427. Bowler, Kate. The Preacher’s Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 2017. Buckser, Andrew. “Constructing the Jewish Public Space: Community, Identity, and Collaboration.” The Immanent Frame: Secularism, Religion and the Public Sphere. 10 September 2014. https://​tif.ssrc.org/​2014/​09/​10/​const​ruct​ing-​the-​jew​ish-​pub​lic -​space-​commun​ity-​ident​ity-​and-​collab​orat​ion/​. Chesnut, R. Andrew. Born Again in Brazil: The Pentecostal Boom and the Pathogens of Poverty. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1997. Dickson, John. Hearing Her Voice. Sydney: Matthias Media, 2013.

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Diemer, Kristin. Personal Safety Survey: Additional Analysis of Relationship and Sex of Perpetrator. Canberra: abs, 2016. https://​viol​ence​agai​nstw​omen​andc​hild​ren.files .wordpr​ess.com/​2015/​07/​abs-​perso​nal-​saf​ety-​sur​vey-​vic​tim-​perp​etra​tor-​sex-​and -​relati​onsh​ip6.pdf. Giles, Kevin. The Headship of Men and the Abuse of Women: Are They Related in Any Way? Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2020. Grey, Jacqui. “Torn Stockings and Enculturation: Women Pastors in the Australian Assemblies of God.” Australasian Pentecostal Studies 5/​6 (2002). Guijt, Irene. and Meera Kaul Shah. The Myth of Community: Gender Issues in Participatory Development. Bradford, UK: Intermediate Technology Publications (itdg), 1998. Hammence, Erica. “Reflecting on Complementarianism and Domestic Violence” Common Grace. 2018. https://​www.comm​ongr​ace.org.au/​reflecting_​on_​comple mentari​anis​m_​an​d_​do​mest​ic_​v​iole​nce. Hearn, Jeff. “The Sociological Significance of Domestic Violence: The Implications” Current Sociology 61, no. 2 (2013): 152–​170. Hill, Jess. See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse. Carlton, VIC: Black Books Inc, 2019. Hoogvelt, Annie. Globalization and the Postcolonial World: The New Political Economy of Development. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. Kabeer, Naila. Reflections on the Measurement of Women’s Empowerment. In Discussing Women’s Empowerment: Theory and Practice, Edited by Anne Sisask. 17–​ 57. Stockholm: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, 2001. Klein, Naomi and Avi Lewis. “This Changes Everything: Naomi Klein & Avi Lewis Film Re-​imagines Vast Challenge of Climate Change,” Democracy Now! 2 October 2015. https://​www.democ​racy​now.org/​2015/​10/​2/​this_​changes​_​eve​ryth​ing_​naom​i_​kl​ein _​avi. Koziol, Michael. “Archbishop Accused of trying to ‘Split’ Anglican Church over Same-​ Sex Marriage” The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 October 2019. https://​www.smh.com .au/​natio​nal/​arc​hbis​hop-​accu​sed-​of-​try​ing-​to-​split-​angli​can-​chu​rch-​over-​same -​sex-​marri​age-​20191​016-​p53​18r.html. Maddox Pidgeon, Kylie. “Complementarianism and Domestic Abuse: A Social Science Perspective on Whether “Equal but Different” is Really Equal at All.” Discovering Biblical Equality: Biblical, Theological, Cultural, and Practical Perspectives Edited by Ronald W. Pierce, Cynthia Long Westfield and Christa L. McKirkland. 572-​596. Pierce, Ronald W., Cynthia Long Westfall, editors and Christa L. McKirland, associate editor. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. 2021. Maddox, Marion. “Prosper, Consume and Be Saved.” Critical Research on Religion 1, no. 108 (2013): 108–​115.

68 Riches Maddox, Marion. “Rise up Warrior Princess Daughters”: Is Evangelical Women’s Submission a Mere Fairy Tale? Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion. 29, no. 1 (2013): 9–​26. Marti, Gerardo. Hollywood Faith: Holiness, Prosperity, and Ambition in a Los Angeles Church. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2008. Miller, Elizabeth. “Women in Australian Pentecostalism: Leadership, Submission, and Feminism in Hillsong Church.” jasr. 29, no. 1 (2016): 52–​75. Moghadam, Valentine M., and Lucie Senftova. “Measuring Women’s Empowerment: Participation and Rights in Civil, Political, Social, Economic, and Cultural Domains.” International Social Science Journal 57 (2005): 389–​412. Payne, Leah. Gender and Pentecostal Revivalism: Making a Female Ministry in the Early Twentieth Century. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. Powell, Ruth. and Pepper, Miriam. National Anglican Family Violence Research Report for the Anglican Church of Australia. NCLS Research Report. Sydney: NCLS Research, 2021. Qualls, Joy. God Forgive Us for Being Women: Rhetoric, Theology, and the Pentecostal Tradition. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2018. Nason-​Clark, Nancy; Barbara Fisher-​Townsend, Catherine Holtmann and Stephen McMullin. Religion and Intimate Partner Violence: Understanding the Challenges and Proposing Solutions. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. Riches, Tanya. “Hillsong in a Feminine Key.” in The Hillsong Movement Examined: You Call Me out Upon the Waters, Edited by Tanya Riches and Tom Wagner. 85–​105. New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2017. Sanders, Cheryl Jeanne. Empowerment Ethics for a Liberated People: A Path to African American Social Transformation. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995. Taylor, David. Politics of Abandonment: The Biopolitics of National Sacrifice Zones. Master’s thesis. University of Sydney, 2018. Triple J Hack. “What about Men? Challenging the MRA Claim of a Domestic Violence Conspiracy.” Triple J. 26 September 2017. https://​www.abc.net.au/​trip​lej/​progr​ams/​ hack/​chal​leng​ing-​the-​mra-​claim-​of-​a-​domes​tic-​viole​nce-​con​spir​acy/​8632​190. Yong, Amos. “What Spirit(s), Which Public(s)? The Pneumatologies of Global Pentecostal-​Charismatic Christianity.” International Journal of Public Theology. 7 (2013): 241–​259.

­c hapter 4

Shaming the Men into Keeping Up with the Ladies Constructing Pentecostal Masculinities Linda M. Ambrose Church subcultures construct and reinforce particular expressions of masculinity. In keeping with the theme of this volume, I explore how some forms of Pentecostal masculinity provide platforms for more toxic forms of male power that lead to the oppression and abuse of women. This chapter considers postwar men’s fellowship groups to uncover the rhetoric and gendered assumptions that characterized this branch of church programming from its beginning. For decades, North American Pentecostals have been telling men that their service in the local churches is essential for the health of their congregations. I argue that by encouraging men to think and act in particular ways, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (paoc) reinforced the foundations of sexism. With that historical legacy and the continued practices of privileging and choosing men over women for leadership roles, the paoc’s recent claims about being committed to gender equity ring hollow. The paoc launched men’s groups in 1955, having created a “National Department of Men’s Fellowship.”1 The initiative arose out of fear that the paoc’s women’s groups, created in 1946, were displacing men by providing such effective local lay leadership in support of missionary efforts. In 1951, a paoc publication revealed that the women’s groups “for many years have finally literally shamed the men to form a companion organization of men.”2 Through these new groups, the paoc hoped to encourage men to perform “manly” roles in the church, such as building and maintaining church facilities with their transferrable skills from the trades and the business world. These expectations were rooted in postwar gendered assumptions about men’s particular aptitudes that further reinforced the gender divide in church circles. In true postwar fashion, Pentecostals embraced assumptions about binary gender roles: men were breadwinners (and soulwinners) with connections 1 Michael Wilkinson and Linda M. Ambrose, After the Revival: Pentecostalism and the Making of a Canadian Church (Montreal & Kingston: McGill-​Queen’s University Press, 2020), 85–​106. 2 G.R. Upton, “Men of Vision Organize First Men’s Missionary Council At Calvary Temple, Winnipeg,” Pentecostal Testimony June 15, 1951, 8–​9.

© Linda M. Ambrose, 2022 | DOI:10.1163/9789004513204_006

70 Ambrose outside the home through their workplaces; women were homemakers who nurtured family and church relationships. It is time to interrogate how such assumptions infiltrated Pentecostal church subcultures, fueling complementarian ideas, and how they (unintentionally?) foster conditions where expressions of toxic masculinity can flourish. I contend that these culturally influenced concepts of gender persist in Pentecostal circles to the present day. Despite recent denominational leaders’ repeated assertions about being committed to gender equality, the reality of the layperson’s experience in paoc churches tells a very different story. Complementarianism has trumped egalitarianism in paoc churches, and this is a longstanding phenomenon. 4.1

Historiography: Studying Lay Experiences, Not Clergy

Many Pentecostal groups, including the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (paoc), claim to be egalitarian, meaning that they welcome men and women equally to offer their gifts in ministry. However, the lived experiences of Pentecostal women do not align with this claim. To date, the North American historical scholarship has concentrated on debates about, and hagiographic biographies of, female clergy members who made significant contributions to the movement through establishing churches, holding rallies and tent meetings, and engaging in international mission work. As the movement matured however, the roles of women in leadership contracted, and by mid-​twentieth century, it was the exception rather than the rule to find Pentecostal women being appointed as lead pastors, denominational officers, or church board members. The exceptions certainly still existed, and within Pentecostal circles, the names of those pioneering women continue to be revered and celebrated with nostalgia, especially in the denominational and congregational studies that have appeared. More scholarly attention to women in front-​line ministry has produced a cache of important studies, including biographical work on individual women, and collections of essays on the women who defied the majority trend and established themselves in ministry. Many of these works continue to take the tone of providential historiography.3 Far less historical attention has been paid to the experience of people who were in the pews, not the pulpits. This is true for both women and men, at

3 A. Cerillo Jr, and G. Wacker, “Bibliography and Historiography of Pentecostalism in North America,” in Stanley Burgess, ed., International Dictionary of Pentecostal Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 2002), 397–​405.

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least in North American scholarship.4 The work of the laity among Pentecostal denominations echoes the patterns of nineteenth-​century churches where women devoted themselves to supporting roles as they prayed for and provisioned workers who were ministering overseas. The earliest roots of lay women’s work among Canadian Pentecostals can be traced to the Hebden mission in Toronto, and shortly thereafter, to the home of Mrs. A.H. Argue in Winnipeg who regularly hosted prayer meetings and sewing bees. Eventually, that work was formalized under national leadership with the creation of the Women’s Missionary Councils (wmc) in local churches, with Gladys Lemmon, a former Bible college professor and administrator, serving as National Director from 1948 onward.5 This made way for laywomen to take their place in the life of the church by bringing the gifts of leadership and helps to the work of the ministry, particularly in these mission circles. Later, as postwar programming for families expanded, lay women provided important leadership for Sunday schools and midweek programming for children. This work has not been thoroughly interrogated by historians of Canadian Pentecostalism to explore the gendered implications of such assignments, but it is clear that the model of volunteer leadership in the church has not evolved to keep pace with women’s experiences in their paid work outside the church since the postwar era. Experience shows that Pentecostal congregations prefer men as leaders, while women who dare to lead face obstacles, especially in areas of church governance. This is true, despite paoc’s official rhetoric to the contrary. As a result, paoc congregations do not reap the full benefits of women’s professional training, life experiences, or spiritual gifts. 4.2

Keeping Up with the Ladies: Benevolent Sexism

The popularity and success of wmc in the postwar years was undeniable for the sociability it garnered among church women, and the impressive levels of support provided to missionary families.6 But the women’s successes caused concern among male leaders who feared that women in local congregations

4 Linda M. Ambrose, “Gender” in Brill’s Encyclopedia of Global Pentecostalism Online, in Michael Wilkinson, Conny Au, Jörg Haustein, Todd M. Johnson (eds.), http://​dx.doi.org/​10.1163/​2589 -​3807_​egpo​_​COM​_​036​929. (Accessed 13 January 2020). 5 Thomas William Miller, Canadian Pentecostals: A History of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, (Mississauga, ON: Full Gospel Publishing House, 1994), 206, 255, 266. 6 Ibid, 255. According to Miller, by 1957 Lemmon was overseeing more than 400 wmc groups in Canada.

72 Ambrose were displacing men by providing local leadership and corporate efforts to support missionary efforts. As one denominational leader explained, “The splendid work done by the women’s missionary council for many years have finally literally shamed the men to form a companion organization of men.”7 The solution was not to curb the efforts of women, nor for men and women to join forces in one group. Instead, the paoc leadership proposed that men in local churches would be best served by an all-​male organization of their own, not modeled on what the women had accomplished, but on civic service clubs. In step with postwar ideals about masculinity, the paoc took a page from the playbook of secular men’s organizations.8 One national leader in paoc observed, Service clubs like Rotary, Kiwanis, Kinsmen, Elks, etc., are thriving because they seem to satisfy a desire in the hearts of men. The organizations do not merely exist for the purpose of friendship and association, but they sponsor projects and enterprises to give an outlet for the energies, means, and abilities of their members. Their organizations are humanitarian and noble for the most part, but they are not geared to harness the potentialities in men for the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom. This is the purpose of our Men’s Fellowship organization.9 The answer was to create yet another division of church programming: men’s ministry, a group where men could bring their individual and collective talents to the work of the church’s mission. Specifically, men could offer practical help to build and maintain church facilities as they brought their transferrable business skills to the work of the church. And, like the membership in other men’s service clubs, the paoc’s Men’s Fellowship would be exclusively male; women’s groups would be complementary, relegated to supporting roles like the women’s auxiliaries of fraternal organizations.10 In the realm of missions, men were encouraged to establish relationships with men on the mission field, to mimic what women were doing for female

7 8

9 10

Upton, “Men of Vision Organize,” 8–​9. As the paoc archives reveal, James Montgomery, who coordinated paoc programs for children, youth, and adults in the postwar, typically gathered information from existing groups to consider the models he might adopt for the churches’ use. See for example, Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada Archives, Men’s Ministry Committee fonds, and Pentecostal Crusaders fonds. G.R. Upton, “Why Men Should Teach,” Pentecostal Testimony September 1955, 22. Harold Underhill, “Keeping Up with the Ladies,” Pentecostal Testimony June 1, 1950, 7.

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missionaries: pray for them, befriend them, correspond with them, and provision them with what they needed to do their work. While women would tend to the missionaries’ domestic needs with parcels of food and clothing, birthday greetings for children, and Christmas gifts to replicate the holiday back home, men were encouraged to discover and provide equipment that would ease the work of missionary men, especially in the realm of technology and transportation devices. In an article entitled “Keeping Up with the Ladies,” Harold Underhill offered the example of a men’s group at Calvary Temple in Winnipeg, to explain why a men’s ministry group was needed saying, While our ladies have done a wonderful job in seeking to supply the needs of the missionaries and their families, yet there are certain articles which we men require at times which are difficult for the ladies to choose. For example, we may need a new universal joint for our jeep or a new condenser for our Public Address System or one of the other numerous gadgets which we use in our work.11 Even as the paoc supported overseas personnel, the gendered assumptions about men’s particular aptitudes for sourcing automotive parts and broadcasting systems further reinforced the gender divide. Both men and women were encouraged to pray, but practical help was highly gendered because women’s expertise was tied to caring for families while men were assumed to be experts in machinery and technology. Moreover, these binary concepts were often expressed as praise for the women, offering an example of what gender theorists call “benevolent sexism,” which does not “openly portray women as inferior to men” but instead is “quite subtle, and can even be positive in tone, for instance they can be presented as jokes, or as a form of flattery.”12 The rhetoric that appeared in paoc articles encouraging men to form mf groups exhibits this tone of benevolent sexism as the men are “shamed” into involvement to match the women’s levels of church work, and as men were being challenged to “keep up with the ladies.” Scholars describe benevolent sexism as “a subjectively favorable, chivalrous ideology that offers protection and affection for women who embrace conventional

11 12

Underhill, “Keeping up with the Ladies,” 7. Manuela Barretto and Naomi Ellemers, “The burden of benevolent sexism: How it contributes to the maintenance of gender inequalities,” European Journal of Social Psychology 35, (2005): 633–​642.

74 Ambrose roles.”13 Moreover, this kind of sexism often co-​exists with hostile sexism and indeed the two are complementary, because together they “represent a system of rewards and punishments that provide incentive for women to remain in conventional gender roles.”14 This insight is germane here because benevolent sexism was ubiquitous in the postwar era and remains common in many Pentecostal church subcultures today. 4.3

Men’s Fellowship: Embracing Binary Gender Roles

When the paoc formally launched men’s groups as a national effort in 1955,15 a notice published in the Pentecostal Testimony explained that the General Executive had appointed the Rev. James Montgomery to lead the “National Department of Men’s Fellowship” and coordinate the groups that were forming across the country. Readers were encouraged to correspond with the paoc head office in Toronto, declaring “Brother Montgomery will be very pleased to hear from you.”16 An inventory of men’s groups compiled in the summer of 1960 listed 54 active Men’s Fellowship groups with representation from every region of the country, which was far less than the 400 women’s groups that formed the wmc by 1957.17 Through these men’s groups the paoc encouraged members to deepen their spiritual lives and form relationships with their male co-​workers outside the church, for the purpose of personal evangelism. As the denominational magazine explained, The official emblem for Men’s Fellowship consists of the monogrammed letters “mf” on a gold fishhook. With that emblem on our lapel, we tell all we meet that we are fishers of men. Some of us may draw in a net full of fish at times, but for the most part we are users of the fishhook. We may not minister from pulpits and influence large congregations, but we are soul winners. Our Lord has called us to be His fishermen and we will obey His summons.18 13

P. Glick and S.T. Fiske, “An Ambivalent Alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality,” American Psychologist 56 (2001): 109–​118. Cited in Barretto and Ellemers. 14 Glick and Fiske, “An Ambivalent Alliance”. 15 paoc Archives, Men’s Ministry Committee fonds, “Minutes of the Meeting Appointed by the General Executive regarding the matter of organizing Men’s Fellowships in our churches,” February 11, 1954. 16 “Men’s Fellowship,” Pentecostal Testimony June 1955, 11. 17 Miller, Canadian Pentecostals, 255. 18 “‘MF Emblem’,” Pentecostal Testimony June 1957, 27.

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With this personal evangelism mandate, Pentecostal men’s groups were clearly different from their secular counterparts, and yet the idea of networking with professional and business contacts was a common tactic in secular organizations as well. The “gold fishhook” as a symbol of the personal evangelism agenda also served to set Pentecostal men apart from women because it was assumed that women worked within their own homes, with their children, and did not have the same “fishing” opportunities as the husbands whose worlds revolved around their paid work outside the home. Pentecostal women did not sport a similar lapel pin to tell the world they were evangelists. In true postwar fashion, Pentecostal men’s and women’s groups were based on shared assumptions about binary gender roles: men were breadwinners with outside connections because of their workplaces; women by contrast, were assumed to be homemakers and mothers who nurtured the life of the family and the church. 4.4

Masculine Tropes in paoc Publications

4.4.1 Harnessing Niagara: The Power of Men’s Work The paoc’s Men’s Fellowship group had two main avenues for communicating with constituents in local congregations: a monthly column in the paoc’s flagship publication Pentecostal Testimony and a separate publication, entitled Real Living, geared to men who already belonged to such a group, and to others whose churches had not yet created a Men’s Fellowship chapter.19 The language in paoc publications described laymen’s work in the local church in highly gendered ways by invoking images of power and untapped potential. The National Director of the paoc Men’s Fellowship declared that “the church which is not using its men has an untapped Niagara within its grasp.”20 Continuing to invoke metaphors that would conjure up images of unleashed masculine power, he enthused that “When the men of the church are harnessed to the program and activities of that church, there is that inward satisfaction that comes when one takes the wheel of a powerful car.”21 Here, men are depicted as the real “work horses” of the church, where they would be “harnessed to” the church’s mission to pull the heavy load of ministry. For pastors 19

The first issue of Real Living was published in the summer of 1963, with plans to publish quarterly. Copies of the magazine are housed in the paoc archives. 20 James Montgomery, “MF: The Difference Between Power and Puttering,” Pentecostal Testimony February 1957, 26. 21 Montgomery.

76 Ambrose directing that harnessing, the promise of a “thrill” of speed and power was held out, rhetorically suggesting that leaders would be foolish to deny themselves of that “inward satisfaction.” The superlative language that Montgomery used to describe what men could accomplish for their churches was deliberately excessive and colorful. Yet Montgomery maintained that “It is hard to exaggerate on what an active Men’s Fellowship group can mean in the life of a local church.”22 The way that Montgomery used language to reinforce the masculinity of Men’s Fellowship members’ church work reads as an antidote to the assumption that devoted churchmen might become effeminate in the extreme. The fear of men becoming emasculated and turning “soft” after conversion as evidenced by their new devotion to church circles and their abandonment of “worldly” pastimes is a familiar trope and attention to this idea is central to the study of masculinity in global Pentecostalism.23 In her 1995 book, The Reformation of Machismo, Elizabeth Brusco argues that women in Columbia were pleased to see men convert to Pentecostalism because it reformed or “tamed” their traditional masculine behaviors. After conversion, their machoism (or “machismo”) was redirected, but not erased. Giving up excessive drinking, womanizing, and financial irresponsibility, men reoriented their behaviors toward the domestic realm, becoming gentle husbands, loving fathers, and faithful providers. Brusco observes that men were transformed to adopt new, softer roles as part of their reformed masculinity.24 Later scholarship has critiqued Brusco’s work, to ask why men would embrace such roles, given the inevitable social criticisms they would face from former associates and extended family members. Why would men risk accusations of being too effeminate? Martin Lindhardt argues that for men who convert to Pentecostalism, there is a whole range of new public roles that offer power and influence awaiting them within the churches.25 Not only do men exercise power as spiritual leaders within their families, but men’s aggressive, loud, and forceful expressions of faith in Tanzanian Pentecostal circles offer them masculine expressions that redirect male power to the church’s mission.

22 Montgomery. 23 Bernice Martin, “The Pentecostal Gender Paradox: A Cautionary Tale for the Sociology of Religion,” in Richard K. Fenn, ed., The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2003), 55; Ambrose, “Gender” in begp. 24 Elizabeth Brusco, The Reformation of Machismo: Evangelical Conversion and Gender in Columbia (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1995). 25 Martin Lindhardt, “Men of God: Neo-​ Pentecostalism and Masculinities in Urban Tanzania,” Religion 42, 2 (2015): 252–​72.

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Men are not asked to refrain from being forceful or aggressive, but rather to use those essentialist manly traits for kingdom purposes. This resonates with the paoc’s postwar men’s programming. When the paoc created Men’s Fellowship groups, they were hoping to carve out for Canadian Pentecostal men a set of roles in the local churches that would “harness” the power that men already exerted in their work and business lives. This was not a call for men to mimic the women. Instead, men were encouraged to embrace roles in the local church that matched and exceeded the influence of their wives and sisters. Thus, the language of “shaming the men” and challenging them to “keep up with the ladies” reinforced postwar functionalist assumptions about gender and the binary roles assigned to each sex: men lead with power and women follow in submission. The Men’s Fellowship appeals reminded readers that paoc men had epic potential: a veritable Niagara was waiting to be harnessed. Through men’s groups, paoc men would generate boundless power to drive the kingdom work forward. 4.4.2 When He Was Converted: The Power of Self-​Control The paoc published men’s testimonies that align with the highly gendered language of their church subcultures.26 Framed with images of submission, women’s testimonies typically make clear that they did not choose to become leaders or seek out powerful roles in the local church, but only reluctantly surrendered to such work in obedience to the Holy Spirit’s directive. Men, on the other hand, testify that they received power to minister when they adopted a Spirit-​led life. Instead of becoming effeminate, men gained more influence and greater control over their lives. Typically, Pentecostal men reported various new successes in their lives including greater profits in their businesses, better decision-​making skills, and more influence within their networks, including family, work, and church circles. Beginning in the early 1960s each issue of the paoc Men’s Fellowship magazine, Real Living, featured a testimony several pages in length, filled with the gendered rhetoric that typified Pentecostal men’s clubs. Consider the story of Sam Jenkins, a British Columbia labour leader. He “quit the communist party, … quit smoking and … quit drinking. He also quit cussing and to Sam this is one of the biggest miracles of all.”27 Jenkins’s testimony reinforced the familiar theme of Pentecostal prosperity. Although he came from a poor, working-​class 26 A.S. Van Klinken, “Men in the Remaking: Conversion Narratives and Born-​ Again Masculinities in Zambia,” Journal of Religion in Africa 42,3 (2012): 215–​239; Lindhardt, “Men of God.” 27 “Jenkins Got Call at Traffic Lights,” Real Living 1, 1 (n.d.) [c. 1963], 5–​7.

78 Ambrose family, now he drove a new Oldsmobile and held a very well-​paid job at $125 per week. Taking his faith even further, Jenkins was poised to leave all that material success behind, including his prominent union leadership position as President of the Maritime Workers Union. Jenkins was following a new call to become a “fisher of men.” From that life as a union leader, Jenkin took his transferrable skills as a professional persuader, and turned to evangelism. Before he took the decision to become a full-​time evangelist, he had already done that kind of work on an informal basis when “as a lay preacher [he] carried his Christianity right into the communist precinct in the Pender Auditorium. Until three years ago he conducted a workers’ revival center there three nights a week, converting some members of his own Union.”28 Jenkins was a poster child for the paoc’s Men’s Fellowship groups: delivered from his life of excesses, he enjoyed material prosperity making him the envy of every successful middle-​class postwar man, religious or not. But he was poised to leave that successful career in labour politics to become a full-​time evangelist, newly emboldened by his encounter with the Holy Spirit. A second testimony in Real Living emphasized more about the inner life associated with Pentecostal masculinity through the story of “Bus” Ibbott’s deliverance from a life of addictions.29 In an article entitled “Now I am Free!” Ibbott recounted that he hoped his testimony would help others: Perhaps, if you are as I was, seriously addicted to the binding habits of alcohol, barbiturates, and even narcotics, and you are suffering from a behavior pattern from which there seems to be no escape, you may, by reading this, find the One who has all power and the love to set you free, and give you the answer to your problems.30 Ibbott described how his teenaged addictions in the 1930s were exacerbated by his years of war service. Then, in the postwar years, he testified, “The experiences became progressively worse. I held and left approximately 25 jobs; was in and out of trouble with the law; and in general, an outcast from society, and a deadbeat hoodlum.”31 Ibbott found help through Alcoholics Anonymous, 28 29 30 31

“Jenkins Got Call at Traffic Lights,” 7. W.H. “Bus” Ibbott, “Once I Was Bound—​Now I am Free!” Real Living 1, 3, (n.d.), 4–​10. “Jenkins Got Call at Traffic Lights,” 4. “Jenkins Got Call at Traffic Lights,” 6.

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seemed to be on a path to stability when he “met and married a lovely girl and became a salesman in a good automobile company,” and began to work his way up the corporate ladder. He was clearly on the road to a postwar life of success that would resonate with his middle-​class peers. However, although Ibbott had the reputation of being a responsible person, he was wracked with internal conflict and guilt. “As I assessed my problems, I remembered that my employers willingly allowed me to leave to look after my business. My dear wife believed that I would handle matters responsibly. These wonderful people all trusted me and here I was, bent on destroying that trust and satisfying my own selfish desire for drink and questionable pleasure.”32 Describing in detail his inner turmoil and the unsuccessful struggle to overcome the temptations of his work life on the road, Ibbott’s story emphasizes his lack of self-​control. Then, at a critical moment, he found a Gideon Bible in a hotel room where he fell to his knees by the bed to surrender his life to the Holy Spirit. But, in that “surrender” he found new strength. This spiritual encounter did not leave Ibbott submissive or effeminate, but more manly than ever. He arose from that prayer with a newfound level of self-​control and could enjoy an honest life of integrity, with no hidden secrets. Ibbot was the very model of an ideal postwar Pentecostal man. By publishing his testimony, the paoc hoped to inspire other men to fully surrender their lives to Christ, and in doing so, rise out of their own existential crises to find inner strength and clarity. In this story of real-​life drama, Ibbott paradoxically found that through surrender, he gained new inner strength. Another Pentecostal man launched into his new life of power. 4.5

What Has the Postwar to Do with the Present?

What do postwar worries about men’s lagging levels of participation in congregational work or stories of inner turmoil have to do with the present day or with the theme of this book? Men’s Fellowship groups were steeped in rhetoric about men as personal evangelists sporting their golden fishhook lapel pins, claims about their untapped “Niagara-​like” potential and the power they would bring to local church efforts, and their inspiring testimonies of personal surrender that rendered them more successful and powerful than ever before. Yet, all of that praise for men was also packaged in a deceptively sweet tone of benevolent sexism where men were “shamed” into action so that they could 32

“Jenkins Got Call at Traffic Lights,” 8.

80 Ambrose “keep up with the ladies” of their churches. The paoc created a group that praised male participation by placing it in competition with women’s voluntary work to establish a foundation where men enjoyed preferential treatment. Indeed, men were described as the powerful actors who would bring success to their local churches. Taken to its logical extreme, such gendered privilege sidelined the efforts of women and lead to new imbalances of power in the paoc. Notions about the hierarchy of men in leadership and women in submission crept into paoc churches despite their oft-​repeated claim of commitment to egalitarian principles. Nostalgic commemorations of early Pentecostal women with their preaching and church planting as a fulfillment of the prophetic predictions about “sons and daughters” exercising their gifts together seemed to represent a very distant past. After the mid-​twentieth century, the daughters were expected to stand aside while their brothers took center stage. National leaders in the paoc were left to deal with the unintended consequences. By 2018 the issue of where the paoc stood on questions of women in leadership became so acute among Canadian Pentecostal congregations that the national executive took an extraordinary step of making a formal statement on the matter with a document entitled “paoc Statement of Affirmation Regarding the Equality of Women and Men in Leadership.”33 They had been pushed to do this because local congregations were refusing to appoint women to senior ministry positions. By issuing this statement, paoc national leaders hoped to reestablish that their churches are (and always have been) committed to gender inclusivity and equality. In their statement on the matter, the paoc admitted that although they had been ordaining women since 1984 and had reaffirmed that position in 1998 with a resolution about “gender inclusivity,” their intentions had not been realized. The statistical reality of gender imbalance among paoc ministerial personnel and the attitudes and practices in many district and congregational governing bodies expose the fact that attitudes in local churches do not align with principles of inclusion or a commitment to egalitarian convictions. In 2018, paoc statistics showed that women represented only about 6% of senior pastors. Two years later, that number has declined slightly to 5.4% as the paoc reported 52 women serving as senior pastors, out of 964 total senior pastors.34 The truth about the paoc and gender

33 34

Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, “PAOC Statement of Affirmation Regarding the Equality of Women and Men in Leadership,” June 2018. http://​paoc.org (Accessed 10 January 2020). Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. “Fellowship Statistics as at January 10, 2018,” and “Fellowship Statistics as at January 8, 2020.” https://​paoc.org/​servi​ces/​fel​lows​hip-​sta​tist​ ics (Accessed 22 April 2020).

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was clear, as the leadership publicly admitted, “there is a gap between our official position and our lived reality.”35 Scholars of Pentecostalism can help to explain that gap. Biblical scholars and theologians have suggested that this situation arises because the hermeneutic of a “plain text” reading masks a commitment to literalism that conveniently reinforces male authority.36 Sociologists of religion have noted that in North American Pentecostal churches, evangelicalism has infiltrated the laity, along with reformed theology leaving in its wake a diluted commitment to a range of Pentecostal doctrines. Reformed theology is notorious for promoting male headship and a hierarchy between the sexes. Moreover, recent feminist scholarship reminds us of evangelicalism’s longstanding opposition to and fear of feminism.37 As a historian, I maintain that the issues of gender inequality and abuse now coming to light in Pentecostal circles have been a long time in the making.38 Indeed, in this chapter I have traced the root of the problem back to postwar program initiatives with their entrenched gender norms. 4.6

Conclusion

The example of Men’s Fellowship groups makes it abundantly clear that paoc’s postwar programming was birthed from complementarian principles. 35 “PAOC Statement of Affirmation Regarding the Equality of Women and Men in Leadership,” June 2018. http://​paoc.org (Accessed 10 January 2020). 36 Melissa Archer and Kenneth J. Archer, “Complementarianism and Egalitarianism—​ Whose Side Are You Leaning On? A Pentecostal Reading of Ephesians 5:21–​33.” Pneuma 41, 1 (2019): 66–​90. 37 Adam Stewart, The New Canadian Pentecostals (Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier Press, 2015); Adam Stewart, Andrew K. Gabriel, and Kevin Shanahan, “Changes in Clergy Belief and Practice in Canada’s Largest Pentecostal Denomination,” Pneuma 39, 4 (2017): 457–​481; Allison Murray, “Creating the Feminist Boogey Woman: Popular Evangelical Authors’ Portrayal of Feminist Ideas, 1970–​2010,” Unpublished paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Church History, New York, January 5, 2020; Beth Allison Barr, The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2021); Aimee Byrd, Recovering From Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: How the Church Needs to Rediscover Her Purpose (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020); Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020); and Allison E. Murray, “Building Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: White American Evangelical Complementarian Theology, 1970–​2010,” Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Toronto School of Theology, 2021. 38 Linda M. Ambrose and Kimberly Alexander, “Pentecostal Studies Face the #MeToo Movement,” Pneuma 41, 1 (2019): 1–​7.

82 Ambrose More than seventy years ago, the paoc had already begun to embrace binary concepts of gender construction steeped in postwar functionalist thought. I maintain that recent infiltration by evangelical culture and reformed theology have only reinforced a preexisting problem. Postwar initiatives like Men’s Fellowship laid a strong foundation for complementarian thinking among the paoc membership that sidelines women and privileges men. paoc publications, infused with the language typical of benevolent sexism, praised women’s contributions to ministry and congregational life, while at the same time building the case that until male laity were shamed into keeping up with the ladies, churches could not advance and be healthy. However, as recent events arising from the #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements have made abundantly clear, for men’s church groups to unite in promoting hypermasculine rhetoric, and at the same time assert that they hold egalitarian convictions, is a profound contradiction. It is both hypocritical and unhealthy. The postwar model of gender relations is a relic that needs to be abandoned, not defended. Women in the paoc have suffered and continue to suffer a range of limitations, including the denial of their leadership and ministry gifts. Moreover, the abuses that occur in local Pentecostal churches and denominational settings where violence against women, in its many forms including physical, verbal, emotional, and spiritual abuse, is an all-​too common occurrence. These abuses, which spring from dangerous assumptions about male superiority, thinly disguised as a commitment to “biblical” principles, are thriving despite official claims to the contrary. The fact that so many women share these experiences may come as a shock to those who are honestly or willfully unaware. Unlike the high hopes that denominational strategists had for creating a men’s fellowship group in the postwar era, realities of the twenty-​first century make one thing very clear: there is no clever programming strategy or official statement that can right these wrongs. Many Pentecostals, both men and women, are finding far more personal solutions. Among other strategies, some are deliberately allowing ministerial credentials to lapse despite a call to ministry. Others are speaking up and risking employment at denominational schools where job security is tenuous at best. Many more are quietly slipping away from their former ties to the paoc as they join the growing ranks of “church refugees” who find shelter in more progressive liturgical traditions.39 Perhaps 39

Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope, Church Refugees: Sociologists Reveal Why People are Done with Church but Not Their Faith (Loveland, CO: Group Publishing, 2015).

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most radically of all some are opting for disaffiliation, placing them into a Canadian census category called “the nones,” as people who declare no ties to any organized religion.40 Many previously affiliated Canadian Pentecostal believers are in that number.

Bibliography

Ambrose, Linda M. “Gender.” In Brill’s Encyclopedia of Global Pentecostalism Online. Edited by Michael Wilkinson, Conny Au, Jörg Haustein, Todd M. Johnson. http://​ dx.doi.org/​10.1163/​2589-​3807_​egpo​_​COM​_​036​929. (Accessed 13 January 2020). Ambrose, Linda M. and Kimberly Alexander. “Pentecostal Studies Face the #MeToo Movement.” Pneuma 41, 1 (2019): 1–​7. Archer, Melissa and Kenneth J. Archer. “Complementarianism and Egalitarianism—​ Whose Side Are You Leaning On? A Pentecostal Reading of Ephesians 5:21–​33.” Pneuma 41, 1 (2019): 66–​90. Barr, Beth Allison. The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2021. Barretto, Manuela and Naomi Ellemers. “The burden of benevolent sexism: How it contributes to the maintenance of gender inequalities.” European Journal of Social Psychology 35, (2005): 633–​642. Brusco, Elizabeth. The Reformation of Machismo: Evangelical Conversion and Gender in Columbia. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1995. Byrd, Aimee. Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: How the Church Needs to Rediscover Her Purpose. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020. Cerillo Jr, A. and G. Wacker. “Bibliography and Historiography of Pentecostalism in North America.” In Stanley Burgess, ed. International Dictionary of Pentecostal Charismatic Movements. 397–​405. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 2002. Du Mez, Kristin Kobes. Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. New York: W.W. Norton, 2020. Glick, P. and S.T. Fiske. “An Ambivalent Alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality.” American Psychologist 56 (2001): 109–​118. Glick, P. and S.T. Fiske. “The ambivalent sexism inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 70 (1996): 491–​512. Ibbott, W.H. “Bus.” “Once I Was Bound—​Now I am Free!” Real Living 1, 3, [n.d.], 4–​10.

40

Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-​Laflamme, None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada (New York: New York University Press, 2020).

84 Ambrose “Jenkins Got Call at Traffic Lights.” Real Living 1, 1 (n.d., [c. 1963]): 5–​7. Lindhardt, Martin. “Men of God: Neo-​Pentecostalism and Masculinities in Urban Tanzania.” Religion 42, 2 (2015): 252–​72. Martin, Bernice. “The Pentecostal Gender Paradox: A Cautionary Tale for the Sociology of Religion.” In Richard K. Fenn, ed., The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion. 52–​66. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2003. “Men’s Fellowship.” Pentecostal Testimony June 1955, 11. “MF Emblem.” Pentecostal Testimony June 1957, 27. Miller, Thomas William. Canadian Pentecostals: A History of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Mississauga, ON: Full Gospel Publishing House, 1994. Montgomery, James. “MF: The Difference Between Power and Puttering.” Pentecostal Testimony February 1957, 26. Murray, Allison E. “Creating the Feminist Boogey Woman: Popular Evangelical Authors’ Portrayal of Feminist Ideas, 1970–​2010.” Unpublished paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Church History, New York. January 5, 2020. Murray, Allison E. “Building Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: White American Evangelical Complementarian Theology, 1970–​2010.” Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Toronto School of Theology, 2021. Packard, Josh and Ashleigh Hope. Church Refugees: Sociologist Reveal Why People are Done with Church but Not Their Faith. Loveland, CO: Group Publishing, 2015. Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada Archives. Men’s Ministry Committee fonds. “Minutes of the Meeting Appointed by the General Executive regarding the matter of organizing Men’s Fellowships in our churches.” February 11, 1954. Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. “PAOC Statement of Affirmation Regarding the Equality of Women and Men in Leadership.” June 2018. http://​paoc.org (Accessed 10 January 2020). Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. “Fellowship Statistics as at January 10, 2018” and “Fellowship Statistics as at January 9, 2020.” https://​paoc.org/​servi​ces/​fel​lows​hip -​sta​tist​ics (Accessed 22 April 2020). Stewart, Adam. The New Canadian Pentecostals. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier Press, 2015. Stewart, Adam, Andrew K. Gabriel, and Kevin Shanahan. “Changes in Clergy Belief and Practice in Canada’s Largest Pentecostal Denomination.” Pneuma 39, 4 (2017): 457–​481. Thiessen, Joel and Sarah Wilkins-​Laflamme. None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada. New York: New York University Press, 2020. Underhill, Harold. “Keeping Up with the Ladies.” Pentecostal Testimony June 1, 1950, 7. Upton, R.G. “Men of Vision Organize First Men’s Missionary Council at Calvary Temple, Winnipeg.” Pentecostal Testimony June 15, 1951, 8–​9. Upton, G.R. “Why Men Should Teach.” Pentecostal Testimony September 1955, 22.

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Van Klinken, A.S. “Men in the Remaking: Conversion Narratives and Born-​ Again Masculinities in Zambia.” Journal of Religion in Africa 42,3 (2012): 215–​ 239.Wilkinson, Michael and Linda M. Ambrose. After the Revival: Pentecostalism and the Making of a Canadian Church. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-​Queen’s University Press, 2020.

­c hapter 5

Speak to the Heart

Orthopathic Hermeneutics and Telling the Whole Story of the Woman Cut into Pieces Casey S. Cole In a Holy Week homily entitled, “Betrayal,” Sarah Coakley asserts that as Judas ‘hands over’ Jesus, divine love does not cease but rather is displayed and coexists with betrayal.1 In such betrayal, Christ is actually glorified. Despite the mingling of betrayal and forgiveness, still Judas despairs unto taking his own life. The “hander-​over of Christ to his Passion” is hung by his own misguided passions. Coakley observes that Judas volleyed between his fallen desire to control the situation and his defeated despair when he could not. Coakley also reminds us that Judas is not alone in this. She says, “we too go on resisting this central truth of passion; we prefer the strange combination of repeated attempts to control, and its polar opposite, despair.”2 We, too, have a hard time living in the tension of betrayal and love, seeing justice and mercy as a team, or letting our pain and God’s glory both have their say. One of the realms in which Christians often swing from control to despair is in reading to the Bible. When a certain pericope does not fit into one’s set paradigms for orthodoxy, there is always the inclination to try to ‘control’ the text. We theologically manipulate the passage to make the scripture fit our image of God or of goodness. If this cannot be easily accomplished, the other tendency may be to despair and ignore the text altogether. These two options are especially tempting with the passages that Phyllis Trible called ‘Texts of Terror.’3 These texts often act like ‘Judases,’ betraying Christ and handing us over to despair. There is, perhaps, no greater biblical example of this than Judges 19, a story typically called ‘The Levite’s Concubine.’4 1 Sarah Coakley, The Cross and the Transformation of Desire, (Cambridge, UK: Grove Books Limited, 2014), 9. 2 Coakley, The Cross and the Transformation of Desire, 10. 3 Phyllis Trible, Texts of Terror. (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1984). 4 For this writing, I have chosen not to name the nameless woman of Judges 19. I have done this for two reasons: first, because her male counterpart is also not named, and secondly, so that we might remember the women, named and unnamed, throughout time and space whom she may represent.

© Casey S. Cole, 2022 | DOI:10.1163/9789004513204_007

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The story opens with a man who travels to a woman ‘to speak to her heart,’ but then is found pushing her toward abusers to protect himself and ultimately butchers her body. This is truly a text of terror—​chocked full of betrayal, dehumanization, gang-​rape, violence, murder, and dismemberment. This chapter will argue, however, that when read through the lens of orthopathy, this terrible text still gives space for the Spirit to help us make meaning and be conformed to the image of Christ, and therefore, this story from our canon cannot and should not be ignored. To do this, we must be willing to engage in the therapeutic practice of telling the story, and we must also tell it correctly—​something the Levite does not do when he recounts the events to the tribes of Israel. The affective reasoning of Sarah Coakley offers a theological foundation for an orthopathic hermeneutic, that is, reading the biblical text in light of desire and passions, and subsequently, to transform our desire and affections.5 Coakley demonstrates in her own preaching how passion, reason, and faith work together to make meaning from the biblical text, even when “at the heart of the extraordinary story is this crash of meaning.”6 To hold passions in tension—​specifically suffering and love—​allows one to stop the hermeneutical control-​despair cycle, and also may allow this terrible text of trauma to become a place of trauma-​healing. We must read with our hearts so we can take seriously the text’s closing and only admonition: ‘Take this to heart, make counsel, and speak out’ (Judges 19.30). 5.1

The Texts of Terror and Traditional Hermeneutics

Theologians, biblical scholars, and preachers often ask of a pericope, ‘how should this text function?’ That is to ask, in what way should we learn from it? One could classify many answers to these questions into two simple categories: orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Hermeneutical orthodoxy is reading to learn what chapter to believe. This kind of reading pursues true doctrine and intellectual explanation of ideas. Orthodoxy is what theology is made of; it births the sermons which tell listeners what or how to think. Orthopraxy, on the other hand, is the heartbeat of ethics. It leads to the sermons of life-​application. An orthopraxic reading comes away from the text with a list of right and wrong actions, making an understanding of what to do and what not to do today. One will see that the story of Judges 19 speaks differently when read through the lenses of 5 For an introduction to orthopathic hermeneutics, see my essay, “Taking Hermeneutics to Heart,” pnuema 39, (2017): 264–​274. 6 See Coakley, “Sacrifice,” in The Cross and Transformation of Desire, 22.

88 Cole orthodoxy, orthopraxy, or finally that which Coakley’s affective reasoning will lead us to: orthopathy. 5.1.1 Orthopraxy, Orthodoxy, and the Woman of Judges 19 If we try to force the text of Judges 19 through the typical hermeneutical lenses of orthodoxy and orthopraxy, we take a great risk. One does well to remember that the text is pure narrative, and the narrator does not break the storytelling to explain the events therein, nor does the author weave in ethical assessment of the characters or their actions. Judges 19 functions without doctrinal commentary or ethical clarifications, therefore any meaning that is made from the text relies on the theology of the reader. For this reason–​perhaps along with simply being horrifically gruesome–​the pericope garners extremely quaint homiletical attention.7 John Yoder says, “Because the figures in Judges are unacceptable companions for people espousing contemporary Western values, they have been ignored, or worse yet, recreated in a way that is less jarring for modern sensibilities.”8 Not only is there no commentary from the narrator, the text is also particularly difficult because there is no mention of God, prayer to God or voice from God. Yahweh never weighs in to set the characters or the reader straight. Further, the hermeneutics of historical criticism and grammatical criticism do not ‘save’ the meaning of this text. There is no great vocabulary or grammatical discovery that has been made to turn the meaning of the text around, nor is there some ancient sociological factor that makes the narrative make sense. The question is no longer, ‘What can we do with the text?’ but rather has to become, ‘What will we do with us?’ Rickie Moore has helped the hermeneut to realize there is no greater historical criticism than the reading and interpreting of one’s own self.9 Modern scholarship helped us realize that often we need to know the original meaning or intention in the text before we can make proper meaning for our own lives from it. Yet I want to offer that it is expressly because this passage makes no sense, it offers us only nonsense, that we must let our affections be our epistemic guide and produce our rationality, theology, and meaning making. Forcing the text through the lenses of orthodoxy or orthopraxy has historically proved to provide dangerous theology or ethics as we can see from a quick reception history of Judges 19. 7 Judges 19 does not appear in the Sunday lessons of the Revised Common Lectionary but does appear in the Daily Office. 8 John Yoder, Power and Politics in the Book of Judges: Men and Women of Valor (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2015), 5–​6. 9 See, Rickie D. Moore, “Altar Hermeneutics,” pneuma 38 (2016): 148–​159.

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5.1.2 Reception History 5.1.2.1 Patristics For all that the early church fathers gave us, we know they often did more harm than good in the patriarchy department. One of the earliest commentaries on Judges 19 is from St. Ambrose. Interestingly, he renders a reading of the text that is absolutely infused with passion, emotion, and desire. He retells the narrative with imagined detail the text does not offer, and in doing so theologically alters understanding of the events. Contemporary readers may not be surprised to find him saying things like, “The woman’s beauty had bewitched them … they were captivated by her beauty” to explain why the woman was raped.10 Ambrose actually offers that the Levite loved the woman overwhelmingly more than she loved him, and that this—​the Levite’s love!—​was the root of all the unfortunate problems in their story. He postures, “While they felt the first attraction of their love deeply and equally, he continued to burn with unbounded desire for his wife. Yet her ways were different. His passion for her intensified until he inwardly seethed with desire.”11 He continues, imagining their journey back: “her husband felt no weariness, taking joy in his desire and lightening his journey with talk at times with the woman”.12 Not only is the text void of those affective details, but it gives the reader no reason to imagine them. Ambrose also imagines the affections of the woman, specifically in that she lovingly honored the man in choosing her dying form: “overcome … by grief at her wrong, she fell at the door of their host where her husband had entered, and died, with the last effort of her life guarding the feelings of a good wife so as to preserve herself for her husband, at least her mortal remains.”13 This positing of the man and woman’s supposed love for one another seems like quite an example of the wrong way to imaginably infuse the text with passions and desire. It could potentially lead to excusing abuse because of the text. Certainly one must realize that love does not account for pushing one’s beloved into the arms of danger, nor should love send one back to the door of an abuser.14 This reminds us that orthopathy must not simply accept any

10 Ambrose, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1–​2 Samuel, in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, ed. John R. Franke (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 173. 11 Ambrose, in Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1–​2 Samuel, 169. 12 Ambrose, in Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1–​2 Samuel, 170. 13 Ambrose, in Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1–​2 Samuel, 172. 14 We have been reminded by the #churchtoo movement that such instructions are, unfortunately, not only historical in the church.

90 Cole pathos, but rather searches for the pathos of God in Christ that is exemplary for our own affections. 5.1.2.2 Mainline Churches and the academy across mainline traditions have all but ignored Judges 19 in their literature from the 1600s until the rise of feminist theology in the twentieth century. Even still in commentaries or homiletics guides, Judges 19 often does not make the cut or it is treated briefly. Even still, those brief treatments often offer only despair, justification for the maltreatment of the woman, or they divert to other topics tangential to the issue of abuse. Many times these tangential topics are important themes like hospitality, but they bring nothing to bear on the relationship of the Levite and the pilgêsh.15 Some authors try adamantly to find redemption for the text by highlighting some redemption in the text, often in the character of the older Ephraimite. For example, John Yoder says, “The real hero of the story is the alien householder from Ephraim. Through his generosity and efforts to protect his guest, he is the most honorable individual in the cycle of stories.”16 While certainly this man’s hospitality is laudable, his later actions of offering his own daughter and the pilgêsh to be raped cannot be redeemed to make him an exemplary character. Matthew Henry’s commentaries prove to have lasting influence on some mainline and evangelical preaching, and his assessment of Judges 19 unfortunately seems to hold the key themes of early Pentecostal understanding and application of the text. Like some of the Patristics, Henry blames the woman’s actions and appearance for a role in what befell her, but he goes on a step farther to ultimately say that her abuse was God’s righteous judgment upon her. He says, In the miserable end of this woman, we may see the righteous hand of God punishing her for her former uncleanness, when she played the whore against her husband. Though her father had countenanced her, her husband had forgiven her, and the fault was forgotten now that the

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In this chapter, I shall refer to the woman of Judges 19 as the pilgêsh for two reasons: first, to steer away from the promiscuous connotations of the English word “concubine,” but also to allow her to remain nameless. Whereas I named the daughter of Jephthah in other works, it seems the woman in Judges 19 can remain nameless because her male counterpart is also nameless and known by his title, and in leaving her innominate, we more easily link her story to our own and the many abused and nameless women around the world today. 16 Yoder, Power and Politics in the Book of Judges, 150.

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quarrel was made up, yet God remembered it against her when he suffered these wicked men thus wretchedly to abuse her; how unrighteous soever [sic] they were in their treatment of her, in permitting it the Lord was righteous.17 Like so many authors of his time, and like the Levite himself, Henry throws all the blame on everyone except the two Levite men. 5.1.2.3 Pentecostalism The Pentecostal voice in Judges 19 is surprisingly silent, especially given our historic attraction to the book of Judges,18 and unfortunately, what quaint offerings the literature of the twentieth century has is quite embarrassing. The citations of this passage are androcentric and sexist, objectifying the woman even still. One author in The Pentecostal Evangel sums up the pericope by stating, “All this was surely bad for the Levite.”19 In a Q&A section of The Pentecostal Holiness Advocate, the inquiry, “Please explain Judges 19” is repeated in 1926 and 1940, both times with the same bleak response. The responder essentially downplays the horror of the text by saying, ‘If we remember that the religious life of Israel was at a very low ebb during the period of the judges, it may be easier to understand how such dreadful thing [sic] could happen.’20 It is interesting and ironic to note that this was printed on the same page as a sermon by John Wesley.21 The Advocate newsletter also assigns Judges 19 for the Bible reading for a Thursday in February. The trivia question for the day’s reading asks: “What was abused at Gibeah?”22 Not “who,” but “what.” We know that Pentecostal Hermeneutics have metamorphosed in the last century. The shift in the last five years alone would not allow for such androcentric, female-​objectifying read within the academic community. Thanks 17 18

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Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Volume II: Joshua–​Esther, (New York, NY: Fleming G. Revell Co., n.d.), 240. Lee Roy Martin, The Unheard Voice of God: A Pentecostal Hearing of the Book of Judges (Blandford Forum, UK: Deo Publishing, 2008), 5. Martin says, ‘When it comes to Judges, Pentecostalism is drawn to the action of the Spirit and to the vibrant narratives, but we have a hard time reconciling how the Spirit could empower persons with such unsanctified personal lives.’ Martin continues, ‘We have mixed feelings about the charismatic heroes who journey into the extraordinary as the Spirit of the Lord moves upon them, but who wander into failure as they follow their faulty desires.’ T.J. Jones. “No King in Israel.” The Pentecostal Evangel, no. 126 (1938): 4. P.F. Beachem. “Question Drawer,” The Pentecostal Holiness Advocate 10, no. 20 (September 1926): 8–​9. Also occurring on this page is: “q.55 Please gives the names of the authors of the books of the Bible. Ans.—​“The Bible has only one Author, and that is the Holy Spirit.” The Pentecostal Holiness Advocate 9, no. 39 (1926): 5.

92 Cole to Rickie Moore’s Altar Hermeneutics, Cheryl John’s Grieving, Brooding and Transforming, and Chris Green’s Sanctifying Interpretation, we have learned to struggle with the difficult biblical texts as means of wrestling with God, learning the pathos of the Spirit, and critiquing ourselves. The Pentecostal community awaits to see the fruits of their labor as their methodology is applied to specific pericopes. Little academic attention has been paid to a reading of Judges 19; the exception is Bradley Embry’s publication from 2013. Embry offers a fascinating Pentecostal perspective by asking a riveting question: How would the book of Judges be read differently without the story of ­chapter 19?23 He will then further ask: How would the Pentecostal community be different if Judges 19 did not exist? He notes a sharp turn in his methodology, realizing that meaning could only be made from the narrative, not by understanding it in its historical context, but rather by assessing how it could function in his contemporary community.24 He finds that “the role of the female in Judges 19 and the role played by Judges 19 in the narrative were interconnected.”25 Embry’s attention to the Levite and concubine were first piqued by noticing that the Pentecostal church and academy had largely eschewed their story, and thus he concludes his scholarship with a caution for the church, saying, “By disabling the narrative and disengaging from it, the community of faith eliminates an important method of reflection on its own potential and capacity for evil.”26 Embry’s work reminds us that an orthopathic reading is already at home in Pentecostalism. Embry argues that “at certain, key points in the Hebrew Bible, only a female figure works to drive the narrative forward, and, as a result, females are essential to the formation and development of the narrative.”27 Embry also makes strong criticisms of the characters in the narrative. He levies that “The Levite’s prosaic response to the concubine in the morning seems out of sorts as a response because it is out of sorts as a response.”28 He reminds us that the 23 24 25 26 27

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Bradley Embry, “Narrative Loss, the (Important) Role of Women, and Community in Judges 19,” in Joshua and Judges, ed. Athalya Brenner and Gale A. Yee (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2013). Embry, “Narrative Loss,” 259. Embry, “Narrative Loss,” 259. Embry, “Narrative Loss,” 268. Embry, “Narrative Loss,” 266. One could certainly see Embry’s point with this, and also wonder if it is necessarily true. Is it categorically worse because she’s a woman? Or just because of the fact that since she was a woman she was marginalized and couldn’t protect herself? Is so, then the issue is her vulnerability. What if it were male-​male rape or the rape of a disabled person? Could these not garner the same praxis or response by evoking the same pathos? Embry, “Narrative Loss,” 262.

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fact that the men in the story do guard the women in protection is “a damning criticism of the priesthood.”29 Embry’s position is especially noteworthy in saying, “it is only when the concubine suffers as she does that the community is suddenly awakened to the depth of its corruptions. … The story of the Levite’s concubine becomes the means by which the societal decay is revealed most clearly.”30 Perhaps for those of us who read the Bible more than the news, her suffering will awaken us to our own personal or societal decay. 5.1.2.4 Feminism In a homiletics commentary, Joseph Jeter remarks, “If it were not for feminist scholars, I suspect that Judges would be all but ignored today.”31 The feminist methodology taught us to read in a way that allowed the female victim to be at the center of the text, to “hear” her voice, and to call the reader to solidarity with her. It allowed one to see patriarchy at work in and through the text, and to call it for what it was. Phyllis Trible, of course, changed the academic landscape for Judges in her book, The Texts of Terror. Her treatment of the text demonstrates how the text itself is patriarchal and further reveals and confirms the patriarchal abuse therein. Trible calls Judges 19, “a story we want to forget but are commanded to speak”.32 She says, “Our task is to make the journey alongside the concubine: to be her companion in a literary and hermeneutical enterprise.”33 She makes an argument from the (lack of) intertextuality linguistically and thematically to conclude that the response of the reader must be repentance in our contemporary reality.34 Trible pays special attention to the effect of the violence against the woman. Trible notes this on two levels. First, that “the discovery of the crime leads to further violence against the woman.”35 Essentially, the pilgêsh incurs further trouble for being abused. Secondly, it does not only lead to further violence against her individual self, but also against a multitude of women in her society. “The rape of one has become the rape of six hundred.”36 It is not only 29 Embry, “Narrative Loss,” 263. 30 Embry, “Narrative Loss,” 265. 31 Joseph R. Jeter, Preaching Judges (St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2003), 2. 32 Trible, Texts of Terror, 65. 33 Trible, Texts of Terror, 66. 34 Trible, Texts of Terror, 80–​84. Abraham takes the same instrument in the Akedah, Saul later cuts up an ox and sends it to Israel as a call to war in 1 Sam 11.7. Judges is followed by the stories of Hannah where all the men in her life treat her well and Ruth who provides a positive story of female hospitality. 35 Trible, Texts of Terror, 77. 36 Trible, Texts of Terror, 83.

94 Cole figurative to say, “Israelites males have dismembered the corporate body of Israelite females.”37 Furthermore, it is not just women who suffer great harm. Many men are killed. Allowing one woman to be abused puts us all at risk. It is this particular element of the narrative that many womanist scholars have critiqued Trible for overlooking. Not only can many Black women find themselves societally in the position of pilgêsh (as compared to white women being the “first wife”), Koala Jones-​Warsaw notes that, “This type of feminist approach lacks the holistic vision needed to see the various levels of victimization.”38 Jones-​Warsaw says, “The very ideology which Trible tries to avoid, she ends up reinforcing. Her dichotomy of wicked men /​innocent women sets up a thought pattern which ignored the interrelatedness of their fates—​the men are also victimized by the victimization of women.”39 Ultimately, the feminist and womanist perspectives rightfully see this text of terror as one that is tragedy alone, but they also proclaim that we must remember this woman and in doing so, we stand in solidarity with our abused sisters and brothers today. 5.1.3 Redefining Power After all this, one must wonder: is there any reason to redeem this text? Is there any good that can come from it? The texts of terror not only demonstrate abuses of power, but they can be used for abuses of power today. As we saw from the Patristic treatments of text, it is too easy to use it to mistreat women. Yet Coakley argues that a Spirit-​led ascetic of desire can actually purge the misdirected longings that lead one to the abuses of power.40 In her book, Powers and Submissions, Coakley argues that while white Christian feminism has shied away from vulnerability, a “defense of some version of kenosis as not only compatible with feminism, but vital to a distinctly Christian manifestation of it.”41 What is particular for the kenotic view is not a suffering due to loss, but rather due to the experiences of humanness. 37 Trible, Texts of Terror, 83. 38 Koala Jones-​Warsaw, “Toward a Womanist Hermeneutic: A Reading of Judges 19–​21”. in A Feminist Companion to Judges, ed. Athalya Brenner (Wiltshire, England: Sheffield Academic Press), 181. 39 Jones-​Warsaw, “Toward a Womanist Hermeneutic,” 180. 40 Coakley, God, Sexuality and the Self: An Essay on the Trinity. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 15. 41 Coakley, Powers and Submissions: Spirituality, Philosophy and Gender, (Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers, 2002), 4. Coakley utilizes Cyril’s understanding of kenosis that emphasizes an assumption by Christ (humanity and all its humanness), instead of a negation of his divinity. She describes kenosis as, “the divine Logos’s taking on of human flesh in the incarnation, but without loss, impairment, or restriction of divine powers.” Ibid., 14.

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Coakley shows how Cyril argued that Christ “permitted his own flesh to experience its proper affections and permitted his human soul to experience its proper affections.”42 In reading such a story like Judges 19, we are poured out. We are reminded that we are cloaked in humanness but find ourselves emptied of meaning. This shows us that we can be vulnerable to God in reading the Bible yet without having to fall victim to the text. One is permitted, then, to experience the text with all their human affections such as Christ permitted himself in his incarnation. Such a hermeneutic would empower the reader to recognize his or her affections and desires stimulated by the text, and analyze how his or her affections and desire affected their reading. Texts of terror may be prime biblical real estate for testing this orthopathic hermeneutic. Texts like Judges 19 disarm by demonstrating the dangers of vulnerability. Likewise, in doing so, the Church becomes vulnerable as the reader. When we make room for God in such a text, the space has to be made in us. God is not found in the plot of the story, but rather in the illumination of the reader. In not forcing a certain reading of the text, meaning comes via our experience of waiting on God. Now we are vulnerable, not to the story, but rather to the critique of our own human experiences and affection. We ourselves become the object of critique instead of the text. Thus, as Coakley says of prayer, so it is true with the Scriptures: But whilst risky, this practice is profoundly transformative, ‘empowering’ in a mysterious ‘Christic’ sense; for it is a feature of the special ‘self-​ effacement’ of this gentle space-​making—​this yielding to divine power which is no worldly power—​that it marks one’s willed engagement in the pattern of cross and resurrection, one’s deeper rooting and grafting into the ‘body of Christ’. … This form of vulnerability is not an invitation to be battered; nor is its silence a silencing. (If anything, it builds one in the courage to give prophetic voice.) By choosing to ‘make space’ in this way, one ‘practices’ the ‘presence of God’.43 Now not only has the reader unsilenced the voice of the victim in the text, but also the voice of the Spirit to speak through the text.

42 Coakley, Power and Submissions, 15. (See, Cyril, De recta fide, 11.55.) 43 Coakley, Powers and Submissions, 35.

96 Cole 5.2

Orthopathy Applied

Our possibilities for meaning making from Judges 11 toward human flourishing expand when we change the questions asked in light of desire and other matters of the heart. Instead of asking, ‘What do we learn to think?’ (orthodoxy) or ‘How do we ethically apply it?’ (orthopraxy), what if we ask, ‘How does it make us feel?’ What is the affective response that occurs when hearing this story? What is our emotive reaction? When we identify how the story makes us feel, new insights occur. This practice of affecting the text or being affected by that it is not simply emotionalism or emotivism, but the hermeneutic of orthopathy: learning what is right to feel. Coakley says that, “unredeemed desire is at the root of each of these challenges to the systematic task.”44 This is also true for the hermeneutical task. When we cannot make meaning from a narrative of scripture, it is often because it did not conclude in a way that we desire it to. Further, when doctrine or application are drawn from the scriptures in ways that abuse the message of the Gospel, it reveals that our desires need to be purged. Sometimes a reader does not recognize his or her desires until they confront their emotions caused by the text. Our desires and our reactions reveal much about our theology and ethics. Thus, when orthodoxic or orthopraxic lenses do not lead to a message that is faithful to the Good News, reading the text via our affections may help. Coakley says that good theology “is founded not in secular rationality but in spiritual practices of attention that mysteriously challenge and expand the range of rationality, and simultaneously darken and break one’s hold on previous certainties.”45 The church must be able to practice attention toward the texts of terror to find a sense of spiritual rationality. We do this by contemplating the text alongside our affections. Affections are the ‘matters of the heart.’ They include our senses, emotions, feelings, mood, passions and virtues. All such things are connected but not collapsible, and such are all ultimately rooted in our desires. It is important to note that affections are not anti-​reason; they are not necessarily or inherently irrational. Coakley insists that affective reasoning is not only possible, but necessary and necessarily compatible with faith.46 With such a way, the Spirit can do what the Levite could not: ‘speak to her heart.’ 44 Coakley, God, Sexuality and Self, 52. 45 Coakley, The New Asceticism: Sexuality, Gender, and the Quest for God (London: Bloomsbury Continuum, 2015), 33. 46 Coakley states of religious studies, “the widespread assumption that it was the modern period that produced a new and stark disjunction between feeling and rationality is, as repeatedly shown, flawed.” She notes that the relationship between psychology and

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5.2.1 Affections of/​in the Text Before examining the passions produced by the text, let us note the passions (or lack thereof) in the narrative itself. This pericope contains much ‘heart’ language.47 It opens with the Levite going to the woman ‘to speak to her heart’ (v.3). Twice the father-​in-​law tells the Levite to ‘make his heart merry’ (vv.6, 9). When the Levite and older Ephraimite dine together, the text says they are ‘enjoying themselves to the heart’ (v.22). Finally, the passage concludes by exhorting all of Israel to ‘take to heart’ the things that have happened (v.30). Even with all of this metaphorical ‘heart’ language, the characters of the narrative do not actually demonstrate much emotion. The language is full of affective words, but the actions of the story itself do not always demonstrate that the passion gets put into practice. 5.2.1.1 The Levite The story opens by saying that the Levite is going ‘to speak kindly’ to the heart of the pilgêsh, but the reader is never privileged to that conversation if it does indeed occur. The pilgêsh, in fact, is never given voice. One must wonder about the validity of the Levite’s claim since he waits four months to pursue his estranged lover but wastes no time at all pushing her out of the door toward danger in order to protect himself. One of the most difficult verses to stomach in Judges 19 is verse 28 because is it completely devoid of emotion. Upon finding her abused on the ground, the Levite merely commands the woman to get up go, showing no signs of care for her well-​being at all. Since he has not

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religious philosophy has been as convoluted as the relationship between the head and the heart. She points toward Thomas Dixon who explains that due to a “shift in nomenclature and association in the late nineteenth century … as a secular psychological category, “emotion” swallowed up and encompassed all the earlier and subtler distinctions between passion, affect, feeling and sentiment which for the most part had originally had a religious locus.” The category of ‘emotion’ is rather new historically speaking, and as the discipline of psychology developed in ways that were perceived as more secular in the twentieth century, the passions moved away from historical Jewish and Christian ideas and returned toward the Aristotelean view that they are illogical and usually uncontrollable. Though many philosophical arguments are made about the relationship of reason, cognition, and affection, Coakley conclusively remarks: “It is the delicate philosophical distinction between different kinds of rationality and of feeling which should thus exercise us, just as did the ancients and the scholastics, and not the false presumption that ‘emotion’ necessarily distorts and impedes a reasonable faith.” See Coakley, “Introduction,” in Faith, Rationality and the Passions, 9–​10. For a fascinating review of using the heart as a metaphor, see Paul L. Holmer, “The Human Heart: The Logic of a Metaphor,” in Thinking the Faith with Passion. (Eugene, OR; Cascade Books, 2012), 247–​267.

98 Cole cared for her heart, he can then dismember her bone by bone like a product. In the end, he uses her to get what he wants: war. The great irony of all this lack of emotion (or virtue for that matter) is that ultimately the Levite pulls an affective move. He sends her broken body to the tribes of Israel to stir them. He sends along an indignant and impassioned speech that might make one think he is devastated at the loss of his lover. His words, however, show his true heart as he says, ‘they violated my pilgêsh,’ as if he could do nothing or tried to save her. He lets this happen to her.48 5.2.1.2 Narration There is one more voice worth noting from the text, and that is the narration of the text itself. Trauma specialist Janelle Stanley says the Judges 19 reads in a way that directly mimics the report of a traumatic experience from an abused person.49 She notes that the literary mechanisms employed (repetition, lack of detail, loss of focus on the central character, namelessness, change of speed, and truncated telling of the trauma itself) are all coping mechanisms of trauma narratives. While the author or narrator of Judges gives no commentary on the story, perhaps in the way it is told, the grief is underlying the whole time. It is as if the Scripture knows how bad it is and has a hard time recounting it. Perhaps in noting this, we can see the Spirit’s grief, too. While of course recounting trauma narratives can be triggering, Stanley also tells us that they can be healing. She says, “Telling the story stops the fragmentation process. It allows a victim of trauma to begin re-​associating events and emotions, sensation and memory. No matter how traumatic the story is, the ability to tell it heals.”50 We must take up the challenge: ‘consider it, take counsel, and speak out.’51 48

49 50 51

This is where it becomes crucial to the reading audience to separate the actions from the characters of the narrative from the sanctioning (or lack thereof) of said events in the text. Many times a reader, when trying to makes sense of the text and of their own life, can surmise that, “the Levite ‘let’ this happen’ to her, so therefore the Bible ‘lets’ this happen to her, so therefore God ‘let’ this happen to her, and thus God must have let what happen to me occur because God willed it.” Anyone who has heard multiple Christian women try to theologically reason as to why they were raped can report that so often the abused says something like, “God lets rape happen in the Bible, so I know He had a good reason for having it happen to me.” Janelle Stanley, ‘Judges 19: Text of Trauma,’ in Joshua and Judges, ed. Athalya Brenner and Gale A. Yee (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2013), 275–​290. Stanley, “Judges 19,” 288. Stanley says, “Judges 19 is a horrible story. All trauma narratives are. We want to deny them, to forget them, to move past them. But they persist. Just as this text persists. And somehow, with decades of clinical research, this text recognizes the power of constructing a traumatic narrative. It first warns us it will be a hard story, and then goes on to tell it.” See, Stanley, “Judges 19,” 289.

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5.2.2 An Orthopathic Example So, what happens to or with our reason in Judges 19? Perhaps it is a text ‘where meaning goes to die.’ Yet perhaps our reasoning does kick in when we read this and are filled with rage, confusion, and anguish. Emotions and feelings rush to the surface of our cheeks and our minds. Moods change, and desires begin to make their demands in the form of a one-​word question: ‘why?’ When the violence of this narrative is given permission to affectively move the reading community, meaning-​making possibilities expand. In remembering the fragmented woman, we keep ourselves from fragmenting the Scriptures and our own lives. We remember and we remind victims: you are not alone. Not only must the story be told properly, but also it must be told with proper emotions so that the virtues or vices are clarified. There is one homiletic commentary that provides an affective treatment of the text, clearly delineating right from wrong. It is written by George Bush, an ancestor of the George Bushes this nomenclature recalls. He was a pastor and an abolitionist, and he produced one of the earlier commentaries for the whole book of Judges. The following was originally published in 1852 and discusses the Levite finding the pilgêsh on the doorstep the following morning. How unfeeling, how inhuman his address! ‘Up and let us be going.’ Could he thus rudely accost a tender female, who, [because of him,]52 had submitted through the live-​long night to the most savage brutalities, if he possessed the common feelings of a man? Suppose he thought her asleep; yet we ask, would he have felt no emotions of surprise, of grief, of pain, to find her sleeping in such a place and in such a posture? Would he not have anxiously and tenderly awakened her, and inquired of her welfare? The man’s conduct throughout is a riddle, which we know how not to solve. One thing however is certain. When the attack was made on the house, the duty of [those men within the house]53 was to have thrown themselves upon the protection of Providence without yielding an iota to the demands of the worthless ruffians without. If they could not have withstood their violence, but must have been overpowered by superior numbers, they had better died calling upon God for mercy than to have basely jeoparded [sic] the lives of feeble women to appease ferocious rabble. That would have been the pious chivalry worthy of true Israelites.54 52 53 54

Originally “for his sake.” I have chosen to update the author’s language to be consistent with his theological and narrative claims, and for sake of the reader, in ease of not being distracted by something the author would not even seem to endorse. See reasoning in previous footnote. Originally, “the inmates”. George Bush, Notes on Judges (Minneapolis, MN: James & Klock Publishing, 1976), 238.

100 Cole 5.3

Conclusion: Give Us Eyes to Hear

Today, we have kept the pilgêsh in pieces. So many start the story of the concubine with her rape and then talk about her murder and dismembering. Yet almost no one starts where her story starts: being taken as concubine. The Church is guilty of telling stories like her Levite master does: in part, not whole. The rape, murder, and dismemberment are only the fruit of the root issue: she was objectified. She was slave. Object. Traded. Owned. Used. Less than. As long as women are not equals, such will continue. At the end of Judges, women are still taken, then by the masses. Women are still being taken today now, even in our own day and land.55 The woman of Judges 19 asks us to remember that 99% of sexual violence perpetrators walk free. That 13% of female rape victims attempt suicide. That one in six American women experience attempted or completed rape.56 Lest this not hit close enough to home for us in the academy, we also must remember that college-​age woman are three times more likely to be raped. Over 23% of female undergraduates have experienced sexual assault.57 These are scary statistics. And yet we also must fearfully remember that 85–​95% of rapes go unreported. We must let the passion of this narrative seize us. When we allow the passion—​both the love and the suffering held together—​of Christ and ourselves, then we see that we do not have to fall victim to the opposite polar reactions of controlling the text or despairing because of it. It is worth reading because it makes us angry, and when we grow angry at this injustice, we are imaging Christ. We must quit giving part of the story, part of the text, part of our daughters, part of ourselves. The beauty of narrative is that we can identify with different characters therein, and here we may see that often the Church has been the older Ephraimite householder. We must ask ourselves: we will protect the whole house? Judges forces all of us to ask who we are selfishly sacrificing to save our own reputation. Who have we thought was unworthy of safety from inside the walls of the Church and we have pushed outside? When will we do

55

Over 5,000 Native American women are reported missing in the US every year. See, Spencer Tirey, “Native Women are Vanishing across the US.” Los Angeles Times (31 January 2020). https://​www.lati​mes.com/​world-​nat​ion/​story/​2020-​0131/​murde​red-​miss​ing-​nat​ ive-​ameri​can-​women. 56 Alanna Vagiano, ‘30 Alarming Statistics That Show the Reality of Sexual Violence in America’ (6 Apr 2017). https://​www.huffp​ost.com/​entry/​sex​ual-​assa​ult-​statistics​_​n_​5​8e24​ c14e​4b0c​777f​788d​24f. 57 “Campus Sexual Violence: Statistics,” https://​www.rainn.org/​sta​tist​ics/​cam​pus-​sex​ual -​viole​nce.

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more than just stir up the passions of the brothers for war, but be brave enough to take the blame of our own part in the systems of sin? When we are courageous enough to tell her story and honest enough to tell the whole of it, we may become less afraid to face and handle similar types of tragedies that happen in our own world. We resurrect her by remembering her and her story. We resurrect her in asking: what gave her the strength to leave and journey alone in the first place? When we are moved by her story, we then ask how we can be strong for the wellbeing of our sisters today. If we remember her, we cannot forget the women that this still happens to around the world today. By keeping her in memoriam, we make room for the Spirit to speak life to those of us whom life has cut into pieces and scattered our bones. We must let the text do what the Levite could not: speak to the heart. 5.4

Epilogue: A Piece of My Story Is Part of Yours58

I wrote part of this chapter while sitting at a coffee shop in Chattanooga, Tennessee. While there on the patio, I was mesmerized by the stories of women that were unfolding all around me. Next to me was a young woman listening to the stories of a Dutch woman who immigrated to the United States before wwii. At the table in front of me was a group of five college girls next over who talked for more than thirty minutes about nothing but their mothers. Across the way there was a lively table of lively Girl Scouts. At the table next to me, a woman whom I do not know told her boyfriend about growing up in the church that I now attend. Inspiration struck me. Her stories are my stories. Their stories are our stories. With great fervor I began to write about the interconnectedness of women and the need to tell our stories. And then the story I was writing was interrupted by my old story. It was her beautiful long hair that caught my attention as she bent down to kiss her wiggling child on the forehead. She is someone from my past. Someone with whom I know exactly how my story connects. Upon seeing her, so many things flooded back, and my heart, cut into so many pieces and stitched back together so many times, burst its weak seams once again. I fled. I don’t remember making that decision: I just did. Her children, who used to sit in my lap and play in my yard, ran across the coffee shop gaily, and I closed my laptop without hitting save and ran. I didn’t say goodbye to the folks at the table next to 58

One of the chief means of employing the orthopathic is through testimony. Pentecostals are no strangers to testimony and excel at weaving first-​person testimony with biblical narrative into sermonic witness. This epilogue is an example of that.

102 Cole me with whom I’d been chatting. I left the overly priced chai latte behind and slipped out the back. The adrenaline that leaked out of my heart told my body to move without asking my mind. I couldn’t risk being seen. Her family knows parts of me I don’t like. As I hid in my car, I wondered: Do they know the whole story? I’m afraid that they judge me because I fear they know only part of my story. Were they given a mere piece of me? I do not know if she thinks I am Levite or Concubine. I don’t know if she feels sorry for me or if she thinks I got what I deserved. In my panic, I did not know if I am Levite or Concubine. I do know that as I sat in that car, I shook, physically and metaphorically. I feel, still, rattled deep in my very being; I feel it in my bones. Yet maybe if I will let my bones shake instead of trying to shake it off, if I listen to the melody of their rattling, maybe if I realize everyone else around me is rattling too, then maybe I will hear a voice speak sinews to these dry bones. Maybe the one in whom no bones were broken knows how my pieces and parts fit back together. The one who, like the pilgêsh, was also carried by a donkey into town. One whose body was abused by many for even more. One who was stripped naked and whose garment was torn. One whose death sent a message to the nations. The one who is really good at saying to little dead girls like me, talitha cum. Maybe right now all we hear is noise; cacophonous chaos rings throughout the world. Yet the Church knows how to recognize the rattling sound. Maybe this One will come to us in the valley of the Texts of Terror to prophesy over the women cut into pieces and say, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the lord.’ A passage like this is a valley for us in need of new flesh to gather and remember. We remember that the Son of Man gave his last breath and when he rose up from his grave, he used his first breath to say to a woman, ‘Go and tell them I’m alive.’ His breath was not only given to her or for her, but at Pentecost was put within her so that she may not merely raise from the grave herself, but even now call to her sisters and her brothers, ‘live again’.

Bibliography

Ambrose. In Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1–​2 Samuel, edited by John R. Franke. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005. Beachem, P.F. “Question Drawer.” The Pentecostal Holiness Advocate, September 1926. Bush, George. Notes on Judges. Minneapolis: James & Klocke Publishing, 1976. Coakley, Sarah. The Cross and the Transformation of Desire: Meditations for Holy Week on the Drama of Love and Betrayal. Grove Spiritual S128. Cambridge, England: Grove Books Limited, 2014.

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Coakley, Sarah. God, Sexuality, and the Self: An Essay on the Trinity. Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Coakley, Sarah. The New Asceticism: Sexuality, Gender and the Quest for God. London: Bloomsbury Continuum, 2015. Coakley, Sarah. Powers and Submissions: Spirituality, Philosophy and Gender. Challenges in Contemporary Theology. Oxford, UK ; Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers, 2002. Cole, Casey S. “Taking Hermeneutics to Heart: Proposing an Orthopathic Reading for Texts of Terror via the Rape of Tamar Narrative.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 39, no. 3 (September 2017): 264. Embry, Bradley. “Narrative Loss, the (Important Role of Women, and Community in Judges 19.” In Joshua and Judges, edited by Athalya Brenner and Gale A. Yee, 257–​74. Texts @ Contexts. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013. Henry, Matthew. “Judges 19.” In Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 2, n.d. https://​ccel .org/​ccel/​henry/​mhc2/​mhc2.Jud.xx.html. Holmer, Paul L., David Jay Gouwens, and Lee C. Barrett. Thinking the Faith with Passion: Selected Essays. Eugene, Or: Cascade Books, 2012. Jeter, Joseph R. Preaching Judges. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2003. Jones, T.J. “No King in Israel.” The Pentecostal Evangel, 1938. Jones-​Warsaw, Koala. “Toward a Womanist Hermeneutic: A Reading of Judges 19–​21.” In A Feminist Companion to Judges, edited by Athalya Brenner, 172–​186. The Feminist Companion to the Bible 4. Wiltshire, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993. Martin, Lee Roy. The Unheard Voice of God: A Pentecostal Hearing of the Book of Judges. Journal of Pentecostal Theology. Supplement Series: 32. Deo Pub., 2008. Moore, Rickie D. “Altar Hermeneutics: Reflections on Pentecostal Biblical Interpretation.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 38, no. 2 (2016): 148–​59. Stanley, Janelle. “Judges 19: Text of Trauma.” In Joshua and Judges, edited by Athalya Brenner and Gale A. Yee, 275–​90. Texts @ Contexts. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013. Tirey, Spencer. “Native Women Are Vanishing across the US.” Los Angeles Times, January 31, 2020. https://​www.lati​mes.com/​world-​nat​ion/​story/​2020-​01-​31/​murde​red-​miss​ ing-​nat​ive-​ameri​can-​women. Trible, Phyllis. Texts of Terror: Literary-​ Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives. Overtures to Biblical Theology 13. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984. Vagiano, Alanna. “30 Alarming Statistics That Show the Reality of Sexual Violence in America.” Huffington Post, April 6, 2017. https://​www.huffp​ost.com/​entry/​sex​ual -​assa​ult-​statistics​_​n_​5​8e24​c14e​4b0c​777f​788d​24f. Yoder, John Charles. Power and Politics in the Book of Judges: Men and Women of Valor. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 2015.

­c hapter 6

Trouble in Paradise

Exploring Gender Roles and Violence against Women in Song of Songs 5:2–​8 Jacqueline N. Grey The Song of Songs is described by various scholars as depicting an ideal world—​ a return to the paradise of Eden.1 This love poetry expresses a mutuality of devotion and desire between the female and male lovers in the text. Yet, in the dream sequence of Song of Songs 5:2–​8, the woman is physically abused by the watchmen of the city while searching for her lover. This chapter explores the issue of social justice and gender through the lens of Song of Songs (Song), looking particularly at gender-​based violence. It studies closely the role and behavior of the female lover in Song of Songs 5:2–​8, asking particularly why she was battered and abused by the city watchmen. Was it because she was mistaken for a prostitute? Or because she was ‘acting like a man’ in pursuing her male lover? The chapter explores what this violent encounter might tell us about gender roles and the social construction of female behavior in the Old Testament more generally, including some consideration of the law texts. The chapter will then conclude with some observations about the implications of such social construction of female behavior within Scripture for contemporary pentecostalism, particularly women readers today. 6.1

The Female Lover in Song of Songs

The Song is celebrated by scholars as a return to the paradise of Eden where mutuality rather than subordination is the norm. It is defined by harmony and equality—​a place where love is given and received, rather than domination.2 In the Song, the female figure in the poem (or various poems), is bold in speech and actions. She unashamedly seeks her lover, expresses her devotion to him, 1 The most prominent example of this is Phyllis Trible, God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1978). See also discussion in Landy, F., “The Song of Songs and the Garden of Eden.” jbl Vol 98 (1979): 513–​28; Davidson, J. M. “Theology of Sexuality in the Song of Songs: Return to Eden.” auss Vol 27 (1989): 1–​19. 2 Daniel Grossberg, “Two Kinds of Sexual Relations in the Hebrew Bible,” HS 34, (1994): 12, 15.

© Jacqueline N. Grey, 2022 | DOI:10.1163/9789004513204_008

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and receives his praise of her body. As Renita Weems asserts, “She is headstrong, passionate, gutsy, and willing to risk the disapproval of those around her in order to pursue her own happiness.”3 Similarly, John Goldingay writes, “A remarkable feature of the Song is that the woman’s voice is so prominent. There is no hierarchy in this relationship.”4 Even the environment of their relationship tends to focus on the matriarchal location of the ‘mother’s house.’5 In fact, the centrality of female experiences, emotions and voices in the Songs has led some scholars to suggest it was not only authored by a woman but that the poems are also unified by women’s experience.6 Yet, the Song also presents a social tension. Certainly there is no attempt to limit the very candid sexuality of the female in the Songs, especially in contrast to the law texts of the Hebrew Bible which would likely consider the sexual autonomy of women a dangerous thing.7 However, the social attitudes and restrictions that are represented in these law texts seem to encroach even into this literary paradise, as reflected in the treatment of the female lover by the city watchmen. There are, in fact, two encounters with the city watchmen by the female protagonist8 described in the Song. The first encounter with the city watchmen by the female lover in the collection of Song of Songs occurs in the first five verses of ­chapter 3. Both this text and the later text of c­ hapter 5:2–​8 present what is commonly referred to as a ‘nocturnal search’ in which the female figure actively seeks her male lover at night in the public space of her locality. In both cases, the sequence begins with the separation of the lovers and seeks a resolution in their union. In both cases, the woman is the subject of the search—​seeking throughout the city for the object of her male lover.9 In both cases, the woman encounters the city watchmen. However, the outcome of the search is different in the two texts. The woman’s search for her lover in ­chapter 3 is successful; she finds him. She is willing to risk misunderstanding and flaunt social convention in the name of 3 Renita Weems, What Matters Most: Ten Lessons in Living Passionately from the Song of Solomon (West Bloomfield, MI: Warner Books, 2004) 2–​3. 4 John Goldingay, Old Testament Ethics: A Guided Tour (Downers Grove, IL: ivp, 2019), 219. 5 Donald Polaski, “What will Ye See in the Shulammite? Women, Power and Panopticism in the Song of Songs,” Biblical Interpretation 5, 1 (1997), 65. 6 Polaski, 65. He describes the women’s experiences as “gynocentrism”. 7 Robin C. McCall, “‘Most Beautiful Among Women’: Feminist/​Womanist Contributions to Reading the Song of Songs” Review and Expositor, Vol 105, (Summer 2008): 419. 8 This is not to suggest that there is only one female character in the Song, or that the encounters with the city watchmen are experienced by the same woman. It is noting the recurrence in the overall literary unity of the book. 9 Gianni Barbiero, Song of Songs: Close Reading (Leiden: Brill, 2011) 127.

106 Grey love.10 Yet, in ­chapter 5, the search for her male lover is unsuccessful; she does not find him. Instead, she is physically abused by the city watchmen. The description of these nocturnal searches in ­chapters 3 and 5 are not a historical report but a literary construct.11 Ellen Davis likens the whole of Song of Songs to a “dream that moves from one scene to another without logical transition.”12 While historically, a young Israelite woman may not roam the city streets alone in her pajamas searching and questioning others for her lover,13 Barbiero suggests it presents a lyrical reality. That is, “these are poetical situations which deliberately lie outside the realistic description of events.”14 Despite the dream-​ like qualities of the poems, it must be acknowledged that the “woman is relating an episode, whatever the degree of the reality.”15 So while the various episodes within the poems are not historical nor realistic they still are somewhat reflective of reality. For this reason, Murphy classifies the genre of these episodes as a “description of an experience”.16 This ‘experience’ or lyrical reality described by the female lover also includes her interaction with the city watchmen. The role of the city watchmen is not exactly clear. The institution of watchmen was known even from the pre-​exilic period to be sentries who guarded the city walls to watch and defend it from potential external dangers (such as described in Isa 21:11–​12).17 Yet, in the Song, the watchmen “went about the city” (3:3), suggesting that they were more concerned with controlling possible internal dangers within the city. It appears that the function of the watchmen in the Song was a kind of police force concerned with controlling potential internal disorder.18 Brenner writes “Urban life, especially in Jerusalem, features in several poems. The streets are made safe at night by patrolling watchmen, who incidentally guard the morality of the inhabitants, especially the women (3:3–​4; 5:7).”19 Regardless of whether this reflects the historical reality of the 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Barbiero, 132. David Carr describes it as “an imaginative work that builds a poetic world”. David Carr, “Gender and the Shaping of Desire in the Song of Songs and its Interpretation,” jbl 119/​2 (2000): 244. Ellen Davis later develops the analogy of the role of an icon or iconostasis in the Eastern Church. Ellen Davis, ‘Reading the Song Iconographically’ in Peter Hawkins et al (eds) Scrolls of Love: Ruth and the Song of Songs, (Fordham University, 2006), 176. Barbiero, 131. Barbier0, 132. Roland Murphy, Song of Songs: A Commentary on the Book of Canticles or the Song of Songs (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1990), 168. Murphy, 168. Barbiero, 133. Barbiero, 133. Athalya Brenner, The Song of Songs (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1989), 54.

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role of watchmen in ancient Israel, their function in the literary reality of the text appears to be protectors of the internal safety and order of the city. With this literary function of the watchmen in mind, we turn to the specific text of Song 5:2–​8. 6.2

The Female Lover of Song 5:2–​8

The pericope begins with the male lover located outside the door of the female lover, seeking entry to the privacy of her bedroom. The female lover is in a half-​awake, dream-​like state (v.2) as she is roused by the noise of his knocking and verbal appeal for entry. So initially, it is the male that takes the initiative; the female is the sleepy recipient of his attention. Yet, she is not completely passive—​after all, the whole exchange is presented from her perspective and in her voice. The male lover attempts to rouse her through his words of love. He calls her “my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one” (5:2). He waits at the door until she is ready, until her desire is awakened. Yet she delays. Despite the delay of the female lover, she exhibits a sense of empowerment. Rather than rush to do the bidding of her man, the delay of the female lover suggests self-​awareness of her agency and control of her own sexuality. The delay of the female to open for her lover in 5:3 is slow and somewhat sensual, adding tension to the description of her experience. Her self-​talk in the sequence rationalizes and excuses her delay: She has already removed her robe and washed her feet, how can she put it back on? Her delay causes (in what seems deliberately erotic language) the hand of her lover to seek the opening of the door. She unashamedly describes her heart pounding (5:4) and her hands dripping with myrrh (5:5)—​her whole being is deeply stirred. Importantly, the male lover does not force his entry—​the door (physically and sexually) must be opened by the female lover. To force the door would be an act of violence and betrayal.20 However, when she finally rises to ‘open’ to him, he has gone. She is filled with disappointment and distress at his absence (5:6). The second part of the pericope then focuses on the seeking by the female for the male lover. Now the female takes the initiative. It presents a kind of inversion of their previous roles. Now she actively seeks and calls for her lover, yet he does not answer, and she does not find him (5:6). The female lover is the agent of the assertive searching. She is no longer the sleepy partner, passively waiting inside her room—​she is now actively seeking outside and throughout 20

Barbiero, 268.

108 Grey the city for her male lover. She both seeks for him and calls for him (5:6), as he did for her. In her search, the scene moves from the intimate setting of her house to public space of the city (5:6–​7). This moves the search by the female into the public arena. Despite the urgency of her search, she is unsuccessful.21 However, instead of finding her male lover, she is found by the hostile ‘watchmen’. The meeting of the watchmen appears coincidental; they are also going about the city, as noted above, most probably patrolling the city for any possible internal dangers. The female lover describes her encounter with the watchmen—​they beat her, they bruise her, and take away her veil (or mantle). The female lover is clear in her accusation: she names the identity of the perpetrators of this violence, “those watchmen of the walls” (5:7). In this case, unlike the previous pericope of 3:3–​4, it seems that the bold searching of the female lover is considered a social danger by the watchmen. Of course, for what reason the watchmen perpetrate such violence against female lover is yet to be explored, but it appears to be considered part of their duty as moral policemen. Their actions deliver a violent penalty to the female lover alone in the city streets. The forcible removal of her veil by the watchmen certainly implies a sense of shame and may have also been a euphemism for rape.22 However what is perhaps most alarming is that the assault on the female lover is considered commonplace. She does not seem surprised, neither does she complain. She simply endures the assault and moves on with her search for her lover, charging the daughters of Jerusalem that if they find her lover to tell him she is faint with love (5:8). 6.3

Why Was She Assaulted?

So why was the female lover in ­chapter 5:2–​8 assaulted and battered by the city watchmen? Was it because she was misunderstood as a prostitute, or was ‘acting like a man’ in pursuing her male lover? What might this tell us about gender roles and its construction in the Old Testament? We are not told the motivations for the watchmen’s actions; the events are simply described from the perspective of the female lover. There are three main ways in which scholars have 21 22

Barbiero, 258. McCall, 427. For Marc Brettler, “the violence of the encounter with the watchmen suggests a possible gang rape.” See Marc Brettler, ‘Unresolved and Unresolvable: Problems in Interpreting the Song’ in Peter Hawkins et al (eds) Scrolls of Love: Ruth and the Song of Songs, (New York, NY: Fordham University, 2006) 191.

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understood the function of the watchmen in this pericope; the watchmen symbolize either general obstacles to love, moral policemen, or social oppression. First, a common theory posited by biblical scholars as to why the woman was assaulted during her nocturnal search is that the watchmen symbolize a general obstacle to the fulfilment of true love. For commentator Iain Provan, the pericope of 5:2—​8 is “a dream about deep and mutual sexual desire and yet about misunderstanding, loss, and separation.” Therefore, the assault is representative of the obstacles the female senses to her reunion with her male lover. He suggests the term “watchmen of the walls” points to the men as a figurative barrier and divider of the couple. That is, “they represent powers intent on keeping the lovers apart.”23 Linking this to the dream sequence idea, it may be suggested that the abuse of the city watchmen reflects the female lover’s own psychosis or subconscious fear of separation.24 Therefore, in this approach, the assault on the female lover is symbolic of obstacles to her union with her male lover. A second theory concerns the role of the watchmen as a kind of moral policemen. As Robert Jenson observes “Again she encounters a police patrol; this time they suppose a woman out at that hour must be up to no good, and beat and unveil her.” From this perspective, a young, scantily clad female fervently seeking her lover throughout the city streets is considered a social danger deserving of immediate punishment. Gianni Barbiero also suggests that her brutalization is comparable to a punishment for prostitutes. He writes, That the watchmen mistake her for a prostitute is clear, and that her behavior would have aided such an interpretation is equally true (cf. Prov 7:9–​12). But the poet of the Song has taken care to show that this is only a matter of appearance.25

23 24

25

Iain Provan, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011). From a slightly different outlook, Michael Fishbane writes, “At a psychological level, the image recalls her earlier act of disrobing at home (v.3). Thus, the watchmen seemingly enact a punishment for her earlier state of naked desire; that is, their public action evokes her self-​judgement at such feelings. Within the dreamlike atmosphere of the report, the cultural and emotional connotations fuse.” See Michael Fishbane, The JPS Bible Commentary: Song of Songs, (Lincoln, NE: Uni of Nebraska Press, 2015), 140. Barbiero, 276. Similarly, the action of taking away her veil, or mantle, by the watchmen may have a possible association with prostitution as there is evidence that some Assyrian laws forbade harlots to wear veils. However, the evidence is very small for this association. See Murphy, 171.

110 Grey This suggests that the watchmen misunderstand her preoccupation with her lover as an occupation of prostitution. Yet there is no basis within the text by which she would be assumed to be a prostitute by the watchmen other than her assertive behavior. Thirdly, the violent treatment of the female lover is observed by scholars such as Ellen Walsh as “evidence of some social oppression or disapproval.”26 While there is mutuality and respect between the lovers in the Song, this equality it is not consistent among the community in which they are located. The watchmen of the city demonstrate that in the public space the stereotyping, attitudes and expectations of women remain patriarchal. While the lovers might not exhibit typical gender-​based roles, cultural expectations of female behavior still encroach into even this most celebrated of love poetry through the figures of the city watchmen. The female lover, despite being ‘headstrong, passionate, gutsy,’ still experiences social inequality in which her assertive behavior is not only censured but an attempt is made through violence to control her assertiveness. Her counter-​cultural behavior is punished by the city watchmen through their brutal assault and implied sexual abuse.27 In this view, it is not because she is misunderstood as a prostitute that she is punished, but because she is acting inappropriately for a female in their society by such assertive, aggressive behavior in her nocturnal search for her male lover. As McCall writes, This jarring interlude forces us to acknowledge that, even in the Song, love does not conquer all; not everyone will tolerate a woman who steps outside the bounds of what society deems acceptable.28 So, if the female lover was punished for her assertive behavior, on what basis was this punishment by the watchmen undertaken? Do the law texts of the Hebrew Bible provide any insight towards the attitudes that might account for this brutalization of the female lover in the Song? 6.4

The Social Construction of Gender

Within the patriarchal system of ancient Israelite society, there existed expectations of behavior and gender-​based roles that underscored hierarchy and 26 27 28

Ellen Walsh, “In the Absence of Love” in Hawkins, 286. Tremper Longman iii, Song of Songs (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001). McCall, 428.

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power relations. This raises the question of what gender-​based roles are represented in other texts of the Old Testament29 that might reflect these cultural attitudes inherent in the maltreatment of the female lover. It is to the legal texts that we particularly turn, as such literature often reflected and formalized cultural attitudes towards gender30 in their construction of feminine and masculine identities. Why the law texts? They provided the official rules of behavior and expectations for the religious community. While the final form of many of the legal texts may not have been completed until the post-​exilic period, there is recognition by scholars (such as Anderson) of the existence of early law codes, such as the Book of the Covenant (associated with pre-​Monarchic Israel) and the Deuteronomic Law (associated with the monarchy).31 These law codes then had an important, formative role on the culture and development of ancient Israel. It is also important to note that these law texts were embedded in the social framework of ancient Israel long before the finalization of the Song of Songs, which is generally considered to be the final product of the post-​exilic period.32 An analysis of the law texts can reveal ideologies, which are essentially “socially produced assumptions” and underlying values.33 These values underpin expected ‘appropriate’ behavior. Therefore, the study of the language of the law texts of the Old Testament can help to identify possible social values and constructions at play. This is not to somehow re-​create actual practice, but to identify possible values the language in these texts created or expected, particularly regarding the behavior of women. Cheryl Anderson observes that within the law texts, masculinity is constructed as male dominance and feminine identity as subservience. Based on 29 30

31 32 33

This terminology is used to reflect the common usage within the global pentecostal community. As Anderson describes, “Gender can refer to “the attributes that constitute culturally approved notions of “masculinity” and “femininity.”” See Cheryl B. Anderson, Women, Ideology, and Violence: Critical Theory and the Construction of Gender in the Book of the Covenant and the Deuteronomic Law (London/​New York: T & T Clark, 2004) 77. Anderson, 1. For example, most recently, George Athas places the composition of the Song in c. 166 bc. See George Athas, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs: 16. The Story of God Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020). Anderson, 3. Anderson continues, ‘Stated differently, ‘ideology’ refers to the values and interests that are embedded in a text’ (p.3). The cultural differences between men and women were reinforced by their clothing, as Deuteronomy 22:5 “A women must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the lord your God detests anyone who does this.” The cultural de-​valuing of women is remarkably expressed in monetary terms in Leviticus 27: 1–​9, in which an able-​bodied male was worth fifty shekels, an able-​ bodied female was worth in comparison thirty shekels.

112 Grey oppositional attributes, Anderson highlights the polarized use of gender traits in descriptions of men in the law codes, who are valued for aggressive behavior, and women who are valued for submission.34 Anderson notes that in general, [T]‌he laws not only subordinate females, they also impose a single constructed identity on all females that ignores similarities between males and females and differences between one female and another.35 This institutionalizes and formalizes the ideology of patriarchy within the law texts, including the myth that males are naturally aggressive and assertive and any female that exhibits these traits is unnatural. An example of the construction of female identity in the law texts is the submission of a woman’s sexuality to male control. It is controlled first by her father (particularly in maintaining her virginity) and then after marriage by her husband.36 In other words, a man could be a sexually autonomous actor (so long as he did not violate the rights of other men over their women), but a woman could not be sexually autonomous.37 This paradigm demands the specific binary characterization of gender that should not be crossed, in which males are assertive and females are passive.38 This cultural system then is given religious endorsement through its validation in the law texts.39 The 34

35 36

37 38

39

Anderson, 21. Another critical approach to biblical text in which this idea of different standards of acceptable behavior of males and females is explored is in the study of honor/​shame culture as part of the discipline of cultural anthropology. This approach has primarily been applied to New Testament texts as exemplified in the foundation work of Bruce Malina, The New Testament World: Insights from cultural Anthropology (Atlanta: John Knox, 1981). However, there has been virtually no application of this critical approach to the Old Testament/​Hebrew Bible. Malina argues a woman embodies shame, which is understood as passivity and concern for the honor of others. (Malina, 49). Anderson, 93. Anderson, 69. It should also be noted that quite often these laws inscribing social norms do not contain punishments. For example, the attitudes and laws regarding prostitution, such as Lev 19:29 and Deut 23:18, suggest that while it was forbidden it was also somewhat tolerated and certainly technically not a punishable offence. There was no prescribed penalty for these illegal activities. In Leviticus 19:29 there is no punishment for daughters that become prostitutes, except an observation that the land will become full of depravity. Carr, 237. Another example of this expectation that women were non-​aggressive and submissive is in Exodus 20:17 and Deuteronomy 5:21. In this law text women are objects of coveting, while a male is not. This implication is that women would not act on coveting a male. This contrasts with the behavior of the female lover of the Song who both desires and acts on that desire for her male lover. Another much debated example includes the text of Leviticus 18:22 where in the least it can be observed that it is considered abhorrent for a male to lie with another male as with

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reinforcement of this cultural code becomes circular; cultural expectation of gender-​role behavior is reflected in the law texts, and these law texts sanction cultural expectations as religious and social norms.40 So, what happens when a female does not comply with the social norms of this gender-​role behavior? What happens if she is assertive or aggressive, like the female lover of the Song who is described as ‘headstrong, passionate, gutsy’—​characteristics associated with males in this paradigm? As Anderson observes, the laws themselves “do not indicate fully the consequences of a female’s non-​compliance.”41 There are no punishments prescribed in the law texts for those that refuse or defy this code. However, while the law may not indicate any legal punishment for non-​compliance, there are texts in both the narrative and poetic portions of the Old Testament that suggest the use of social control mechanisms on women, usually including violence, for non-​ compliance of the gender cultural norms. Anderson points to the narrative of Judges 19 as an example that might provide some insight. The woman who removed herself from the authority of her man was then gang-​raped.42 This text suggests that, like the watchmen in the Song, the violent actions of the male group may represent a punishment of the female for her insubordination and assertiveness—​that is, for acting like a man.

40

41 42

a woman. Again, there is no punishment attached to the actions but what is arguably be the most abhorrent aspect of this situation culturally is that a male is behaving or taking on the role of a female. Other examples of the legal control of women and their sexuality by their male family include: Exodus 21: 4 (in the instructions regarding slaves, the male is released after six years but if the male slave had been given a wife and she bore him children, the wife belonged to that master); Exodus 22:16 (if a virgin is seduced, the man must pay the bride-​ price to the father); Leviticus 18: 8 (prohibition against having sexual relations with your father’s wife as that would dishonor your father; also Lev 20:11); Leviticus 20:20 (prohibition against having sexual relations with your father’s aunt as that would dishonor your uncle); Leviticus 20:21 (prohibition against marrying your brother’s as that would dishonor your brother); Leviticus 21: 9 (if a priests daughter prostitutes herself she dishonors her father); Leviticus 21:13 (the woman a priest marries must be a virgin, though there is no requirement for him to be a virgin); Numbers 5:11–​30 (the test for an unfaithful wife (or “law of jealousy”)—​provides the procedure if a wife is suspected of being unfaithful by her husband. There is no comparable procedure if a wife suspects her husband of unfaithfulness); Numbers 30:5, 8, 12 (the vow made by a female (daughter or wife) could be annulled by her male authority (father or husband)); Deuteronomy 22:13–​20 (if a new wife is slandered but parents can prove her virginity (by her passing the “virginity test”) then the father is financially compensated (and the women must remain married to the accuser)). Anderson, 74. Anderson, 70.

114 Grey These examples suggest that the cultural codes embedded in the legal texts were enforced but certainly not through any official judicial system. Instead, the cultural codes were enforced unofficially through social control and violence. The expected behavior of women to be passive was socially constructed (albeit reinforced implicitly in the law texts) and therefore socially enforced. A woman who behaved contrary to the expected social norms, such as assertively seeking her lover in the public space, could be seen as challenging the whole patriarchal system and therefore punished.43 It must then be asked again: On what basis was the social punishment of the female lover in the Song undertaken by the watchmen? It appears that the violence against the female lover in Song 5:7 was because she deviated from the expected cultural norms by her assertive behavior when searching for her male lover.44 This male dominance paradigm reinforces the oppression and control of women and constitutes a form of violence against women (and arguably also some men who also do not fit the norms of male gender-​role behavior). It appears that these cultural attitudes and expectations of female passivity and non-​tolerance of deviation implicit in the law texts also filter into other texts of the Old Testament, even hemorrhaging into the paradise of the Songs of Songs. The inherent intolerance and violence of this cultural gender paradigm is acted out by the brutality of the watchmen toward the assertive female lover in Song of Songs 5:7.45 Yet, if these mechanisms to control the behavior of women to ensure compliance with gender-​based roles are observable and imbedded in the Old Testament, what does that mean for Pentecostals in terms of our understanding and reading of Scripture? 6.5

Conclusion: Implications for Pentecostal Hermeneutics

What do we do with these texts that seem to enshrine patriarchal gender stereotypes? The dilemma with this situation is that it is not just an issue of observing gender bias in any ancient text, but this bias seems to be imbedded in the sacred text of Scripture. These texts of terror for women46 are found in the Word of God. As Pentecostals have a high view of Scripture, we cannot 43 44 45 46

Carr, 240. It is noted of course that these attitudes by characters in the biblical texts are filtered through the lens of the author/​redactor. Anderson, 2. This phrase was coined by Phyllis Trible in her monograph, Texts of Terror (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress, 1984).

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just ignore these texts. Obviously, a full discussion on the ethics of Scripture is beyond the scope of this work, however there are three main observations that I would like to make. First, does the patriarchal bias evident in the legal texts of the Old Testament and other passages such as Song of Songs 5:7 mean that Scripture endorses patriarchal culture? There is most definitely an intertwining of patriarchal culture within the beliefs and actions recorded in Scripture.47 The legal texts discussed above are an example of this. This is because Scripture is the story of a people living in the reality of culture and history. The bible does not present an abstract theological treatise but a lived faith, grounded in historical and cultural context. It requires then some pulling of the threads to disentangle the cultural systems from the theological systems. However, when we pull the threads of culture from the teachings and history of the bible, I would assert that it does not endorse patriarchal culture. As Alice Mathews notes, “This is the difference between what is descriptive and what is prescriptive in the Bible.”48 Carolyn Custis James observes that when biblical texts highlight the actions and speech of women it is counter-​cultural because patriarchy’s interest is only in men.49 According to the cultural assumptions embedded in the legal texts, a woman should be passive. Yet, the existence of counter-​cultural women within the bible, such as the female lover of Song of Songs 5:2–​8, demonstrate through their significant voices and experiences an undermining of the culture of patriarchy entrenched in some texts of Scripture. Secondly, where women are spotlighted as counter-​cultural voices within a patriarchal culture, there is a need for a closer examination of their experiences.50 This examination is to discern what we can learn and observe from their testimony. In the case of Song of Songs 5:2–​8, I suggest that this text provides a model of a confident, sensual, and courageous woman. She demonstrates empowerment, agency, and assertive behavior despite the cultural restrictions of her time. She also demonstrates integrity by being herself in both the private and public spheres, not hiding her sexuality nor dimming her voice. In the words of Donald Polaski: “What the Song does to those who read it is fairly clear. The Song serves as a call to actions which undermine or challenge patriarchal society, replicating its supposed effect in ancient Israelite 47

Alice Mathews, Gender Roles and the People of God: Rethinking What We Were Taught about Men and Women in the Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017) 33. 48 Mathews, 33. 49 Carolyn Custis James, Half the Church: Recapturing God’s Global Vision for Women (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), 33. 50 James, Half the Church, 33.

116 Grey society.”51 The experience of the name-​less female lover reflects the reality of patriarchal paradigms, even in the seeming egalitarian paradise of the Song. Yet, the female lover challenges the social norms that insist on social constructions of gender and the enforcing of stereotypical behaviors. Instead, she is assertive and bold in seeking her lover in the public domain. She endures misunderstanding and violence by those that judge her non-​compliance with patriarchal gender stereotypes. However, an important nuance must be noted in this model from the Song: this text does not necessarily challenge the binary nature of gender itself, but challenges the nature and characteristics attributed to each gender. The female lover in the Song is fully woman but is she also assertive and bold—​which are characteristics attributed to men in the patriarchal cultural code. A closer examination of the experience of the female lover can also help us in the discussion of gender-​based violence, particularly against women. This is an important ethical issue for the contemporary Christian community. This text can contribute an inspiring story of survival. As Cheryl Bridges Johns writes, when we envision the Bible as not merely containing a redemptive message but one that opens up a redemptive world, one in which the light from the end streams into the present, then women can find free and liberating space.52 So, what counter-​cultural vision—​or redemptive world—​does this text offer? As noted above, the female lover of Song of Songs 5:2–​8 provides a model for the resistance of cultural oppression and patriarchy. However, the female lover of the Song also demonstrates a remarkable resilience considering the violent assault on her person by the city watchmen. While the brutal attack by the city watchmen is unacceptable, she survives and keeps true to her quest. She reports her experience. She fearlessly identifies and names her attackers. She exposes the behavior of her attackers as out of place in such a paradisiacal world (5:7). She looks to her sisters for support and for assistance in fulfilling her quest (5:8). In her example, survivors of gender-​based violence can also find liberative space. While she does not change the power structures, she at

51 52

Polaski, 80. Cheryl Bridges Johns, “Grieving, Brooding, and Transforming: The Spirit, the Bible, and Gender,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology Vol 23 (2014): 150.

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least does “not allow them to remain unchallenged.”53 In this way, her example is an important ethical resource to confront the issues of gender-​based violence.54 Thirdly, this study of Song of Songs 5:2–​8 also causes us to think about how we interpret the Old Testament as pentecostal readers. It has been observed that the pragmatic nature of pentecostalism often results in a literalist, common sense reading of the bible. Pentecostals tend to appropriate Scripture by a process of ‘cut-​and-​paste’ of texts onto their contemporary context. That is, there is an impetus to imitate and implement each text directly for their lives, including those from the Old Testament.55 This often occurs with little reflection on the historical, political and cultural differences between our own world today and that of the biblical text. This approach can (and often does) result in literalistic readings. It can also result in pentecostal readers directly implementing the culture of the Old Testament onto their contemporary context. This is not to say that the culture of the Old Testament is inferior to our current culture today but to recognize that it is different. When it is appropriated without reflection it can lead to behaviors and attitudes that are in contradiction to the life and work of the Spirit as expressed within the New Testament community of faith. However the real question this raises is not actually whether the Old Testa­ ment is taken seriously or valued as authoritative, but, as Joel Green asserts “how those Scriptures are to be understood within the framework of God’s purpose and appropriated within the lives of God’s people.”56 This suggests that while we can value a text from the Old Testament for its cultural and theological contribution in its own right, we must also consider how it can be read in its canonical context by the Pentecostal community. This means reading Old Testament texts, such as Song of Songs 5:2–​8, in the light of Pentecost. This is not to suggest that texts of the Old Testament must be subverted or colonized by a New Testament perspective. Instead, they must be read as part of the story of God’s redemptive purposes, which culminates in the full gospel of Jesus Christ. Studies of the actual reading practices of the Old Testament by pentecostal communities

53 54 55 56

McCall, 428. For use of Song of Songs as a model of equality and consent see Erin M. Sessions, “’Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires’: How does the Song of Songs speak to Australia’s problem with intimate partner violence?”, Crucible 9.1 (November 2018): 1–​16. Jacqueline Grey, Three’s A Crowd: Pentecostalism, Hermeneutics, and the Old Testament (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2011), 119. Joel Green, “Contribute or Capitulate? Wesleyans, Pentecostals, and Reading the Bible in a Post-​Colonial Mode,” Wesleyan Theological Journal Vol 39 (2004): 82.

118 Grey demonstrate that they often prioritize a Christological lens to interpret texts.57 This emphasizes that pentecostals practice reading the Old Testament through the lens of their New Testament faith. Therefore it can be argued that to be consistent with historical and current pentecostal communities, texts such as Song of Songs 5:2–​8 as well as the legal texts of the Old Testament, must be read in light of the redeeming work of Christ and the empowering presence of the Spirit of Christ. This is an important strategy in disentangling the patriarchal culture of the bible from its message. Rather than imitating and implementing the culture of Old Testament texts, pentecostal communities should be re-​directed towards a canonical imitation and implementation of texts in light of the full gospel of Jesus Christ. This not only refers to reading each text in light of the whole canon, I would also like to suggest that a canonical approach should also include discernment. As the Spirit-​led community discerned the texts to include in the canon of Scripture,58 so discernment is needed to interpret texts intra-​canonically. The whole canon is useful not only for reproof and correction in our current community, but even of past communities (2 Tim. 3:16). This may include a Spirit-​led critique of the culture of past communities that produced texts in our canon on the basis of the redeeming work of Christ and the new work of the Spirit at Pentecost. Again, this is not to deconstruct Scripture, but to construct a living theology for today. This impetus to mirror and ‘live’ texts reflects the narratological orientation of Pentecostals. Pentecost (as described in Acts 2) is an invitation to join the story of God’s redemptive purposes. At Pentecost, the faith community was transformed and empowered to be assertive witnesses to Jesus Christ. At Pentecost, the barriers of race, gender and ethnicity were removed. It is into this story that the texts of the Old Testament must be drawn as the canonical framework for a pentecostal reading of Scripture. By reading Song of Songs 5:2–​8 in light of the redeeming work of Christ that dismantles cultural constructions that enslave, we can step into the paradisiacal liberation of a new world—​a place where the experience of the community of faith is love as given and received, rather than domination. There still might be trouble in this present paradise, until Christ’s redemption of the world is complete, we operate in a broken system. Yet, it allows (to draw on Cheryl Bridges Johns once more) the light from the end to stream into our present.59 Let us walk in the light.60 57 58 59 60

Grey, 62–​102. Daniel Castelo and Robert W. Wall, The Marks of Scripture: Rethinking the Nature of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2019), 6. Johns, 153. This chapter is based on a paper developed for the 49th Annual Meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies.

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Bibliography

Anderson, C.B. (2003). Women, Ideology, and Violence: Critical Theory and the Construction of Gender in the Book of the Covenant and the Deuteronomic Law. London/​New York: T & T Clark. Barbiero, G. (2011). Song of Songs: Close Reading. Leiden: Brill. Brenner, A. (1989). The Song of Songs. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. Brettler, M. (2006). “Unresolved and Unresolvable: Problems in Interpreting the Song.” In: P. Hawkins et al (eds) Scrolls of Love: Ruth and the Song of Songs. New York, NY: Fordham University. Pp. 185–​98. Bridges Johns, C. (2014). “Grieving, Brooding, and Transforming: The Spirit, the Bible, and Gender.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 23: 141–​53. Castelo, D. et al. (2019). The Marks of Scripture: Rethinking the Nature of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. Davidson, J. M. (1989). “Theology of Sexuality in the Song of Songs: Return to Eden.” Andrews University Seminary Studies 27: 1–​19. Davis, E. (2006). “Reading the Song Iconographically.” In: P. Hawkins et al (eds) Scrolls of Love: Ruth and the Song of Songs. New York, NY: Fordham University. Pp. 172–​84. Fishbane, M. (2015). The JPS Bible Commentary: Song of Songs. Lincoln, NE: Uni of Nebraska Press. Green, J. (2004). “Contribute or Capitulate? Wesleyans, Pentecostals, and Reading the Bible in a Post-​Colonial Mode.” Wesleyan Theological Journal 39: 74–​90. Grey, J. (2011), Three’s A Crowd: Pentecostalism, Hermeneutics, and the Old Testament. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications. Goldingay, J. (2019). Old Testament Ethics: A Guided Tour. Downers Grove, IL: ivp. Grossberg, D. (1994). “Two Kinds of Sexual Relations in the Hebrew Bible.” hs 34: 7–​25. Custis James, C. (2010). Half the Church: Recapturing God’s Global Vision for Women. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Landy, F. (1979). “The Song of Songs and the Garden of Eden.” Journal of Biblical Literature 98: 513–​28. McCall, R.C. (2008). “‘Most Beautiful Among Women’: Feminist/​ Womanist Contributions to Reading the Song of Songs.” Review and Expositor 105: 417–​433. Longman, T. iii. (2001). Song of Songs. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. Mathews, A. (2017). Gender Roles and the People of God: Rethinking What We Were Taught about Men and Women in the Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Murphy, R. (1990). Song of Songs: A Commentary on the Book of Canticles or the Song of Songs. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press. Polaski, D. (1997). “What will Ye See in the Shulammite? Women, Power and Panopticism in the Song of Songs”. Biblical Interpretation 5, 1: 64–​81. Provan, I. (2011). Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

120 Grey Sessions, E.M. (2018). “‘Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires’: How does the Song of Songs speak to Australia’s problem with intimate partner violence?” Crucible 9.1: 1–​16. Trible, P. (1984). Texts of Terror. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press. Trible, P. (1978). God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press. Walsh, E. (2006). “In the Absence of Love.” In: P. Hawkins et al (eds) Scrolls of Love: Ruth and the Song of Songs. New York, NY: Fordham University. Pp. 283–​3. Weems, R. (2004). What Matters Most: Ten Lessons in Living Passionately from the Song of Solomon. West Bloomfield, MI: Warner Books.

­c hapter 7

Miriam Toews’ Women Talking A Call for Artistic Prophethood Martin W. Mittelstadt Contemporary Mennonites seldom spark global news. Since they remain small in number, media often consider Mennonites (and their Anabaptist siblings) “small potatoes” compared to the larger “newsworthy” Christian traditions. The last Anabaptist story to create global traction may have been the horrific West Nickel Mines’ school attack in 2006 that resulted in the deaths of five young girls (along with the perpetrator) and five non-​fatal injuries. Media—​and their audiences—​struggled to understand Amish forgiveness, and Amish care for the perpetrator’s family as witness to a vibrant and counter-​cultural faith. Today, many observers familiar with Anabaptist martyrology locate the exemplary forgiveness of the community at West Nickel Mines alongside narratives from the astounding history of persecution against Anabaptists.1 However, in this chapter, I explore the horrifying atrocities perpetrated by Mennonite insiders and a very different response. As my guidebook, I use the recent novel of the award-​winning Canadian writer Miriam Toews. I believe her book Women Talking offers a sobering anti-​testimony, perhaps a counter-​testimony, to the awarding-​winning Amish Grace (a recounting of the Amish response to the events above).2 In Women Talking, the complicated Toews, an ex-​Mennonite from Steinbach, Manitoba, continues to shake the Canadian public and beyond.

1 See Thielem, J. von Bracht, The Bloody Theatre, or Martyrs’ Mirror, of the Defenceless Christians: Who Suffered and Were Put to Death for the Testimony of Jesus, Their Saviour, from the Time of Christ until the Year A. D. 1660 (Lampeter Square, Lancaster Co., PA: David Miller, 1837). The full text is available at http://​www.hom​ecom​ers.org/​mir​ror/​index.htm (accessed July 3, 2019). 2 Miriam Toews, Women Talking (Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018). This work furthers a prolific career and includes numerous award-​winning works (all published by Alfred A. Knopf). See Summer of My Amazing Luck (1996); A Boy of Good Breeding (1998); Swing Low: A Life (2000); A Complicated Kindness (2004); The Flying Troutmans (2008); Irma Voth (2011); and All My Puny Sorrows (2014). In contrast to Toews’ Women Talking, see Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, and David Weaver-​Zercher, Amish Grace (San Francisco: Jossey-​Bass, 2007).

© Martin W. Mittelstadt, 2022 | DOI:1 0.1163/9789004513204_009

122 Mittelstadt Not least among her readers, I believe that Toews issues a call for Mennonites, Pentecostals, and Christians everywhere to address violence against women. In her novel, Toews creates a fictional account of Mennonite women sexually abused by men in their colony.3 She bases her account on real events between 2005–​2009. In 2011, a Bolivian court sentenced eight men from the Manitoba Colony in Bolivia for “ghost raping.” Nine men, ages 19–​43, and members of the colony, would routinely spray entire homes with a substance concocted by a neighbouring Mennonite veterinarian to anesthetize cattle.4 In so doing, these men would sedate not only their unsuspecting female victims but also assure that the entire household would be unable to offer external witness against the monstrosities. Over the course of five years, these men raped at least 130 girls and women from ages 3 to 65, married and single, residents and visitors, disabled and abled. Victims would awake to a common horror that included torn pyjamas, blood and semen splatter, bruised bodies, excruciating headaches, frayed rope used to bind their wrists or ankles, and often paralyzed by no memory of the evening’s event.5 In this chapter, I begin with a rather detailed recounting of the novel. Toews’ imaginary story is important for she gives voices to women otherwise unable to testify to their experience. Toews chooses not to rehearse the horrific events

3 Bolivia is home to some 60000 Mennonites spread among roughly eighty Mennonite colonies. They generally share Dutch and German roots to the 16th century. Many have migrated through Canada, United States, and Mexico, often due to government-​imposed education standards. Bolivian colonies generally follow conservative/​ultra-​conservative Anabaptist practices perhaps best described as a combination of Old Order Mennonites and Amish. They are welcomed for their agrarian skills in exchange for autonomy over education, property and governance, military exemption, internal conflict resolution, and community welfare. Such colonies—​often demonstrate the best and worst—​attempts to assume societal withdrawal and preservation of their centuries-​old traditions. 4 One of the men escaped and remains at large (at the time of publication). 5 For general information on the Mennonite colonies in Bolivia and further details on the case, see the following storylines, all of them accessed on 20 September 2019: First, stories that include the photography of Jordi Busque and Laurence Butet-​Roch, “Step Back in Time with the Mennonites of Bolivia,” National Geographic (February 27, 2018) in: https://​www.nat​ iona​lgeo​grap​hic.com/​phot​ogra​phy/​proof/​2018/​febru​ary/​men​noni​tes-​boli​via-​bus​que/​; Matt Fidler, “The Mennonites of Bolivia—​in Pictures,” The Guardian (Wednesday, September 14, 2014), https://​www.theg​uard​ian.com/​world/​gall​ery/​2014/​sep/​10/​the-​men​noni​tes-​of-​boli​ via-​in-​pictu​res; and Jean Friedman-​Rodovsky, “A Verdict in Bolivia’s Shocking Case of the Mennonite Rapes,” Time (Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011), http://​cont​ent.time.com/​time/​world/​ arti​cle/​0,8599,2087​711,00.html; For Canadian media coverage, follow the four part series by Will Braun, “Modern Ghosts of a Horse-​Drawn Scandal, Part 1,” Canadian Mennonite 22.19 (October 3, 2018) in: https://​canadi​anme​nnon​ite.org/​stor​ies/​mod​ern-​gho​sts-​horse-​drawn -​scan​dal-​part-​1 (accessed July 3, 2019).

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but instead creates a response crafted by an imagined community of victimized women.6 In section two, I draw particular attention to the use of Scripture by Toews’ characters. In so doing Toews creates implications both for the lack of biblical knowledge and interpretative skills afforded to female members of an “older order” Mennonite colony, and for the overt and implied use of Scripture by male leaders to wield power over the community. Sadly, I include further examples from Pentecostal contexts that sound eerily similar to the world in and behind Toews’ novel. Finally, I turn to general observations concerning Toews’ impact. Ironically, as Toews gains growing status on the larger Canadian literary landscape, I believe her voice warrants greater recognition in the church. I suggest further that the latter has been difficult because Toews has assumed the role of a “prophet not welcome in her own town.” Where she has been “shunned” by fellow Mennonites, I call the church of her youth to listen. But Toews and her dystopian Women Talking must be heard not only in the heart of southern Manitoba’s Mennonite belt. Where she has been ignored or disregarded among Christians elsewhere, I urge these churches to awaken to her voice. I ponder the question, “what has Miriam Toews to say to Canadian Pentecostals?” I propose that Toews ought to inspire prophetic imagination. She serves notice of violence against women not only through her content but thorough her craft. She embodies Pentecostal passion for vocational prophethood. Toews imagines a world where Scripture, rightly interpreted, draws attention to human sinfulness and enlivens opportunities for Spirit-​effected transformation. If indeed we believe in the potential for the prophethood of all believers and the many tongues of Pentecost, Toews proves exemplary as an artist, a writer, and a prophet! 7.1

Women Talking!

August Epp serves as Toews’ first-​person narrator, and he is by no means a flat storyteller. Epp embodies a complex personal history; his parents (and he) had 6 Note the difference between the real events at West Nickel Mines and the Manitoba colony. The authors of Amish Grace gain access to real interviews and they employ their expertise on Amish history, theology, and practice. But Toews, no slouch on Mennonite history and theology, lacks the real “testimonies” from the women of the Molotschna colony. Instead, she weaves a narrative, a fiction filled with truths, a prophetic counter-​testimony. See further the review by Valerie Weaver-​Zercher, “Miriam Toews Imagines Her Way into an Insular Community Grappling with Sexual Assault,” Christian Century (April 25, 2019) in https://​ www.chris​tian​cent​ury.org/​rev​iew/​books/​mir​iam-​toews-​imagi​nes-​her-​way-​insu​lar-​commun​ ity-​grappl​ing-​sex​ual-​assa​ult (accessed July 3, 2019).

124 Mittelstadt been excommunicated when he was a young teen. They eventually landed and struggled in England, and after the disappearance of his father (presumably abandonment) and the death of his mother, Epp returns to his native Molotschna Colony. Since he had learned English in England, he gains reentry as an adult member of the colony and assumes the role of the colony’s schoolteacher (8–​9, 12–​13).7 As “narrator,” he has been commissioned to take minutes of the women talking about their response to sexual violence, not unlike the real events described above. His minutes are an on-​the-​fly English translation from Plautdietsch (a hodgepodge of German, Dutch, Pomeranian, and Frisian, the spoken but unwritten language of the colonists). Epp begins with some personal and contextual notes written the evening before a two-​day event. Eight women across three generations call for a hasty meeting after the men of the colony depart to the nearby city to post bail for and return the charged attackers ahead of a trial. As a self-​policing community of some 2500 members, Bishop Peters thought to keep the accused “locked in a shed,” but decides to call in the police when a woman (Salome) attacks one of the men with a scythe and another man is hanged by fellow colonists (5). Peters feels it necessary to protect the men, but the women do not fail to catch the irony of the bishop’s move (21). Epp prepares to take minutes for the colony’s women as they must weigh three options in response to their frightening situation: 1) Do Nothing; 2) Stay and Fight; and 3) Leave (the women refuse to describe their plan as an attempt to flee, run, or escape). Following this introduction, Epp records the two-​day deliberations. These two chapters constitute the bulk of the book; the first (110 pages) records minutes of the women talking on June 6 and the second (58 pages) on June 7, 2009. Following the daily minutes, Epp writes two 10-​page reflections on the evenings after both meetings. I mention the number of pages to establish Toews’ goal that Epp gives voice primarily to women talking.8 The women meet on June 6 in the hayloft of a man with mental disabilities, who is oblivious to the colony’s chaos. All survivors of abuse, they come from two families: the Loewens—​Greta, her daughters Mariche and Mejal, and Autje, Mejal’s daughter; and the Friesens—​Agata, her daughters Ona and Salome, and Nietje, now in the care of Aunt Salome.

7 All subsequent references to Women Talking will be bracketed in the main text. 8 Having said this, Epp is no mere scribe. Though he generally refrains from speaking during the two day event, and tries not to share his inclinations, this is an impossibility. His worldview is reflected through his note-​taking, translation from Plaut-​dietsch to English, and occasional unspoken commentary.

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The women commence day one with foot washing. By the time of their gathering, conversations ahead of their meeting lead most of them to decide that the option to “stay and do nothing” receives little traction. The women move quickly to create a list of pros and cons for option 2, staying and fighting. Pros include: We won’t have to leave. We won’t have to pack. We won’t have to figure out where we’re going or experience the uncertainty of not knowing where we are going. (We don’t have a map of any place) (52–​53). The women lament that they not only have no map, but they have never left the colony, and they cannot read. Though other pros include “we won’t have to leave the people we love,” Greta opines that loved ones would join them. The cons include: We won’t be forgiven [by members of the community]. We don’t know how to fight. (Salome [mentioned above] interrupts: I know how to fight … [remember her attempt to murder an abuser led Peters to call in the police]) We don’t want to fight. There is the risk that conditions will be worse after fighting (54). The women deliberate concerning implications should they stay. They would create a manifesto to ensure their safety and freedom from further attacks. Ona preaches that stipulations must include collective decision-​making by men and women; women must be allowed to think, and girls must be taught to read and write. The schoolhouse will display a map, and “a new religion, extrapolated from the old but focused on love, will be created by the women of Molotschna” (56). Agata speaks honestly that such a situation would make their commitment to pacifism tricky; to stay locates the women on a collision course for violence by and against them. “We will be inviting harm … in a state of war. We would turn Molotschna into a battlefield” (104). To the contrary, Mariche quips that courageous peace making would set an example for their children and model the sanctity of marriage, obedience, and love (107). Of course, Mariche’s comment cuts to the heart of biblical interpretation, namely the demands and limitations of Ephesians 5 (see below). Over the course of two days, the discussion moves toward the pros and cons of leaving the colony. Pros include:

126 Mittelstadt We will be gone. We [and our children]9 will be safe. We will not be asked to forgive the men, because we will not be here to hear the question (59). We want to keep our faith. We want to think (120).10 Greta argues further that leaving will create down-​the-​road potential for forgiveness. “Their leaving would not be an act of cowardice, abandonment, disobedience, or rebellion … [nor because they had been] excommunicated or exiled … it would be a supreme act of faith” (110). And on the matter of safety, Salome speaks with boldness and honesty on the current status of the women: “We know that we are bruised and infected and pregnant and terrified and insane and some of us are dead. We know that we must protect our children. We know that if these attacks continue our faith will be threatened because we will become angry, murderous, and unforgiving” (119). In their discussion of cons to option #3, the women lament that they have no map, they don’t know where to go, and they don’t even know their current location. However, to the contrary, the ever-​aggressive Salome shouts, “None … There are no Cons of Leaving” (63). Not least among their concerns, should they leave, the women must decide on options for men and older boys. Should certain men be allowed to join them? Only if they sign the manifesto? Should men be left behind? Or should they be able to join the women once a new community has been formed? (70). When the women reconvene the following day, Agata recalls the previous days’ deliberations and calls for the question: “Is it accurate to say that we have all, more or less, decided to leave?” (151). After a cautious “yes,” they decide that boys under fifteen (not yet baptized into the church) will leave with the women (162). The women do not resolve the possibility that men and boys willing to sign the manifesto might join a new community (164). Toews concludes the novel with Epp’s final report and reflections of the women’s decision. Note: spoiler alert. The women choose to leave on Thursday evening June 7. Epp had secured a map from a neighbouring colony. He reports 9 10

See also Women Talking, 120, 153. At one point, Ona suggests another option, namely, “We could ask the men to leave” (Women Talking, 113). The women break out in laughter when Greta remarks “isn’t it interesting … that the one and only request the women would make of the men would be to leave?” (Women Talking, 116). Needless to say, Ona’s comment is short-​lived; it is not an option.

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that the women must concoct a plan to avert a near disaster after two girls leak the news to teenage boys. The young girls lure two teenage boys on a “date,” only to have the women anesthetize the boys, and leave them unconscious long enough for the women to get a solid start. The women have at least ten buggies and ten teams. Finally, Epp laments the loss of friends, particularly Ona. He reflects upon his return to Molotschna as a personal pursuit of peace and purpose, yet he assists women on a reverse journey for the same reasons. And in a shocking twist, Epp reveals what may have been the primary reason for the excommunication of his parents: “as I approached the brink of adulthood, I bore a remarkable resemblance to Peters, and I had become a symbol in the colony, or at least to Peters, of shame and violence and unacknowledged sin and of the failure of the Mennonite experiment” (213). Was Epp’s readmittance into the colony the bishop’s last attempt to make peace? As for the minutes, the women give Epp no instructions. Since they cannot read them, perhaps the minutes simply give them voice, or their deliberations may one day find their way to men in the colony, or “there was no point to the minutes” (215). Do the women succeed? Toews ends the tale but offers no guarantee of their subsequent safety or their attempt to construct a transformed community. Though the women seek a new life, their journey will be wrought with risk. Toews’ ending necessarily remains inconclusive; honesty remains critical as readers must reflect upon any attempt by victims to “flee” the harsh realities of violence. 7.2

The Privileges and Responsibilities Given for Biblical Interpretation

With my turn to Toews’ influence, I do not suggest that her content ventures into uncharted territory. Since she writes through her Mennonite worldview, many of her non-​Mennonite readers will undoubtedly gain insight to an unfamiliar worldview. In terms of her message, Toews joins a chorus of other voices that speak to power, and to oppressive, incompetent, and unsympathetic leadership, particularly in faith communities. She calls the church to accountability. She calls the church to a higher standard for biblical interpretation. In so doing, I want to highlight specific examples of Toews’ storytelling not simply for ultra-​conservative Mennonite colonies, but also for many Christian contexts far removed from rural Bolivia.11 11

I am not seeking to undermine Mennonites. The news is filled with Catholic scandals, the recent sbc scandals, and be assured these stories will emerge in our Pentecostal circles.

128 Mittelstadt Though Women Talking hits shelves in the spring of 2018, Toews’ manuscript is in the hands of editors by early 2017. As fate would have it, her story parallels the rise of the #MeToo movement in October 2017 in the days following allegations against Harvey Weinstein. Toews’ creation of a fictive response anticipates the importance of solidarity and elicits a prophetic call for accountability and justice. As a #MeToo prophet, Toews enables boldness through her female characters and interrogates unacceptable male leaders. Any attempt to deflect the plausibility of sexual and violent abuse, to spin the eve0nts, or engage in a coverup, only compounds dehumanization. 7.2.1 Leadership and Community Responses When Bishop Peters, like any leader, first hears of horrific news, he must lead. In this case, as in so many cases concerning violence against women, Peters fails. “It was Satan who was responsible for the attack, that it was punishment from God, that God was punishing the women for their sins” or perhaps these stories are the product of “wild female imagination” (57–​58). These outlandish and unsympathetic responses (on display in the Manitoba Colony and the fictive Molotschna colony) demonstrate striking resemblance to stories not uncommon in our churches. Sadly, similar stories may be heard among Pentecostals. After a young man “takes advantage” of a young woman in a local church, the two of them receive counsel to get married. In a manner not unlike the “wild female imagination,” such a young woman may be chastised for failing to assume responsibility for consensual sexual activity. These stories are compounded with pregnancy. 7.2.2 Community Membership At the core of her story, Toews scrutinizes Mennonites for their appropriation of an inequitable membership. While there is much to be admired through communal living, the women of Molotschna decide to leave not as resentful members of a community but to gain their humanity. Once again, Toews’ Salome offers an explosive response: We’re not members of Molotschna … We are the women of Molotschna. The entire colony of Molotschna is built on the foundation of patriarchy … [We live our days] as mute, submissive and obedient servants. Animals. Fourteen-​year-​old boys are expected to give us orders, to determine our Concerning my affinity toward Mennonites, see Martin W. Mittelstadt and Brian K. Pipkin, eds., Mennocostals: Stories of Pentecostal and Mennonite Convergence. Pentecostals, Peace-​ Making and Social Justice Series. (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Press, 2020).

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fates, to vote on our excommunications, to speak at the burials of our own babies while we remain silent, to interpret the Bible for us, to lead us in worship, to punish us! We are not members, Mariche, we are commodities.12 When our men have used us up so that we look sixty when we’re thirty and our wombs have literally dropped out of our bodies onto our spotless kitchen floors, finished, they turn to our daughters. And if they could sell us all at auction afterwards they would (120–​121). Since the dynamics of community life are diverse, this situation defies an easy universal response. Patriarchal life in a Mennonite colony proves difficult to translate for many North American audiences. However, Toews’ imagined gathering of women on the margins must prompt conversations about authority and power and the importance of mutuality in life-​giving communities. 7.2.3 Oppressive Patriarchy and the Biblical Interpretation As a follow-​up to the question of authentic membership, I turn to interpretation of Scripture. During the women’s deliberations, you will recall Mariche’s comments on Ephesians 5, namely the nature of submission and obedience. On a later occasion, Mejal cuts to the issue. Should the women decide to leave, Mejal expresses one more time her struggle: “It has to do with the Biblical exhortation that women obey and submit to their husbands. How, if we are to remain good wives … can we leave our men? Is it not disobedient to do so?” (156). However, in the spirit of communal responsibility, Salome proclaims forcefully the need for interpretative skills: “We can’t read … so how are we to know what it is in the Bible … And what is the common denominator linking Peters and the elders and our sons and husbands? … They are all men?” (156). Salome alleges: “The issue … is the male interpretation of the Bible, and how that is ‘handed down’ to us” (158). Ona concurs: “Our inability to read or write puts us at a great disadvantage in any negotiation over the interpretation of the Bible.” Ironically, only moments later, the women ponder God’s response to their leaving, and Epp notes (but does not speak) that their musing may serve as the first time these women have interpreted the word of God for themselves (159). These women may not be formally educated, but they are not ignorant. They see through inconsistencies. I am saddened to share several similar examples on the misunderstanding and misuse of Scripture. First, I have encountered pastors and congregants

12

Epp offers a translator’s note. The words, patriarchy and commodities, are his attempt to summarize Salome’s words (Women Talking, 120).

130 Mittelstadt who continue to teach blind and one-​way submission of the wife to the husband. I am astonished that many so-​called exegetes can recite Ephesians 5:22 without awareness of 5:21, a plain call to locate the submission of wives to their husbands within the context of mutual submission. Ironically, many are surprised upon learning that the word “submission” does not appear in v. 22 but is assumed based upon its use in v. 21.13 Consider another controversial passage. I recall a conversation among ministers concerning a woman in an abusive relationship where she would not leave her husband based solely upon 1 Corinthians 7:10. She wrestled with conflicting voices by leaders over Paul’s injunction that “a wife must not separate from her husband.” Since her husband had remained faithful, that is, he had not violated Jesus’ only escape clause (Matthew 5:32; 19:9), she must remain with her husband. On this specific case, I am happy to report the woman eventually left her husband! Several colleagues and I teach a required course at Evangel University that includes an assignment where students write their personal story. These students, most of them in their early twenties, craft a narrative that includes elements of family, education, and religious history (such as conversion and Spirit baptism) in order to encourage ownership of their emerging faith. In an amazing number of stories, I am beyond astonished at the number of women (and a few men) who reveal stories of sexual trauma. For those raised in the church, these abusers are often family members or boyfriends (often from a youth group or college group). Sadly, too many of these young students arrive at our Christian universities with little biblical literacy, not least concerning passages on marriage, women, intimacy, respect, and mutuality. Toews challenges the church not simply to “teach” the Bible but to communicate “how to read the scriptures.” Failure to ensure the latter masks only as indoctrination, and often manifests itself with renderings bent on control and manipulation. Through her storytelling, Toews gives notice that multiple interpretations of Scripture ought to be explored and the teachings of the church by way of men alone must be challenged. Though Toews chooses not to create the alternative way, I believe she surely expects her readers to envision and enact a better future.

13

See Melissa and Kenneth J. Archer, “Complementarianism and Egalitarianism—​Whose Side Are You Leaning On? A Pentecostal Reading of Ephesians 5:21–​33,” Pneuma 41 (2019): 66–​90; and Craig Keener’s older but still valuable resource, Paul, Women, and Wives: Marriage and Women’s Ministry in the Letters of Paul (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992).

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131

Observations: A World According to Prophets and Artists

At this point, I think it is reasonable to entertain the question, “What might Toews say to (Canadian) Pentecostals?” As I state above, Toews contributes to the awareness of violence against women, but she is neither the first nor the last voice on this matter. Her originality is perhaps best on display by her imagined response on behalf of women in a Mennonite community, a world far removed from the larger Canadian public. I, however, want to solidify Toews’ voice as a particular kind of artist. Artists, whether writers, poets, filmmakers, or musicians, often employ their craft to speak against injustice. Many use their work not primarily for fame and fortune, but to interrogate abusive worldviews. Artists are prophets. Since Pentecostals believe wholeheartedly in the ongoing Spirit of the prophets, we must create space for such modern messengers. One of our own, Roger Stronstad, pushes this premise with his well-​ known axiom, “the prophethood of all believers” (an intentional expansion of Martin Luther’s “priesthood of all believers”). Amos Yong has focused his prolific career upon Acts 2 as a metaphor for “the many tongues of Pentecost.”14 Both envision a prophetic imagination that breaks barriers and emphasizes the universal availability of the Spirit. They imply that this message is declared and lived across the vast array of vocations. I suggest further that Toews fits the category of a Mennocostal, a Mennonite voice in the Spirit of Pentecost/​ als.15 With Stronstad and Yong, I dare not suggest that prophetic speech is the domain only of Pentecostals and Mennonites, only that prophethood has been our livelihood and forte. Mennonites and Pentecostals are at their best and most effective when they employ a countercultural voice to their churches and communities! Though Toews would be surprised at my label, she is a prophet of Pentecost. She adds her voice to the “many tongues” uttered on the Day of Pentecost. Second, Toews fulfils, in part, the lament and demand of Pentecostal scholar Cheryl Bridges Johns. The Scriptures given to God’s people must afford 14 15

Roger Stronstad, The Prophethood of All Believers: A Study of Luke’s Charismatic Theology (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999); and Amos Yong, The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005). See Martin W. Mittelstadt and Brian K. Pipkin, Mennocostals: Stories of Pentecostal and Mennonite Convergence. Pentecostals, Peace-​ Making and Social Justice Series. (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Press, 2020) and my first publication with this label. “My Life as a Mennocostal: A Personal and Theological Narrative.” Theodidkatos: A Journal of EMC Theology and Education 3:2 (Fall 2008): 10–​17 in https://​stat​ic1.squa​resp​ace.com/​sta​tic/​ 5e46d​19b6​b000​4068​7498​c7d/​t/​5e5ea​eddc​33b3​5040​9a40​21d/​158326​3457​513/​theod​idak​ tos-​03-​02.pdf. (accessed July 3, 2019).

132 Mittelstadt marginalized readers such as the women of the Molotschna (and Manitoba) community the opportunity to contest a hermeneutic of suspicion. By doing so, these readers will experience the lament of a God who desires for them a new and transformed existence.16 In the Spirit of the Hebrew prophets, Jesus, the Twelve, and beyond, Toews reveals God’s heart toward those who are marginalized due to the failure of community life, oppressive leadership, and/​or corrupt biblical interpretation. Like the prophets ahead of her, Toews calls for an ever-​evolving re-​orientation of personal and community existence. Concerning family life, Johns offers an example by way of the Apostle Paul: “Imagine the Spirit of God spreading her wings over the early church as it attempted to bring forth new order of the household of God within the context of Roman pater familia.”17 Paul is a prophet and yet a product of his world. He reveals the tension of an already /​not yet kingdom of God. Though Paul envisions a new oikonomia, he remains as one who sees through a glass, darkly. However, according to Johns, as the Spirit sparks in Paul the need to scrutinize first century slavery, abuse, and patriarchy, so also the same Spirit, ever present and relentless in our reading of Scripture, demands that we push deeper into the living text. God seeks new prophets to open the Scriptures, to interrogate the powers, and lift up the marginalized. God seeks prophets to write, to draw, to paint, and to sing the plight of those who are in pain and imagine a better world. Finally, though Toews speaks to failure on the part of the church, not least among its leaders, her prophethood gives us hope. Prophets work, write, speak, produce, and sing from the fringe. Where the church stumbles, prophets present their craft. When the church no longer listens to cries of injustice, the prophets turn to other venues. I charge Pentecostal scholars and pastors to utilize their vocations as educators and preachers to inspire artists like Toews. On this matter we must not be naïve. Though I might wish for Toews to gain a better reception among Christians, she like many artists of prophetic anti-​ testimony emerges not in the polished sermons given at “General Assemblies” or conferences, but in the marketplace. The concerns of artists are often felt first among the masses. They cut to the heart. They expose wounds! I call upon my fellow pastors and scholars to speak life into these prophetic offices. We must affirm their call to speak. We must defend the methodological complexities of their communication (e.g. Jeremiah, Hosea, Amos, and John the Baptist). As we alert our congregants to the need for prophets, we will be awakened 16

See Cheryl Bridges Johns, “Grieving, Brooding, and Transforming: The Spirit, The Bible, and Gender,” jpt 29 (2014): 141–​153. 17 Johns,152.

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by their prophetic imagination. We must encourage a new generation of prophetic artists like Toews, Kathryn Stockett, Mark Haddon, Steven Spielberg, Bono, Tupac Shakur, and Ava Duvernay.18 May we not run our prophets out of town. Instead, let us nurture their passions and their voices. They will open our ears to the cries of those who have not been heard. They will give voice to those not yet able to speak. They will call for a transformed existence. They will revive our churches.19

Bibliography

Archer, Melissa and Kenneth J. Archer. “Complementarianism and Egalitarianism—​ Whose Side Are You Leaning On? A Pentecostal Reading of Ephesians 5:21–​33.” Pneuma 41 (2029): 66–​90. Braun, Will. “Modern Ghosts of a Horse-​Drawn Scandal, Part 1.” Canadian Mennonite 22.19 (October 3, 2018). https://​canadi​anme​nnon​ite.org/​stor​ies/​mod​ern-​gho​sts -​horse-​drawn-​scan​dal-​part-​1. (accessed July 3, 2019). Bridges Johns, Cheryl. “Grieving, Brooding, and Transforming: The Spirit, The Bible, and Gender.” jpt 29 (2004): 141–​153. Busque, Jordi and Laurence Butet-​Roch. “Step Back in Time with the Mennonites of Bolivia.” National Geographic (February 27, 2018). https://​www.nat​iona​lgeo​grap​hic .com/​phot​ogra​phy/​proof/​2018/​febru​ary/​men​noni​tes-​boli​via-​bus​que/.​  (accessed July 3, 2019). Fidler, Matt Fidler. “The Mennonites of Bolivia—​in Pictures.” The Guardian (Wednesday, September 14, 2014) https://​www.theg​uard​ian.com/​world/​gall​ery/​2014/​sep/​10/​the -​men​noni​tes-​of-​boli​via-​in-​pictu​res. (accessed July 3, 2019). Friedman-​Rodovsky, Jean. “A Verdict in Bolivia’s Shocking Case of the Mennonite Rapes.” Time (Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011). http://​cont​ent.time.com/​time/​world/​arti​ cle/​0,8599,2087​711,00.html. (accessed July 3, 2019). Keener, Craig. Paul, Women, and Wives: Marriage and Women’s Ministry in the Letters of Paul. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992. 18

19

Toews remains intentionally vague concerning her current identity with the Mennonite tradition. Whether she has abandoned the Mennonite faith of her childhood or not, Toews delivers an unapologetic and prophetic voice. I maintain that prophetic voices need not be Christian. This chapter was initially prepared for the Canadian Symposium at the 2020 Society for Pentecostal Studies. An earlier version has been published in Canadian Journal of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity 10 (2019): 37–​49 in: https://​jour​nal.twu.ca/​index .php/​CJPC/​arti​cle/​view/​228. (accessed May 13, 2020). The chapter is republished here with the permission of the editors of the cjpcc.

134 Mittelstadt Kraybill, Donald B., Steven M. Nolt, and David Weaver-​Zercher. Amish Grace. San Francisco: Jossey-​Bass, 2007. Mittelstadt, Martin W. “My Life as a Mennocostal: A Personal and Theological Narrative.” Theodidkatos: A Journal of emc Theology and Education 3:2 (Fall 2008): 10–​17. https://​stat​ic1.squa​resp​ace.com/​sta​tic/​5e46d​19b6​b000​4068​7498​c7d/​t/​5e5ea​eddc​ 33b3​5040​9a40​21d/​158326​3457​513/​theod​idak​tos-​03-​02.pdf. (accessed July 3, 2019). Mittelstadt, Martin W. and Brian K. Pipkin. Mennocostals: Stories of Pentecostal and Mennonite Convergence. Pentecostals, Peace-​ Making and Social Justice Series. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Press, 2020. Stronstad, Roger. The Prophethood of All Believers: A Study of Luke’s Charismatic Theology. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999. Toews, Miriam. A Boy of Good Breeding. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998. Toews, Miriam. All My Puny Sorrows. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. Toews, Miriam. Summer of My Amazing Luck. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. Toews, Miriam. A Complicated Kindness. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. Toews, Miriam. Irma Voth. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. Toews, Miriam. Swing Low: A Life. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Toews, Miriam. The Flying Troutmans. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008. Toews, Miriam. Women Talking. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018. Van Bracht, Thielem J. The Bloody Theatre, or Martyrs’ Mirror, of the Defenceless Christians: Who Suffered and Were Put to Death for the Testimony of Jesus, Their Savior, from the Time of Christ until the Year A. D. 1660. Lampeter Square, Lancaster Co., PA: David Miller, 1837. http://​www.hom​ecom​ers.org/​mir​ror/​index.htm. (accessed July 3, 2019). Weaver-​Zercher, Valerie. “Miriam Toews Imagines Her Way into an Insular Community Grappling with Sexual Assault.” Christian Century (April 25, 2019). https://​www .chris​tian​cent​ury.org/​rev​iew/​books/​mir​iam-​toews-​imagi​nes-​her-​way-​insu​lar-​com mun​ity-​grappl​ing-​sex​ual-​assa​ult. (accessed July 3, 2019). Yong, Amos. The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.

­c hapter 8

Shanghai Brothels, Spirit Baptisms

The Door of Hope Women as a Source for Pentecostal Ressourcement Alex R. Mayfield If God created Shanghai, then He owes an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah.1

∵ This fabled quote from a missionary arriving on Shanghai’s shore may not be historically verifiable, but by the turn of the century, the treaty-​port city of Shanghai had indeed gained a reputation as a city where law enforcement and economic regulations were hard-​pressed ventures. It was a hive of capitalism and criminality, modern luxury, and moral dubiety. Yet, Shanghai’s unique juxtaposition between global trade and traditional Chinese society also meant that it was particularly ripe for the exploitation of Chinese women. Within Shanghai’s red-​light district, traditional Chinese practices, such as bonded servitude and concubinage, combined with the abduction and sale of women and children to fuel an increasingly international appetite for sex. From high-​class brothels that evoked the refinement of courtesan life to new fast-​sex establishments and opium dens, the streets of Shanghai offered the Chinese and Western men in the treaty port a salacious system of vice that was built on the legal enslavement and commodification of women and children.2 By the beginnings of the twentieth century, however, the mistreatment of Chinese women in all spheres of Chinese life became a rallying cry for many reform-​minded Chinese elites, with the argument being that “China, which mistreated “its women”, … was in turn treated like a woman by stronger 1 Leck, Captives of Empire: Captives of Empire, 33. 2 A thorough study of prostitution in Shanghai during the early 20th century is provided in Hershatter, Dangerous Pleasures. “Part iii: Dangers” is particularly helpful for understanding the lives of the women who came to the Door of Hope.

© Alex R. Mayfield, 2022 | DOI:10.1163/9789004513204_010

136 Mayfield nations: subordinated, humiliated, with pieces of its territory occupied by force, rights to its use bought and sold with impunity.”3 Caught in the national zeitgeist, Western missionaries and social reformers were happy to partner with Chinese elites to begin cleaning up and improving the lot of women around China, and especially in Shanghai.4 The female-​run Door of Hope mission represented one of a bevy of tactics put forward to raise the lot of Chinese women and set China on a new path at the turn of the century. On the surface, it was a well-​funded social reforming institution, a typical part of the Sino-​ Foreign Protestant Establishment of the time.5 Beneath that veneer, however, was a form of reformation and renewal seldom associated with such works. In the chapels, school rooms, and workshops of the mission, the former prostitutes, slaves, and abused wives were getting their Pentecost. Unfortunately, the Door of Hope’s pentecostal legacy is in need of recovery. Rectifying this historical memory loss requires two things. First, it entails a retelling of the Door of Hope story that emphasizes the mission’s connection to the nascent and developing pentecostal movement. By foregrounding a group of pentecostal women who remained within a non-​affiliated faith mission context, the first section of this chapter will illustrate how their story problematizes overly simplified constructions of early pentecostal identity and illustrates how many forms of pentecostal spirituality and mission were marginalized as pentecostal institutions developed. Second, the contribution of these women needs to be taken seriously as an important historical locus of pentecostal theologizing. As such, the second section of this chapter will participate in a brief exercise in pentecostal ressourcement by exploring classical pentecostal theological categories and methodologies through the words and actions of these women. This section will demonstrate that they embodied an early pentecostal theology that was adept at addressing systemic injustice, sexual trauma, and domestic violence, a legacy that needs to be celebrated and built upon today.6 3 Hershatter, Dangerous Pleasures, 245. Hershatter notes that while this stream of thought advocates for women, China is nonetheless cast in male terms. 4 Hershatter, Dangerous Pleasures, 245. 5 I am using Bays’ term, popularized in his A New History of Christianity in China. See especially, 92–​120. 6 To be clear, this re-​centering of Door of Hope women is not a straightforward postcolonial triumph. Scholars such as Hunter and Sasaki have argued that missionary women were beneficiaries and purveyors of colonialist, racist, and patriarchal systems and worldviews. Door of Hope missionaries do not escape this tension, but they are also exemplars of how that tension is multi-​faceted. Door of Hope women were, in their own way, also disempowered and marginalized by patriarchy, colonialism, and racial ideologies. As Ryan Dunch cautions, overreliance on ideological frameworks can often lead historians

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Pentecost at the Door of Hope

8.1.1 Birth Founded on November 21, 1901, the Door of Hope was a direct outcome of the Shanghai Women’s Conference of 1900. The four-​day conference featured major speakers such as Dr. Ida Kahn and Young J. Allen, whose topical addresses focused on the way Chinese social customs disadvantaged Chinese women; foot binding, sex slavery, marriage customs, funeral practices, and child abandonment were all discussed.7 Galvanized by such addresses, Mary Fitch, wife of the China Herald’s missionary-​editor George Fitch, began building a wide and interreligious base of support to help rescue women trapped in the sex trade. Fitch quickly moved to appoint Cornelia Leavenworth Bonnell, a Vassar graduate, and independent missionary teacher, to lead the new work.8 Beginning with a Receiving Home on the edge of Shanghai’s red-​light district, the mission gradually grew into a multi-​complex system that provided a pathway for women to move from rescue to reform.9 The Receiving Home worked as an intake valve for the system, providing escaped prostitutes, abused women, and homeless girls a place of shelter until their cases could be resolved in the Shanghai Mixed Court. Workers in the receiving home advocated for the women at court, arranged medical care, and held religious services for the new arrivals. After their cases were resolved, women would move to the First-​Year Home, where they spent a year receiving a rudimentary education. After this first year, women could opt for an arranged marriage or enter the Industrial Home where they would learn handicraft skills and contribute to the economic sustainability of the mission.10 As Shanghai’s local government began to crack down on child prostitution and homelessness, the organization

7 8 9

10

to oversimply complex historical narratives. Sue Gronewold’s more recent work has done an excellent job of exploring this complex legacy at the mission. See Hunter, The Gospel of Gentility; Sasaki, “American New Women Encountering China;” Dunch, “Beyond Cultural Imperialism;” Gronewold, “A New Family.” Home Life of Chinese Women, 33–​42, 80. Gronewold, “Encountering Hope,” 121–​22. This current chapter is highly indebted to the excellent research of Gronewold, though it will depart from her conclusions at key junctures. Gronewold, “Encountering Hope,” 9. This path from “rescue to reform” is Gronewold’s interpretation of the mission’s colonialist goal to reconstruct the lives of Chinese women. She suggests that the more evangelical dimensions of the mission were a later addition, but this argument tends to ignore the early revivalist spirituality of the mission. See especially, 171–​231. Occasionally, some women would be deemed unsuitable for marriage and placed back in the care of the Mixed Court. A Story of the Good Shepherd, 5.

138 Mayfield was compelled to take on orphanage work in 1912.11 By 1922, the increasing population of the mission and the dire health needs of rescued women led to the opening of a self-​run sanitorium.12 The success of this system and the decision of many women to stay within it led to the unforeseen need for permanent spiritual care and discipleship. A chapel was constructed in 1916, and by 1926, the women of the mission self-​organized into an intercessory missionary prayer society.13 In many ways, this expansive growth represents the creation of an alternate social structure for low-​class Chinese women amid the patriarchal and oppressive social practices of Shanghai. While it was dominated by overtly Christian and Western worldviews, it nonetheless provided a viable and empowering alternative for many Chinese women who lacked the means to express agency in traditional structures. This picture of the Door of Hope is firmly in keeping with the sort of reform-​minded projects favored by the Sino-​Foreign Protestant Establishment during the period.14 However, this picture is also incomplete. Running throughout the history of the Door of Hope is a strong revivalist and faith mission stream that asserts itself at key junctures in the life of the mission.15 Moreover, it was this stream that was largely responsible for connecting the mission to the nascent pentecostal movement. 8.1.2 Pentecost The period of 1907 to 1910 marked a turning point in the life of the mission with the arrival of Ethel Abercrombie and Elizabeth Gladys Dieterle. In 1907, Abercrombie arrived and took over the children’s home, and Dieterle arrived a year later to aid her. Together with Bonnell, Abercrombie and Dieterle would eventually become what Susan Gronewold described as the “iron triumvirate” that set the tone and agenda for the institution through the production of reports, pamphlets, speeches, and newspaper articles.16 From 1909 to 1910, 11 12 13 14

15 16

Door of Hope: Twelfth Annual Report, 3. The report makes it clear that the idea for this second children’s home did not originate from the mission itself. Third Annual Report of the Shanghai Florence Crittenton Home, 3. “In Everything by Prayer,” 28. Bays gives the impression that revivalist and reform streams of Christianity in China were separate and competing. While that may be the case, the Door of Hope represents one location where these streams were unified. Bays, A New History of Christianity in China, 92–​120. Gronewold astutely observes that the management of the mission was decidedly mainline in its composition, while the workers of the mission tended to have more evangelical and faith backgrounds. Gronewold, “Encountering Hope,” 119–​125. Gronewold, “Encountering Hope,” 124.

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this tone gradually took on pentecostal notes as missionaries and revivalists linked to early pentecostal centers of revival began making visits to the mission. By 1910 Antoinette “Nettie” Moomau, a veteran missionary who had received her Pentecost at Azusa, and Leola Phillips, a newly arrived apostolic missionary, were holding revival services at the Door of Hope Children’s Home. Writing to the Bridegroom Messenger in August of 1910, they recount that the Door of Hope was where “God first began the work of cleaning things up” and that Bonnell and many others had received the “Holy Ghost and fire.”17 Abercrombie’s testimony of this initial outpouring of the Spirit offers a similar, if not more nuanced, narrative. Speaking at a convention at Chicago’s Stone Church on March 28, 1920, Abercrombie recounted: One day while I was looking at [the children] working … a voice spoke to me. It was so real I turned around just to be sure there wasn’t anybody behind me. The voice said, “I will pour out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” … About a year after that He sent along Nettie Moomau … She spoke to those girls and children one Saturday night and then called for an after-​meeting to which most of them stayed, girls whom I considered hopeless … The next morning those girls were going around confessing their sins and telling out the most awful things they had done. Nobody asked them, to do it; the Spirit of God led them to get rid of their burdens. … To make a long story short, the Lord at that time baptized me in the Holy Spirit, and then He baptized five of our teachers and about twenty children.18 Abercrombie’s lengthier account of the revival—​with its conviction, repentance, and Holy Spirit power—​is illustrative of how blurry the line between turn-​of-​the-​century revivalist discourse and early pentecostal discourse was. Abercrombie’s received her divine message before her pentecostal experience, the work of the Holy Spirit was evidenced by conviction and repentance from sin, and her own experience of the revival baptism never mentions tongues. In short, Abercrombie’s account could be used to describe many non-​Pentecostal revivals which took place in Asia during the period, such as the Pyeongyang Revival and the Shandong Revival. At the same time, her account was deemed admirable and authentically pentecostal enough to be re-​published in the Latter Rain Evangel. So, while her testimony clearly had the pentecostal

17 18

Moomau and Phillips, “The Work in Shanghai, China,” 1. Abercrombie, “The Door of Hope Born in Prayer,” 5.

140 Mayfield context, it lacked some of the content typically deemed uniquely pentecostal. Regardless of how such spirituality is categorized, it is clear that this revivalist, pentecostal stream did not die down in the mission. 8.1.3 Growth and Recession Under Abercrombie and Dieterle’s leadership, evangelistic fervor and spiritual revivals would continue to take place into the leadup of the Second World War, especially in the Children’s Home at Jiangwan, where Dieterle took over for Abercrombie in 1913. Referred to as the “Love School” by Dieterle and the “Holy Ghost School” by Abercrombie, the Children’s Home fostered a revivalist spirituality among the girls of the mission.19 Dieterle hoped that the home might lead girls to “become practically “sanctified unto God” so that their daily lives might be lives of Love, both to God and to one another, and lives of Praise and Worship.”20 This life of love was actualized through small acts of kindness among the children, a free day school paid for by a woman in Detroit, and evangelistic services supported by the children and led by the Chinese “helpers.”21 This Spirit-​filled ethic would be reinforced with the arrival of pentecostal women from around the world. In 1916, Winifred Burlinson and Winifred Watney arrived from England, bringing the total number of pentecostal missionaries in the home up to four.22 It would swell to five in 1918 with the arrival of Hattie Bailey of the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle.23 With these new recruits in tow, the language and practices of the sanctified and Spirit-​filled life became common. 1936, for example, was recorded as a year of “marvels” and the “marked work of the Holy Spirit.”24 The outcome of this powerful move of the Spirit were tears, the conviction of sin, conversions, baptisms, and the missionary service of the many “evangelist daughters” produced by the mission.25 This pentecostalization of the mission did not mean a retreat from its remarkably open approach to funding and ministry. Reports and letters from the mission show that the Door of Hope was supported by and cooperated with governmental bodies, non-​Christian Chinese, and a diverse mixture of Christian organizations, including pentecostals. In print, narratives about the 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Saved to Serve, 8; Door of Hope: Fourteenth Annual Report, 10. Door of Hope: Thirteenth Annual Report, 8. Door of Hope: Thirteenth Annual Report, 8. Importantly, this number does not include Bonnell who had died by this time. For information on Burlinson and Watney see, “Pentecostal Items,” 17; Light and Shadows, 17; Fruit, 17; Glimpses, i; Lawler, “The Pentecostal Work in Shanghai,” 8. Gronewold, “Encountering Hope”, 222. “I Will Do Marvels,” 8–​10. “I Will Do Marvels,” 28–​32.

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mission appeared in Triumphs of Faith, The Bridegroom’s Messenger, The Weekly Evangel, and The Latter Rain Evangel.26 Moreover, Dieterle and Abercrombie took time to visit the Stone Church while on furlough in 1913 and 1920.27 Despite these linkages, the Door of Hope and the pentecostal women who staffed it never attained the prominent public status that other pentecostal missions or missionaries would attain. Even during the height of their mentions, references to the mission were irregular at best, and, by the end of the 1920s, the Door of Hope would fall completely off the radar of pentecostal publications.28 This is in large part due to the success of the model itself. While the Shanghai Door of Hope was an early and well-​known mission, there were other pentecostal and pentecostalizing Door of Hopes to compete with for print space. For instance, right as the number of pentecostal workers at the Door of Hope in Shanghai swelled in 1916, a Door of Hope in Kobe, Japan was opened by William and Mary Taylor, a missionary couple who were more directly linked with the networks that became the Assemblies of God. Despite Mary Taylor’s prominence as an evangelist in Japan, William Taylor’s sermons and news about his Door of Hope received front-​page coverage in The Weekly Evangel throughout 1917 and continued to be mentioned for years to come. Additionally, Bridal Call reported on Emma M. Whittemore’s healing and pentecostal baptism in 1918. Whittemore’s New York-​based Door of Hope model was thereafter quickly embraced by reform-​minded pentecostals in the United States.29 Pentecostal, denominationally affiliated Door of Hope missions were soon opened in Georgia, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio. From 1931 onward, the only Door of Hope mentions in pentecostal periodicals are in reference to these U.S.-​based operations. In conclusion, pentecostal women of the Door of Hope were disadvantaged to compete in a pentecostal discourse that began to prioritize clear-​cut pentecostal identities and traditional gender roles; the ecumenical, international, independent, women-​led mission did not fit the mold taking shape in United States pentecostalism, nor did it need to with its sustainable model and secure funding sources. Yet, while no longer part of the pentecostal world by 1930, the annual reports show little change in the spirituality of the

26 27 28 29

See for example, Montgomery, “Letter from Mrs. Montgomery,” 98; Bonnell, “Pau Tsu,” 103–​6; Moomau and Phillips, “The Work in Shanghai, China,” 1; Abercrombie, “Chinese Women Rescued from Living Deaths,” 8–​9. “The Transforming Power of Love,” 19–​21. The last known mention of the mission in a pentecostal periodical was in 1931. This was itself happenstance as the article was a reprint from The Missionary Review concerning birthday bands. See “When is Your Birthday?,” 6–​7. Whittemore, “Testimony,” 5.

142 Mayfield mission, and it was this spirituality that would carry the women through the Japanese occupation of Shanghai and the Chinese Civil War that followed. 8.2

Pentecostal Resourcement at the Door of Hope

While more can be said, the above narrative is enough to illustrate that the pentecostal women of the Door of Hope deserve to be included in the pantheon of Spirit-​filled saints. Their inclusion, however, requires more than adding an extra seat at the spiritual table. Rather, it requires an acknowledgment that the table was built with assumptions that led to their exclusion. In the traditioning process of pentecostalism, socially engaged, ecumenically involved, institutionally marginal, and doctrinally ill-​defined women were a shaky foundation to build pentecostal institutions and identities. Looking back, however, they clearly do belong to the greater tradition of pentecostalism, and as such, they need to be included in how we theologize today. A return to this greater tradition with an eye toward including voices that have been marginalized is in some ways reminiscent of modern Catholic theology’s conception of ressourcement. Arising in the mid-​1930s, the school of nouvelle théologie arose as a rejection of the Neo-​Scholasticism and defensiveness to the modern world that had come to dominate Catholic theology by the early 20th century. Rather than an outright rejection of the tradition, thinkers like Congar, de Lubac, Bouillard, and von Balthasar began probing deeper into the Catholic past to find alternate ways of framing and theologizing about the Christian faith. As Congar describes it, this return to the sources, or ressourcement, was not so much about “replacing some theses by other theses or … creating a ‘revolution.’” Rather, it was a move “from one tradition less profound to another more profound,” a move from the part to the whole.30 This move amounted to a renewed engagement with the modern context in light of the Catholic tradition, which nouvelle theologians understood to be a historical, living continuity.31 In this re-​engagement, the contemplative and ‘rooted’ reading of neglected sources became a “source of renewal for the church as a whole.”32 Pentecostal ressourcement, if it is to take place, needs a similar tact. Historians and historical theologians of pentecostalism can read wider and look beyond the large names and well-​ known organizations to find sources that have gone under-​appreciated and 30 31 32

Congar, “The Brother I Have Known,” 499. Flynn, “The Twentieth‐Century Renaissance in Catholic Theology,” 5–​12. Dale, “Knowing God in History and in the Church,” 334. [emphasis added].

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which do not fall squarely into dominant narratives of pentecostal experience. These sorts of sources put us into touch with the historical, living experience of the Spirit and offer us a connection to aspects of pentecostal thought and practice that were left at the wayside as doctrinal debates and fundamental truths were codified. The women at the Door of Hope represent one such source. In this vein, the remainder of this chapter will sketch out the possible fruits that such a ressourcement could produce by exploring the theology of pentecostal women at the Door of Hope through their annual reports, letters, and speeches. Of these materials, most take the favored theological form among pentecostals: testimony.33 As such, these narratives are more interested in evoking correct emotional and practical responses (orthopathy and orthopraxis) than normative doctrine (orthodoxy). Nonetheless, they have much to offer in the latter category, especially as many of their writings reveal classic pentecostal patterns. Using the three-​part pentecostal ordo salutis, Abercrombie reminded her listeners at the Stone Church, “those children didn’t get saved and cleaned up and baptized in the Holy Ghost in one day.”34 This reconstruction will follow Abercrombie’s suggestive framework. 8.2.1 Saved Stories of harrowing escapes from cruelty and vice run throughout the reports and writings of Door of Hope women (one such scene is depicted in Figure 8.1). Yet, these are not just stories of souls saved; salvation at the Door of Hope was a holistic experience. Shared by Abercrombie at the Stone Church in 1920, the below story of an unnamed Chinese woman draws this out. The woman had been married to a man caught by the “evil spirit” of gambling. To cover his losses, the man had gradually sold his sons and daughters. Eventually, he compelled his wife to take a contract as a “domestic servant” and commanded the illiterate woman to make her mark on a document which, unbeknownst to her, was actually signing her body away to a local brothel. Once she realized what had happened to her, she refused to comply and was severely beaten by the brothel owner and only escaped to the Door of Hope with the help of a wealthy Chinese patron. Abercrombie concluded the woman’s story: Well she came in. Do you think it took that woman long to learn about Jesus? She thought it was the most marvelous thing in the world that 33 34

Mark Cartledge argues that testimony is “central to the ordinary expression of [pentecostal] faith,” being both a means of conveying theology and creating pentecostal communities. Cartledge, Testimony in the Spirit, 16–​18. Abercrombie, “Chinese Women Rescued from Living Deaths,” 8–​9.

144 Mayfield

­f igure 8.1  Ink sketch of Door of Hope mission in Shanghai, China, 1910 the name of the chinese artist who created the sketch has been lost to history. the sketch was published in a report entitled of his planting: a retrospective of ten years work in the door of hope, a rescue mission for chinese girls, shanghai, china (p. 8). however, the mission closed in 1951, moved to taipei, and finally closed altogether. as a result, no one seems to have the authority to grant or deny permission to re-​p ublish the sketch. special collections, yale divinity school library, which holds the report (but not the copyright), made the sketch available, for which we are grateful. the report’s call number is bdj d73; the orbis record is 4664982. a digitized version of the report is available at https://​ findit.library.yale.edu/​c atalog/​d igcoll:4892641

people from another country would come there and open a home for such as she. I saw that woman get saved only last October. I heard her pray to God to forgive her husband. She turned to me with tears strewing dawn her face and said, “He never knew what he was doing.” She wanted to forgive her husband because God had forgiven her. We got hold of one boy, put him in a Methodist school, and we put a missionary on the track of her husband. I do not know whether he is saved or not, but I think with the people who are willing to help that man, and with a wife who can pray for his forgiveness, he will get saved.

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Do you think that woman suffered? Do you think when she came in and told me her story, I suffered? Do you think as I know of the thousands and thousands like that all over China my heart doesn’t ache? Do you think they are not groaning and travailing in pain? Do you think our Lord doesn’t behold it when they say, “Do you see any sorrow like unto my sorrow?” Friends, our Lord speaks to us and says, “Other sheep have I, which are not of this fold.” He loves them and wants to fill our hearts with His love for them.35 The first moment of salvation for this woman appears when she “came in” through the Door. Upon entering the Receiving Home, women immediately received legal protections, medical attention, and nutritional care; the workers would accompany her to argue her case in the Mixed Court, doctors or nurses would attend to her wounds, and she would immediately be placed on a healthier diet. For the women who were rescued by the mission, salvation was primarily about a pathway to survival; salvation was an escape from rape, torture, forced drug addiction, and traditional Chinese society’s commodification of their bodies. Of course, it didn’t take long for the woman to hear about Jesus, and this leads to the second moment of salvation and the real purpose of the mission: to “get salvation.”36 This is evident in Abercrombie’s narrative. While she spends most of her sermon detailing the pains and suffering of the woman, the climax of the story was not escape from these realities but acceptance of Jesus as Savior. Indeed, a few months prior to sharing this woman’s story, Abercrombie enviously made a note of the “Jesus Saves” sign at the Pacific Garden Mission. She bemoaned that her mission’s sign merely translated to “the Institution which saves you back to virtue.”37 A year later, a large red-​letter sign that read “Jesus is able to save” was installed as a “special gift of friends in the U.S.A.”38 It would be unfair, however, to portray these two aspects of salvation in a strict dichotomy. Abercrombie’s answer to physical suffering and oppression was spiritual salvation; acceptance of Jesus was both a spiritual experience and a physical baptism into a new way of life. This leads to the third aspect of salvation at the Door of Hope: the restoration of agency. Throughout the narratives of the annual reports, Chinese women are presented as choosing: to marry or not to marry, to stay or to leave, 35 36 37 38

Abercrombie, “Chinese Women Rescued from Living Deaths,” 8–​9. Abercrombie, “The Door of Hope Born in Prayer,” 4. Abercrombie, “The Door of Hope Born in Prayer,” 4. Abercrombie, “Chinese Women Rescued from Living Deaths,” 3.

146 Mayfield to become a teacher or a wife or neither, to accept Christ or not. The availability of real choices affirmed the full humanity and capability of each woman. Turning back to the story, after being saved, the woman begins to pray for her husband and laments that “he never knew what he was doing.” Still reeling from the weight of her oppression, the woman becomes a Christ figure as she imaginatively looks to her oppressor and repeats the words of Christ upon the cross. She bears her pain, and rather than seeking to escape it, turns it towards a salvific end; instead of being acted upon, this woman embraces intercessory prayer as a form of active agency in the world. This forgiveness, however, is not a naïve optimism. The woman does not return to her husband to face potential abuse. Rather, her salvation enables her to work within a new empowering network to begin rectifying the mistakes of her husband. The final paragraph of Abercrombie’s story offers a final conception of salvation that individualistic conceptions of the doctrine often miss. The woman’s salvation and her story were placed within the wider context of the pathos of the divine-​human community. Abercrombie wants her audience to know that this woman suffered, that she herself suffered upon hearing the story, that God suffers as he watches stories like this play out in the thousands. Salvation is born out of the compassion of God, infused into the affections of the saints, and actualized in the world of human suffering. “He loves them and wants to fill our hearts with His love for them.” While Abercrombie clearly embraces a highly individualistic conception of salvation, she is nonetheless framing it within a relational spirituality of compassion.39 8.2.2 Sanctified Door of Hope women also displayed the hallmarks of holiness morality through the close marriage of practical regimes and spiritual fervor. Girls and women who stayed long-​term in the Door of Hope were subjected to a regimented idealized version of the Christian life that included regular exercise, modest clothing, chapel services, chores, and a ban on cigarettes.40 Such codes can be condemned as an overt imposition of Western colonial assumptions, which they were. However, they also reveal a conception of sinfulness that was more adept at addressing the needs of the women and girls in their care. A story about two children from the 1929 annual report is a perfect example. 39

40

This sort of Spirit-​infused compassion is of the same kind described by Steven Land in his landmark work on pentecostal spirituality. It is no coincidence that he ended his discussion on pentecostal compassion with a lengthy excerpt from Antoinette Moomau! Land, “A Passion for the Kingdom,” 236–​56. “Songs of Deliverance,” 7–​8.

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The younger one, a mere little skeleton, with worn face and hollow eyes, tells, with considerable gift of speech, their story. “My mother, my own mother, is at the police station. I was in bed when the policeman came and caught me and took us all to the station. She,” pointing to her companion, “is sixteen years old. She belongs to us; we bought her for $150 six months ago, but now she has bed sores; she is awfully stupid too. We don’t want her, she’s no use. But I must go to my mother. She is my true mother and she treats me very well. She gave me my gold ring and these silver bracelets. I don’t do any work. I only eat opium, so I am thin, and I must eat it now. I can’t wait till morning. I tell you I can’t stay here … A sleepless night with continual cries for opium, opium, first angry with us for not giving it to her, then, between wretched attacks of nausea, pleading with us to sell her ring and bracelets and buy opium, confirms her story. Born of opium-​eating father and mother, nursed with mother’s milk and opium, and all her life far more dependent on opium than food, at ten she is thoroughly possessed of an opium fiend. … Just as she was, angry with us for her separation from her home, ruined in body and with a mind full of knowledge of things evil and unchildlike, God gave her to us with the assurance that He would “destroy the works of the devil” in her … In a week, without medicine, she ceased to call for opium and ate normally; in a month she was ready to enter The Children’s Home , and now after four months is a rosy, round cheeked little girl.41 The women and girls who came into the mission were treated as sinners, being both the victims and perpetrators of sinful actions. The ten-​year-​old girl had been addicted to opium through her parents, but she had also become an active participant in the denigration and subjugation of a fellow human being. As young as she was, the “works of the devil” in her were described as an interlaced web of causality. Her evil and sinful ways were not so much an incidental collection of demerits but a pattern of habituated behaviors that were connected to larger systems of injustice. At the Door of Hope, freedom from sin could not be reduced to the removal of an individual from unjust systems. Human beings shape social systems as much as they are shaped by them; these systems invade individuals’ consciousness and habits. As part of the Children’s Home, the ten-​year-​old addict was given a new set of normative, holy practices that helped break down the learned pattern of behavior that oppressed her and led her to oppress others. 41

“Songs of Deliverance,” 7–​8.

148 Mayfield Holiness, however, was not merely about moralistic reform through social control. If anything, the dominant way of talking about the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit was through the language of Christian Love. Over against a definite experience, sanctification was evidenced through small actions; mending a dress, sharing a toy, or doing a chore for another were signifiers that the Spirit was freeing the girls from sin and filling them with Christ’s love.42 Yet, while a sanctified life might be evidenced by clean living and good moral conduct, Door of Hope women tended to emphasize the gratuitous and affective dimensions of holiness; freedom from sin is freedom towards selfless love of the other. The strong Wesleyan conception of Christian Perfection and Christian Love is evident throughout such narratives and brings with it an emphasis on the Spirit. This emphasis is evident even in the name of the Children’s Home itself; it was always the “Holy Ghost School” and the “Love School.” For the Door of Hope women, sanctification was a complete Spirit-​led reworking of the human person; it was a purging of the destructive, internalized patterns of behavior and affections that found their origin in the same system that oppressed the women. Of course, the patterns offered to the women were not perfect or completely untainted from colonial and patriarchal norms. Still, for most of the women who chose to embrace them, they ultimately proved to be a liberating process that freed them from their old lives and opened a whole new set of social possibilities. 8.2.3 Spirit-​Filled The “latter rains” clearly fell on the Door of Hope in the two decades following 1910, with many of the staff and wards of the mission experiencing the baptism of the Spirit.43 However, the writings of the Door of Hope women reveal a markedly different approach to the meaning of Spirit-​baptism. While visions and messages from the Spirit were common in their revivals, tongues-​speech was never explicitly mentioned, miraculous healing is rare, and eschatological fervor is crowded out by reform structures. Instead of these more ecstatic phenomena, Door of Hope women tended to view the “missionary spirit” as the highest expression of the Spirit-​filled life. This spirit is framed in multiple ways, each of which corresponded to the social options open to Chinese women at the time. 42 43

Door of Hope: Thirteenth Annual Report, 8. Slipped into the ending of the annual report from 1910 is a full-​throated endorsement for latter rain theology and celebrates that the latter rain was “already beginning to fall over many of God’s fields in this and other lands.” Of His Planting, 22.

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Marriage, especially to pastors, was an especially high calling. The annual report from 1921 provides the ideal pattern: Mr. F. with no great income financially, came from the north of China seeking at the “Love School” a wife filled with the Holy Spirit. It was a real missionary spirit that constrained Miss T. to leave her native province and all her friends, change her dialect and the food to which she was accustomed, and go among strangers. She is now at home in the ways and language of her husband’s province and stands by his side a true helpmeet.44 More than an economic necessity, Marriage was framed as a boundary-​crossing missionary endeavor to spread God’s love. Once in her new home, the married “daughter” is not merely a subservient accompaniment to her husband; she is an active agent of God’s love and a helpmeet to her husband. Marriage, then, was a vocational domain of missionary action. Door of Hope women did not need to rely on a man to embrace a missionary vocation, however. By virtue of their education, many of the women of the Door of Hope went on to become Bible women, teachers, translators, or missionaries. Reports from almost every year provide stories and updates on women who had once been residents at the mission and were now active in missionary work. The 1929 Annual Report recounted one such story: It was at this time that the Lord began to deal with one of our teachers, Miss Sung, about the need of missionaries in Borneo and the South Sea Islands of which need we had heard through Mr. Jaffrey … Yet Miss Sung was not willing to yield herself to the claims of the Lord Jesus as she heard them presented that day. At a second meeting in another place, a few days later she heard the same call, but still was not ready to respond. Then a third time, in the quiet of her own room, the call from Borneo came again, “Come over and help us,” and she responded, “Here am I; send me.”45 Note how the calls of the male evangelist were deemphasized as the interpersonal drama between the young woman and God took center stage. It was only in the quiet of her own room, alone with God, that she heard her Macedonian

44 45

Saved to Serve, 9. “Songs of Deliverance,” 11.

150 Mayfield call. Stepping into the shoes of the apostle Paul, Sung’s embrace of the missionary vocation was placed within the context of the biblical narrative itself; borrowing the call of Paul and the response of Isaiah, she would go as God’s agent. If a Door of Hope woman was going to go, it was God alone who would move her. Women did not need to leave the mission to embrace this missional spirit. Some women chose to stay and serve as nurses, house mothers, or helpers in the mission. Even still, the world outside the Door of Hope remained firmly in their view. Starting in 1926, a group of Chinese girls in the Children’s Home organized into a self-​run Intercessory Missionary Society dedicated “to pray for the evangelization of the world in view of the Lord’s return.”46 Holding meetings on Sunday afternoons, nearly 250 children participated by spending time praying for the “souls” of those around the world. Some of these gatherings turned into dedication services where former residents were commissioned for local evangelistic work. This society of young Chinese girls, with the help of some foreign contributors, financially supported these local evangelists and sent donations to mission fields around the world. Abercrombie reveals a final, unique aspect of this missionary spirit. Almost every report from the mission includes a short story of mission workers withstanding a weary day in a courtroom “crowded with policemen, foreign and Chinese, lawyers, witnesses, friends of the accused and the accusers.”47 In this male-​dominated space, Abercrombie and other mission women worked within a broken legal system to ensure that as many women who wanted could be received into the home. Not captured in the domesticated and easily consumable annual reports, Gronewold places Abercrombie in a deservedly subversive light that highlights her as an alternative model of female authority. Abercrombie was regarded as a formidable opponent in court when fighting for a young woman to be remanded to the Mission’s care rather than released back to allegedly abusive family members or lying madams. With her erect carriage and stern manner, she struck fear into the hearts of those who would cross her.48 Erect, stern, and fear-​inducing are not adjectives typically used for pentecostal saints, but they are the sort of qualities needed to do the work Abercrombie did. Living in Shanghai’s red-​light district, Abercrombie was witness to some of 46 47 48

“Until He Find It,” 28–​29. Is it Worth While?, 5. Gronewold, “Encountering Hope,” 286–​7.

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the worst forms of human vice and sexual exploitation that the world had on offer at the time. Further, despite a privileged status as a white woman in colonial Shanghai, she was aware of the endemic corruption and moral grayness that defined “Satan’s seat.”49 Even without an extant self-​reflection about the meaning of her pentecostal baptism, it is evident that Abercrombie’s pentecostal spirituality empowered her to enter into the broken and dangerous world of Shanghai’s red-​light district; it compelled her to continue advocating for those who had been deprived of a voice; it pushed her to carve out a space for female voices in male-​dominated spaces. 8.3

Conclusion

Two hypotheses are anchored this chapter: 1) that women at the Door of Hope should be included within pentecostal history, and 2) that their life and work represent a valuable theological source for the pentecostal tradition. A simple historical connect-​the-​dots in the first section of the chapter demonstrated that many women of the mission had pentecostal experiences, interacted with self-​identified pentecostals, and embraced pentecostal language. They belong in the pentecostal story. The second hypothesis is far more daunting and less grounded in empirical proof or sound historical methods. Only the discernment of the reader can ultimately decide whether such an endeavor is needed and worthwhile. Like the women at the Door of Hope, our contemporary global economic system reinforces economic disparity and enables a thriving network of human trafficking that pours through the cracks of a fracturing, global community. Pentecostals hoping to find answers to these trends cannot simply turn to calcified doctrinal stances, nor are they required to mine external theological systems for resources. Trusting in the historical work of the Spirit, pentecostal ressourcement offers a chance for pentecostal theologians and historians to move from “one tradition less profound to another more profound.”50 Among the marginalized voices of that greater pentecostal tradition, surely the voices of the pentecostal women at the Door of Hope have something to offer.

49 50

Moomau and Phillips, “The Work in Shanghai, China,” 1. Congar, 499.

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Bibliography

A Story of the Good Shepherd, or the Seventh Annual Report of the Door of Hope. Shanghai, 1907. Abercrombie, Ethel. “Chinese Women Rescued from Living Deaths,” The Latter Rain Evangel, February 1921. Abercrombie, Ethel. “The Door of Hope Born in Prayer.” The Latter Rain Evangel. May 1920. Bays, Daniel H. A New History of Christianity in China. Malden, MA: Wiley-​Blackwell, 2012. Bonnell, Cornelia L. “Pau Tsu.” Triumphs of Faith, May 1909. Cartledge, Mark J. Testimony in the Spirit: Rescripting Ordinary Pentecostal Theology. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, 2010. Congar, Yves. “The Brother I Have Known.” Trans. Boniface Ramsey. The Thomist 49 (1985): 495–​503. Dale, Brian E. “Knowing God in History and in the Church: Dei Verbum and ‘Nouvelle Théologie’.” In Ressourcement: A Movement for Renewal in Twentieth-​Century Catholic Theology, eds. Gabriel Flynn and Paul Murray, 333–​353. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Door of Hope: Fourteenth Annual Report. Shanghai, 1914. Door of Hope: Thirteenth Annual Report. Shanghai, 1913. Door of Hope: Twelfth Annual Report. Shanghai, 1912. Dunch, Ryan. “Beyond Cultural Imperialism: Cultural Theory, Christian Missions, and Global Modernity.” History and Theory 41 (2002): 301–​325. Flynn, Gabriel. “The Twentieth‐Century Renaissance in Catholic Theology.” In Ressourcement: A Movement for Renewal in Twentieth-​Century Catholic Theology, eds. Gabriel Flynn and Paul Murray, 1–​21. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Fruit: Seventeenth Annual Report of “The Door of Hope.” Shanghai, 1917. Glimpses: Eighteenth Annual Report of “The Door of Hope.” Shanghai, 1918. Gronewold, Sue. “A New Family: Domesticity and Sentiment among Chinese and Western Women at Shanghai’s Door of Hope.” In Divine Domesticities: Christian Paradoxes in Asia and the Pacific, edited by Choi Hayeweol and Jolly Margaret, 281–​ 98. Canberra: anu Press, 2014. Gronewold, Sue Ellen. “Encountering Hope: The Door of Hope Mission in Shanghai and Taipei, 1900–​ 1976.” PhD diss., Columbia University, School of Arts and Sciences, 1996. Hershatter, Gail. Dangerous Pleasures: Prostitution and Modernity in Twentieth Century Shanghai. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999. Home Life of Chinese Women: Records of Women’s Conference in China, November 1900. Hunter, Jane. The Gospel of Gentility: American Women Missionaries in Turn-​of-​the-​ Century China. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984.

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“I Will Do Marvels:” Thirty-​sixth Annual Report of the Door of Hope, Shanghai, 1936. In Everything by Prayer: “Twenty-​ eighth Annual Report of the Door of Hope.” Shanghai, 1928. Is it Worth While? Twenty-​second Annual Report of the Door of Hope. Shanghai, 1922. Land, Steven Jack. “A Passion for the Kingdom: An Analysis and Revision of Pentecostal Spirituality.” PhD diss., Emory University, 1991. Leck, Greg. Captives of Empire: The Japanese Internment of Allied Civilians in China, 1941–​1945. Bangor, PA: Shandy Press, 2006. Lawler, Emma. “The Pentecostal Work in Shanghai.” The Weekly Evangel, 6 October 1917. Light and Shadows: Sixteenth Annual Report of “The Door of Hope” (Shanghai, 1916). Montgomery, Carrie Judd. “Letter from Mrs. Montgomery.” Triumphs of Faith, May 1909. Moomau, Ethel and Leola Phillips. “The Work in Shanghai, China.” The Bridegroom’s Messenger, 1 August 1910. Of His Planting: A Retrospect of Ten Years Work in the Door of Hope. Shanghai, 1910. Sasaki, Motoe. “American New Women Encountering China: The Politics of Temporality and Paradoxes of Imperialism, 1898–​1927.” Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History 10 no. 1, 2009. Saved to Serve: Tw0enty-​first Annual Report of the “Door of Hope.” Shanghai, 1921. “Songs of Deliverance:” Twenty-​ninth Annual Report of the Door of Hope. Shanghai, 1929. The Transforming Power of Love. “The Latter Rain Evangel,” January 1914. Third Annual Report of the Shanghai Florence Crittenton Home. 1903. “Until He Find It:” Twenty-​seventh Annual Report of the Door of Hope. Shanghai, 1927. “When is Your Birthday?” The Pentecostal Holiness Advocate, 9 July 1931. Whittemore, Emma M. “Testimony.” The Bridal Call, November 1918.

­c hapter 9

From Medical Kits to Fighting Rape as a Weapon of War

The Development of Scandinavian Pentecostal Medical Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Tommy H. Davidsson and Rakel Ystebø Alegre Together with Nadia Murad of Iraq, Dr. Denis Mukwege (born. 1 March 1955) was in 2018 awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work of mending women who have been victims of sexual violence in the armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (drc). The number of women Mukwege has helped at the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu now exceeds 50,000. Apart from being a world-​ renowned gynecologist, Dr. Mukwege is also an unashamed Pentecostal pastor, and a member of Communauté des Eglises de Pentecôte en Afrique Centrale (cepac). Mukwege’s efforts are, according to his own testament, not an isolated achievement, but the result of the joint efforts of humanitarian organizations and Scandinavian Pentecostals that have provided the necessary vision, infrastructure, and support for his important work to succeed.1 Thus, the award aided in drawing the world’s attention to the atrocities occurring in the country as well as to the humanitarian work of many Pentecostals in trying to help the victims and end the violence. The aim of this chapter is to document the story of Swedish and Norwegian Pentecostalism’s emphasis on medical care in the drc, from its early beginning in the 1920s to the particular emphasis on fighting rape as a weapon of war from the middle of the 1990s. The chapter will show that the emphasis on medical care was there from the beginning but was further strengthened as the missionaries encountered the drc’s dire need for health services. The historical survey will further show that helping pregnant mothers and young children became a special focus for Scandinavian2 Pentecostals at the end of the 1940s and took on an elevated role at the end of the 1950s when constructing health clinics and field hospitals became a new way to combat soaring 1 Berthil Åkerlund & Denis Mukwege, Denis Mukwege: En levnadsberättelse (Stockholm: Svante Weyler Bokförlag ab, 2013), 21, 31–​32, 106. 2 ‘Scandinavian’ is used in this chapter for referring to Norwegian and Swedish Pentecostals, although strictly speaking, Danish Pentecostals also belong in this category.

© Tommy H. Davidsson and Rakel Ystebø Alegre, 2022 | DOI:1 0.1163/9789004513204_011

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child mortality rates, and to improve on substandard, or non-​existent, child-​ delivery services. The survey will highlight key individuals, such as Gunnerius Tollefsen, Osvald Orlien, Ingegerd Rooth, Denis Mukwege, Jeanne Nacatche Banyere, and Jeannette Kahindo Bindu, while recognizing that the “true heroes” are the many missionaries, doctors, nurses, and midwives, of both Congolese and Scandinavian origin, who have done the majority of the work behind the scenes. The chapter will conclude by analyzing a number of current initiatives, that build on the Scandinavians’ previous work but also flow out of the emphasis on fighting rape as a weapon of war after the First and Second Congo Wars. The chapter will highlight initiatives between Scandinavian and Congolese Pentecostals, such as the Centre d’Assistance Medico-​Psycho-​Social (camps), the Survivors of Sexual Violence (ssv) project, and independent ngo s such as join Good Forces and Health for Congo. The analysis will show that Scandinavian and Congolese Pentecostals are not only looking to eradicate rape as a weapon of war but also address the larger systemic problems that foster it. 9.1

Scandinavian Pentecostal Medical Mission from 1920 to 1957

Scandinavian Pentecostal Mission to the Congo was not an independent project but stood on the shoulders of missionary efforts that preceded it. From David Livingstone’s initial visit in the early 1850s until roughly the end of the 19th century, several mission societies established work in the country. David Livingstone Inland Mission and the Baptist Missionary Society established their work in the 1870s, the Garanganze Evangelical Mission started their ministry in 1886 through the French Quaker, Fred S. Arnot, and the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society and the Swedish Mission Covenant started their work during the same period.3 “By the middle of the 1930s, a total of 30 Protestant Mission Societies were working in the Belgian Congo.”4 The first Pentecostal missionary from Scandinavia to go to Congo was Gunnerius Tollefsen (1888–​1966) in 1915. He became a key figure as a pioneer and a recruiter of other Scandinavian Pentecostal missionaries to Congo.5 Tollefsen grew up in a devout, resourceful, and mission-​oriented Christian 3 Margit Söderlund, Pingstmission i Kongo och Ruanda-​Urundi (Ekerö: MissionsInstitutet-​p mu 1995), 12. 4 Söderlund, Pingstmission i Kongo, 13. 5 Tollefsen travelled around Norway holding mission meetings and published extensively in both Swedish and Norwegian Pentecostal journals.

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family in Bergen, Norway. Having converted in 1905, he soon experienced Spirit baptism and a call to Africa as a missionary.6 Tollefsen wished to leave for the mission field right away, but his father insisted that he get an education first. Having read a book about Hudson Taylor, he recommended his son to study medicine and to become a medical missionary, but Tollefsen decided he would rather study theology.7 In 1912, Tollefsen went to Glasgow Bible Institute for a two-​year bible and mission program, and later to New College in Edinburgh, where he completed a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1915. During his years in Scotland, Tollefsen worked at three different medical clinics and also had an apprenticeship at a pharmacy. Tollefsen later attempted to use the knowledge he acquired in Scotland when encountering sick individuals on the mission field.8 In Edinburgh Tollefsen heard of the work of Alma E. Doering (1878–​1959) of the Congo Inland Mission, an American Holiness Mennonite mission, and became convinced that God wanted him to go to Congo.9 Doering became a Pentecostal sometime before 1912 and would go on to exert a strong influence on the Scandinavians’ approach to mission in Congo.10 In 1915 Norwegian Pentecostals set up their own missionary society, Norway’s Free Evangelical Mission Covenant, and Tollefsen was one of the founding members. However, in order to leave as quickly as possible, he went to the drc through the Congo Inland Mission.11 When Tollefsen arrived in Congo in 1915, he stayed for a while at Luebo, in Kasai, which was the largest mission station in Congo at the time. During his time at Luebo, Tollefsen worked with publishing, administration, and itinerant preaching in the villages, and learned much about operating a mission, which he found useful when he later established the Pentecostal mission in Kivu.12 Tollefsen came home to Norway in April 1919 with the idea of creating an independent Pentecostal mission in Congo. Reaching an agreement with both Lewi Pethrus and T. B. Barratt, pastors of the Filadelfia churches of Stockholm and Oslo respectively, a joint Swedish-​Norwegian Pentecostal mission to the 6 7 8 9

Gunnerius Tollefsen, Men Gud gav vekst (Oslo: Filadelfiaforlaget, 1963), 9–​21. Tollefsen, 21–​22. Tollefsen, 22–​24. David Bundy, Vision of Apostolic Mission: Scandinavian Pentecostal Mission to 1935. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Studia Historico-​Ecclesiastica Upsaliensia, 45 (Uppsala: Uppsala University Library, 2009), 329–​330; Tollefsen, 21. 10 Bundy, Vision of Apostolic Mission, 330. 11 Bundy, 330; Tollefsen, 25. 12 Tollefsen was particularly impressed by the work of two doctors there, one of whom was a Norwegian-​American surgeon, T. Stiksrud. Tollefsen, 43–​46.

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Congo was established in May 1920.13 In April 1921 Tollefsen set off for Congo once more. This time he was accompanied by his wife, Oddbjørg Frang, as well as by Hanna Veum of Halden, Norway, and Axel B. Lindgren of Skövde, Sweden. Facing initial opposition from Catholic priests and native groups, they eventually received permission from the authorities to establish a mission in three kingdoms in Eastern Congo:14 Kaziba, Lwindja, and Muganga. In 1922, the small group was joined by several more Swedish and a few American missionaries.15 After having explored large parts of Kivu, the Swedes and the Norwegians decided to split up and divide the areas between them instead of continuing a common work.16 The Scandinavians’ missionary strategy was characterized by three pillars: (1) Preaching and planting churches, (2) teaching and establishing schools, and (3) health work.17 Most time was dedicated to preaching, teaching, and praying for the sick, yet the people’s physical needs were not lost on the missionaries.18 Tollefsen had, for example, a small medical kit with him, and he would treat people with different pills and ointments as often as he could, based on the knowledge he acquired in Scotland.19 Axel B. Lindgren manifests a similar concern when he describes in Evangelii Härold [the Gospel Herald] how God had

13 14

Bundy, 333–​334; Tollefsen, 79. Since the Belgian colonial authorities did not allow for more than one Catholic and Protestant mission in each area, new missions had to be established in new areas further inland. This explains why Scandinavian Pentecostal mission settled down at the very eastern edge of the country. Söderlund, Pingstmission i Kongo, 13. 15 The Swedish missionaries that came in 1922 were Lemuel Karlsson, David and Svea Flood, Ruth and Julius Aspenlind, Ruth Aronsson, Ruth Jonasson, Berta and Joel Eriksson, and Harald Hansson. Ruth and Julius Aspenlind first went to Congo as missionaries for the Mission Covenant Church in 1917 but joined the Pentecostal mission in 1922. They were in Congo from 1922 to 1955. Söderlund, 20–​22; Tollefsen, Men Gud gav vekst, 103. 16 The reason for the split was purely pragmatic. They deemed it impractical to have a joint mission when working with so many different tribes and people groups in the region. The Norwegians went on to work with the Bashi-​people, and the Swedes with the Bafuliro-​ people. Although the two movements started to work independently, they continued their amiable cooperation. Tollefsen, 99; Kåre Juul (ed.), Til jordens ender: Pinsemisjon gjennom 50 år (Oslo: Filadelfiaforlaget, 1960), 152. 17 Karsten Ekorness, Fra Buskerud til bushen: En bok om Osvald Orlien (Oslo: Es-​grafiske, 1995), 173–​174; Tor-​Magne and Aase Kommedal, interviewed by Rakel Ystebø Alegre, March 3, 2020. 18 The Swedish missionary Linus Blomqvist retells, for example, of sick individuals having to “congregate in fenced in enclosures” where local ministers could lay their hands on them and pray for their recovery. Linus Blomqvist, “Andlig rörelse i Kongo,” Evangelii Härold 7 no. 5 (1922): 18. 19 Ekorness, Fra Buskerud til bushen, 174–​175.

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impressed upon him to create a fund for the poor and sick, and clothing for their suffering children.20 In another report, he states: “How many times have I not wanted to give them all my clothes when I heard them cough of cold at night due to lack of clothes.”21 As the key missionary stations in Uvira, Kaziba and Nia Magira (later called Lemera) grew and were reinforced with new missionaries, the missionaries were able to make concrete gains as to the last two pillars by constructing schools and offering more consistent healthcare. The immediate purpose of constructing schools and providing healthcare was to teach the local population how to read and write, and to ease their physical suffering.22 Yet, the bigger purpose was always spiritual—​meeting the needs of the spiritual man by way of the physical.23 Thus, the missionaries regarded all three pillars to work toward the same spiritual goal.24 Despite engaging in important social work, judging by their own testimonies, the missionaries’ “expected” qualifications seem only to have been (1) a specific call to mission, (2) a year of missionary training, and perhaps (3) a French language course in either Belgium or France.25 Professional skills were regarded as beneficial but not essential. Ruth Aspenlind, for example, was a 20 21

Axel B. Lindgren, “Sextiofem cents,” Evangelii Härold 6 no. 4 (1921): 14. Axel B. Lindgren, “Från vår Kongomission,” Evangelii Härold 7 no 18 (1922): 19. It is important to note here that these compassionate accounts are often depicted in the context of raising money, and they are full of colonial overtones. A contemporary article from 1922, written by Rikard Fris, the leader of the mission school in Högsby, Sweden, describes the Congolese as “dark pagans […] who are so foreign to the Gospel and civilization that they are rumored to be man-​eaters.” Rikard Fris, “Låt oss köpa tillfället! Kongo för Kristus nu,” Evangelii Härold 7 no. 18 (1922): 70. Endowing the Congolese with the Gospel and superior Western civilization was thus two sides of the same coin, and from the missionaries’ perspective, a way of showing compassion. For a recent exposition of early white/​Western Pentecostal sentiments, see Chris Green, “The Spirit that Makes Us (Number) One: Racism, Tongues, and the Evidence of Spirit Baptism,” Pneuma 41 no.3–​4 (2019): 397–​420. 22 Lars Johansson, “Hälsning från Kongo,” Evangelii Härold 10 no. 33 (1925): 411. 23 Söderlund, Pingstmission i Kongo, 85. The same perspective is visible several decades later. “Our work can be divided in two branches: The pure evangelistic and the social, school activities and healthcare. […] From these two branches [school activities and healthcare] have the recently converted come under pure evangelistic work.” Everth Carlsson, “Gör vi det viktigaste först? I,” Den Kristne 16 no. 3 (1959a): 69. 24 Scandinavian Pentecostals did not uphold the dichotomy between social and evangelistic work prevalent in North American Pentecostalism. Rather, Scandinavian Pentecostals shared many of the concerns of the Labor Movement, that advocated better social conditions for the underprivileged. The missionaries’ emphasis on education and healthcare would therefore raise no eyebrows in Scandinavia. 25 Linnea Halldorf, “Ny missionär,” Evangelii Härold 10 no. 18 (1925): 220; Rikard Fris, “Nya glädjebudbärare avskilda för hedningarnas tjänst,” Evangelii Härold 11 no. 42 (1926): 527.

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nurse, but that is not mentioned in the accounts.26 They only mention that she completed “two years at Lidingö Mission School.”27 Another telling example is the testimony of Maj Lindskog, who briefly mentions a desire to attend the Royal Teaching Academy, “but God wanted something else.”28 The first missionary who specifically mentions a professional skill is Ruth Lundborg, who notes in her testimony in the Gospel Herald that she “also completed a 2-​year mental health course in Kristinehamn, and a couple of additional courses in medical care.”29 That Lundborg’s limited medical training came to good use is evident from her first two newsletters. She writes on February 2, 1928: “The sick start to come more and more in order to receive help with their wounds and sufferings.”30 And on April 26 she writes again: “Many sick come, and one seeks to help them the best one can. This is a part of the work that one cannot escape in Congo, the land of death and tears.”31 The dual purpose of spreading the Gospel by elementary education and basic healthcare signified the period from the 1920s to the 1950s. Although this holistic approach to mission was supported by male and female missionaries alike, the gender roles of the time demanded that the actual treatment of the patients befell the female missionaries: The responsibility for the healthcare generally rested on one of the female missionaries at each station. She had often a schoolboy assisting her, who was taught to wash the wounds. Several, who had come to have their wounds treated at the station, also accepted the Gospel and thereby also received help for their spiritual man.32 As the influx of patients grew, the need for more robust health clinics and medically trained staff became apparent. From the 1930s onward, missionary stations across Eastern Congo constructed more permanent health facilities, often with adjacent barracks where injured patients could convalesce.33 An increasing number of missionaries began to supplement their qualifications with medical training of various lengths, including tropical medicine.34 26 Söderlund, Pingstmission i Kongo, 22. 27 Edvin Tallbacka, “Nya missionärer till Kongo,” Evangelii Härold 7 no. 14 (1922): 54. 28 Maj Lindskog, “Ny förstärkning på skördefältet,” Evangelii Härold 12 no. 22 (1927): 277. 29 Ruth Lundborg, “Vår sist avskilda missionär,” Evangelii Härold 12 no. 35 (1927): 443. 30 Ruth Lundborg, “Nya Magira,” Evangelii Härold 13 no. 5 (1928b): 72. 31 Ruth Lundborg, “Brev från Ruth Lundborg,” Evangelii Härold 13 no. 17 (1928a): 263. 32 Söderlund, Pingstmission i Kongo, 85. 33 Söderlund, 90. 34 Söderlund, 163.

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A significant step forward took place in 1948 when the Belgian authorities decided to subsidize protestant schools by providing funds for salaries, materials, and buildings.35 The funding was extended in 1949 to the setting up and running of dispensaries. The extended agreement outlined that the mission should provide competent staff, whereas the Belgian authorities should provide financial aid and basic medical supplies.36 This led missionaries throughout the region to become more and more preoccupied with “regular check-​ups of children, examining pregnant mothers, and treating the most common illnesses.”37 Despite the increase of resources, the dispensaries were not sufficiently equipped to handle serious cases, such as “grave accidents or complications at childbirth.”38 All such cases were remitted to the state hospitals.39 That complications at childbirth were a problem that needed particular attention is evident from Lewi Pethrus’s first visit to the country in 1948. After returning to Sweden, he dedicated an entire article in Evangelii Härold to the dire conditions of Congolese children. Pethrus highlighted that the infant mortality rate was a staggering 70–​80%40 and that many children did not live long enough to experience their second birthday. He blamed serious diseases, neglect, and substandard living conditions for the ghastly statistics.41 Even if the dispensaries were a blessing for a great number of people,42 another heart-​breaking account in Evangelii Härold testified to their limitations: There was a woman named Nyambunzu. She lived in the village of Mizoke, 20 km from here. She was with child. The work of delivering the child had begun in the village. Someone discovered that [there was a problem, and that] it would not work normally. Then she and 35

Per Langseth, “1947–​1954 Arbeidet vokser,” in Til jordens ender: Pinsemisjon gjennom 50 år. Kåre Juul, ed. (Oslo: Filadelfiaforlaget, 1960), 164. 36 Söderlund, Pingstmission i Kongo, 180. 37 Söderlund, 179. 38 Söderlund, 179. 39 Söderlund, 179. 40 Langseth estimates that the infant mortality rate in the Kaziba district was around 50%. Even if the numbers were not as high as Pethrus reports, Langseth also underlines that many mothers died at childbirth. Langseth, “1947–​1954 Arbeidet vokser,” 164. 41 Lewi Pethrus, “Sett och hört bland barnen i Afrika,” Evangelii Härolds julnummer (1948): 835–​836. 42 Statistics published in Evangelii Härold underscored their frequent use: “The mission’s three dispensaries have treated 27,020 patients. The number of medical treatments amounted to 179,300, child consultations to 36,111, and deliveries to 158.” Evangelii Härold, 43 no. 12 (1958): 9.

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her husband walked the long way here. They arrived in the evening, exhausted. After an initial investigation, we saw that we could not do anything. We gave the woman morphine for her to sleep, and then we cried out to God for help and compassion for the poor woman. At 4 in the morning, our nurse went down to check on her and there was no change. He prepared her that if God did not do a miracle, she could not expect anything but death. We came down to see her at 7 o’clock in the morning, and she was screaming in pain and fear of death. When we examined her, the head [of the baby] had gone down so that we could do a perforation. We immediately performed the procedure and freed her from the dead child.43 The time had thus come for a new era in Scandinavian Pentecostal mission in the Congo—​the era of establishing field hospitals. 9.2

The Development of Field Hospitals (1958–​1999)

Between 1958 and 1999 more than 100 medical stations were established all over Eastern Congo, as well as several field hospitals.44 The process was by no means short or problem-​free. The Norwegian Pentecostal Mission managed to establish its first maternity clinic in Kaziba in 1950 through the groundbreaking work of midwife Ruth Jansson. She was accompanied by just a few nurses and midwives. The importance of the maternity clinic is evident from the 700 children that were born there from 1953 to 1954.45 In 1954 the clinic received funding from the Belgian relief program, Fonds du bien-​être indigène, and further assistance through the arrival of the midwife, Solveig Jernquist, in 1955.46 The task of transforming the maternity clinic into a field hospital, however, befell the movement’s most famous medical doctor, Osvald Orlien (1912–​1998), who arrived with his wife Hildora in 1958.

43 44

45 46

Hjelte et. al., “Åter i Afrika,” Evangelii Härold 43 no. 3 (1958): 7. Medical stations were created in places like Pinga, Ndofia, Muganga, Kalambi, Kitutu, Bideka and Bagira, with several hundreds of thousands of check-​ups and treatments taking place at these locations. Söderlund, Pingstmission i Kongo, 180; Osvald Orlien, “Sykehuset i Nya Kaziba,” in Til jordens ender: Pinsemisjon gjennom 50 år. Kåre Juul, ed. (Filadelfiaforlaget, 1960), 174–​175. Langseth, “1947–​1954 Arbeidet vokser,” 164. Langseth, 164; Mathias Onsrud, interviewed by Tommy Davidsson. December 16, 2019.

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9.2.1 Osvald Orlien and the Hospital at Kaziba The development of the hospital in Kaziba and the arrival of Dr. Osvald Orlien (1912–​1998), was in many ways a milestone in the Norwegian Pentecostal mission work in Congo, and it opened the door for future medical missionaries. Orlien had a conversion experience and joined a Pentecostal church, Betania, in Kongsberg, Norway in 1929. He soon sensed a calling to become a missionary to Africa and decided to attend medical school in Oslo in 1930, since he thought this would be a useful education on the mission field.47 In Oslo, he joined T. B. Barratt’s Filadelfia church. Sensing a growing uncertainty as to whether he had made the right decision concerning medical school, he dropped out in 1931 and became an itinerant evangelist. He felt this also corresponded well with his desire to become a missionary.48 In 1934, Orlien became pastor of the Pentecostal church in Eydehavn and married Hildora Wetterstad. Two years later he transitioned to another church in Fredrikstad, which made him come in closer contact with T. B. Barratt and the Filadelfia church in Oslo again.49 In 1939 Orlien was asked to work full-​time at the Filadelfia publishing house, which meant relocating to Oslo and becoming a regular preacher at the Filadelfia church. After Barratt passed away in 1940, the church struggled to find a new pastor. They asked Orlien, who was only twenty-​eight years old at the time, and Knut Petersen to co-​pastor the church in 1941.50 The following year Petersen left the position to become an evangelist, and the young Orlien suddenly became the main pastor of the largest Pentecostal church in the country during the difficult time of Nazi occupation.51 Orlien had, however, not completely let go of the idea to study medicine, and in 1940 he discovered that he was still enrolled at the university and able to continue his studies. He took some classes while pastoring during the 1940s, and in 1950 he passed exams completing the first part of medical school. Then, at the age of forty, Orlien decided to leave his position as pastor of Filadelfia and study medicine full-​time to become a medical missionary to Congo.52 In 1954 he finished medical school and started his 18-​month internship at a Norwegian hospital. During this time, he applied to be sent out as a missionary to Congo from Filadelfia, Oslo. This was the first time Filadelfia considered a

47 Ekorness, Fra Buskerud til bushen, 21–​24. 48 Ekorness, 25–​26. 49 Ekorness, 44–​49. 50 Ekorness, 53–​54, 64. 51 Ekorness, 65–​67. 52 Lewi Pethrus and Congo-​missionary John Brynhildsen supported his decision. Fredrik Schjander, Osvald Orlien: To liv—​to fedreland (Oslo: Rex forlag, 1986), 57–​60, 176.

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medical doctor as a missionary candidate. Although it would be a large economic undertaking, they believed their missionary doctor needed to have a hospital to work at in Congo.53 As soon as Orlien arrived in Kaziba in 1958, he began transforming the polyclinic and maternity clinic into the Norwegian Pentecostal Movement’s first field hospital. The conditions were far from ideal, and there was a perpetual lack of space and equipment. C-​sections had to be performed under “a lantern and a couple of flashlights” and no X-​ray machines were available.54 The greatest need, however, was the lack of educated staff. The hospital had 15 indigenous staff employed, but only one had sufficient training to function as an assistant nurse.55 The lack of opportunities for the Congolese meant that there was not a single native with medical training in all of Congo.56 In an article about the work at the hospital in Kaziba, Orlien writes primarily about the difficulties related to childbirth and maternal care, which demonstrates that this was a primary concern for the Norwegian mission. Orlien notes that a large part of their work had to do with sharing information regarding childbirth. Ignorance and superstition created great barriers, and old traditions ran deep, even among Christians.57 According to Orlien, many locals believed that the reason for difficult childbirth was due to marital infidelity among one of the relatives of the wife or the husband. They tried to inform the people that difficult childbirth had natural explanations, and even tried to demonstrate this with measuring sticks and mathematical calculations. However, these explanations were often futile as the witch doctor’s explanations and cures carried greater weight. Orlien remembers especially one incident when a mother 53 Schjander, Osvald Orlien, 63–​65. 54 Evangelii Härold, “Läkarmission,” 44 no. 48 (1959): 13. 55 Evangelii Härold, 12–​13, Orlien, “Sykehuset i Nya Kaziba,” 174. 56 Orlien, 174. The lack of educated staff was not only a problem in Kaziba, but it was also an issue all over Eastern Congo. The pressure to provide highly trained missionaries was starting to become a problem in Scandinavia as well. Questions were being raised in Swedish circles if the emphasis on sending highly trained missionaries to the mission field undermined the mission’s evangelistic purpose. The notion was dismissed as unfounded in the Pentecostal magazine, Den Kristne (The Christian). The counterarguments not only stressed the importance of supporting the sacrificial giving of the missionaries, but also the necessity of providing the Congolese with high quality education if the missionaries were suddenly to abandon the mission field. This was viewed as the only way to preserve decades of missionary work. Lennart Steen, “Våra missionärskandidater,” Den Kristne 15 no. 10 (1958): 303–​308; Everth Carlsson “Gör vi det viktigaste först? I.” Den Kristne 16 no. 3 (1959a): 69–​71; Everth Carlsson, “Gör vi det viktigaste först? III,” Den Kristne 16 no. 10 (1959b): 300–​302. 57 Orlien, “Sykehuset i Nya Kaziba,” 171.

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was brought to them late at night and died from ruptura uteri before they could help her. Right before she died, she threw up a greenish-​black substance called dawa that the witch doctor had administered for infidelity. Orlien says that they had helped hundreds of mothers before her and that he had asked her to come before she was due, but she did not heed his advice.58 The many fatalities at childbirth and the lack of trained natives made it necessary to build an orphanage, and plan for the opening of a nursing school in Kaziba.59 In 1960 Orlien was able to start a two-​year nursing course with the assistance of Belgian authorities, and two years later seventeen young men had completed the program.60 However, in 1963 the Congolese government did not allow him to continue the program without first building a dormitory for the students, adding more qualified teaching staff, and having an additional doctor to direct the nursing school.61 Thus, the program and the plans for a complete nursing school were halted until the necessary prerequisites were in place. Orlien worked tirelessly in Congo. He was for many years the only doctor at the hospital, and at the same time fulfilling the duties of a Pentecostal pastor. Medical missionary, Tor-​Magne Kommedal, describes how Orlien’s holistic approach, being a doctor for both the body and the soul, resonated positively in Congolese society.62 9.2.2 celpa, cepac, and National Leadership Both Norwegian and Swedish missionaries had to flee for their lives when the civil war arrived in Eastern Congo at the end of 1960.63 Those who remained helped out with the massive refugee crisis that followed.64 Although the missionaries were spared much of the violence, the many uncertainties and the de-​ colonization of the nation, accelerated the plans of handing over the property and the leadership of the missions to the Congolese.65 The official transition of leadership went smoothly from a Scandinavian perspective, mainly because

58 Orlien, 172. 59 Orlien, 172–​174. 60 Ekorness, Fra Buskerud til bushen, 182. 61 Ekorness, 204. 62 Kommedal, 2020. 63 Söderlund, Pingstmission i Kongo, 202. 64 Oddvar Nilsen, Ut i all verden (Oslo: Filadelfiaforlaget), 1984, 107–​108. 65 Scandinavian Pentecostal Mission was a firm believer of William Taylor’s (Methodist) theory of self-​propagating, self-​governing, and self-​sustaining mission. Even if the political situation in the drc sped up the process, the intention of handing over the mission to the Congolese was there from the beginning. Bundy, Vision of Apostolic Mission, 71–​75.

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the Congolese were already running most schools and churches.66 Many of the Congolese, on the other hand, were not as convinced and wanted the missionaries to continue their work,67 which they were forced to do since there was no qualified indigenous staff to run the medical facilities and the schools for higher education.68 The handing-​over of responsibility to the Congolese marked the beginning of the Congolese Pentecostal denominations, celpa and cepac.69 Although the political situation stabilized somewhat when Joseph-​ Désiré Mobutu (1930–​1997) became president in 1965, a position he held until he was overthrown in 1997, the effects of the Declaration of Independence still caused a long-​lasting economic downturn.70 The financial situation led to high unemployment rates and jeopardized the missions’ government subsidies.71 Scandinavian Pentecostals, therefore, turned to Norwegian and Swedish relief agencies to shore up support for their social projects. From this point onward, most social projects were joint efforts, with the majority of the funding coming from Scandinavian relief agencies. 9.2.3 New Medical Missionaries and the Nursing School at Kaziba Even if the first half of the 1960s had been very difficult for Scandinavian Pentecostal Mission in Zaire, as the new nation was later called, the improved circumstances after 1967 led to important developments, both at the Norwegian station in Kaziba and at the Swedish station in Lemera. Through a fundraising tour of Norway at end of the 1960s, Orlien managed to raise 160,000 Norwegian crowns from local churches, and norad (The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation) supplied 750,000 for the construction of a nursing school at Kaziba.72 Thus, they now had the funds to build a school and the required dormitory. With the arrival of Dr. Mathias and Ellen Onsrud in 66 Söderlund, Pingstmission i Kongo, 212–​215. The handing over of the mission to the Congolese was discussed and ratified during the missionary conferences in Uvira and in Stockholm in March-​April 1960. 67 Nilsen, Ut i all verden, 123. 68 Söderlund, 215. 69 celpa stands for Communautés des Eglises Libres de Pentecôte en Afrique (The Community of Free Pentecostal Churches in Africa), and cepac stands for Communauté des Eglises de Pentecôte en Afrique Centrale (The Community of Pentecostal Churches in Central Africa). celpa became the Norwegian branch of the mission work and cepac the Swedish branch after the division in 1922. The official names were only introduced in the 1990s. 70 Unrest flared up again in 1967, when rebel forces of Mobutu’s regime attacked Bukavu. Scandinavian missionaries were forced to abandon the region again. The unrest was soon put down, and the missionaries returned in 1968. Nielsen, Ut i all verden, 108. 71 Söderlund, Pingstmission i Kongo, 199–​208. 72 Schjander, Osvald Orlien, 140–​141.

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1970, they also had a doctor to direct the nursing school. Just as many missionaries before him, Onsrud had to learn many things on the spot, and often with direct assistance from Orlien. The first week in Congo he had to perform five C-​sections without proper medical gear.73 The tasks piled up fast. Apart from performing surgeries, the couple taught and ran the school, oversaw building projects, and preached on Sundays.74 In 1974 they moved back to Norway, where Onsrud became a professor of gynecology. Onsrud returned to Congo on frequent visits, where he performed surgeries and taught nurses and midwives—​often at Mukwege’s Panzi hospital in Bukavu.75 After Onsrud left, Dr. Reidar Solholm took over as director of the school. From 1973 more doctors and other medical personnel came from Norway to help out. Some of them developed a rotation system to make sure the most important positions were continuously staffed.76 At the nursing school, they also admitted women, which was unusual in Congo at the time, since the Belgians only educated Congolese men as nurses.77 Orlien believed that providing education for girls contributed to more gender equality in the region.78 Their first candidates finished in 1973, and Orlien and Kommedal say the nurses educated at Kaziba were very capable and well-​respected.79 The women initially specialized in midwifery and the men in dispensary-​leadership, but in the 1980s the education became a four-​year education that included mandatory midwifery since this was such an important issue in the region.80 Orlien’s goal was that Congolese health workers would eventually run all of celpa’s healthcare institutions in the same way they had taken over leadership over all

73

Tor Aksel Bolle, “Fra Snertingdal til Kongo,” Last modified November 4, 2018. https://​www .bist​ands​aktu​elt.no/​nyhe​ter/​2018/​fra-​sner​ting​dal-​til-​kongo/​. 74 Onsrud, 2019. 75 Onsrud also became one of Norway’s leading surgeons, with a special focus on ovarian cancer. He has published numerous articles related to gynecology in general, and ovarian cancer, and obstetric fistulas, in particular. 76 Some of the Norwegian doctors were Tor Magne Kommedal, Sigmund Ljones, Bjørnar Nyen and Øyvind Vatne, and some of the nurses and midwifes were Massi Solholm, Ellen Onsrud, Aase Kommedal, Bergit Kvamme, Reidun Ljones, Sofie Bekkelund, Randi Tøvik, and Damaris Trobe. Several of the nurses and midwifes had additional education as nursing teachers and different specializations such as anesthetist nurse. Ruth Holt, a pharmacist, established a pharmacy at their hospital and taught at the school, and several of the Norwegian nurses and midwives that worked at different stations also taught at the school. Ekorness, Fra Buskerud til bushen, 204–​206; Kommedal 2020. 77 Ekorness, 207. 78 Schjander, Osvald Orlien, 146. 79 Ekorness, Fra Buskerud til bushen, 208, Kommedal, 2020. 80 Kommedal, 2020.

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the denomination’s churches.81 However, both he and Congolese health workers acknowledged that they still depended on Norwegian funds and occasional medical expertise for some time. Orlien’s fourth, and last period as a doctor in Congo was from 1974–​1978, but several other Norwegian doctors continued his work the following years.82 The nurses that were educated at the nursing school in Kaziba soon became staff at most of celpa’s and cepac’s hospitals and other healthcare institutions, including Mukwege’s Panzi hospital.83 In 1979, the nursing school received its first of several Congolese doctor trainees from the medical school in Kinshasa, and in 1990, national doctors took over the leadership of the hospital.84 9.2.4 Ingegerd Rooth, Svein Haugstvedt, and the Hospital at Lemera Ingegerd Rooth (b. 1931) had worked as a nurse and midwife at the Swedish mission station at Lemera for four years before the civil war broke out in 1961. Having spent the intervening years from 1961 to 1966 to become the Swedish Pentecostal Movement’s first missionary doctor, she returned to Lemera in 1967. Finding the old school building in a dilapidated state and the medical clinic partly destroyed by bombshells, she set out to transform the school building into a functioning medical facility.85 As soon as the clinic was reopened, the patients came in droves.86 Rooth soldiered on for five years, and in 1970 she was able to turn the medical facility into a field hospital with its own operating rooms and x-​ray machines.87 Rooth achieved this without any help from Congolese doctors, and limited recruitment from Sweden.88 The workload eventually became too heavy, and she informed the mission that she would leave the hospital unless additional help arrived.89 The necessary help came from the Smyrna church in Gothenburg, which raised funds for the hospital 81 Schjander, Osvald Orlien, 143. 82 Schjander, 148. In 1975 Orlien received St. Olav’s medal from the King of Norway for his medical work in Congo. This was the first time a Norwegian Pentecostal had received such an honor. 83 Kommedal, 2020. Many of the students were sponsored by local churches in the villages and/​or by the missionaries, who wished to educate staff to run the many dispensaries. The students came from celpa, cepac, and other denominations, as well as some from Burundi and Rwanda. Kommedal, 2020. 84 Kommedal, 2020. 85 Ingegerd Rooth, “Dr. Ingegerd Rooth,” Christian Medical and Dental Association 2019, http://​doc​tors​4chr​ist.com/​miss​ion/​ingeg​erd-​rooth-​11745​963. 86 Rooth, 2019. 87 Rooth, 2019; Söderlund, Pingstmission i Kongo, 179. 88 Rooth, 2019. 89 Svein Haugstvedt, interview by Rakel Ystebø Alegre, March 11, 2020.

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and recruited more medical personnel. When new doctors arrived at Lemera, Rooth went to Tanzania, where she would spend 30 years fighting the consequences of malaria.90 The void left by Ingegerd Rooth’s departure from Lemera was partially filled by Svein Haugstvedt (b. 1936). Haugstvedt was born in Bergen, Norway, in 1936, but moved away from the city at the end of the 1950s. He studied medicine in Germany with a special focus on pediatric surgery. After finishing his studies, he settled down in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1963, and started attending Smyrna Pentecostal church. In 1974 he was sent out by the church as a missionary doctor to Tanzania. Before returning to Sweden after a few months in Tanzania, he wanted a brief meeting with Orlien in Kaziba.91 Arriving in Congo, he first visited the hospital in Lemera. Seeing Rooth’s desperate situation, he mantled the responsibility of raising the necessary funds for the hospital. The Smyrna church and the Swedish relief agency, sida, stepped in, and the hospital eventually became a well-​equipped place that offered high-​quality healthcare.92 The hospital’s success was also linked to the arrival of additional medical doctors that Haugstvedt recruited.93 Haugstvedt ran the hospital personally from 1977 to 1978, and from 1981 to 1983, and came for sporadic visits during the 1990s. It was during his stay at Lemera from 1981 to 1983 that he first met Dr. Denis Mukwege, who would become a life-​long friend and colleague, and with whom he would later establish the famous Panzi hospital in Bukavu.94 9.2.5 Denis Mukwege Denis Mukwege grew up in a Pentecostal family in Bukavu in Eastern Congo. His parents had become Pentecostals after attending the Norwegian’s elementary school in Kaziba. His father, Matteo, founded the first Pentecostal church in Bukavu together with the Swedish missionary Oscar Lagerstöm in the late 1940s.95 Accompanying his father on visits to sick church members inspired him to become a doctor. When rebel forces invaded Bukavu in 1967, the family was forced to flee to Kaziba. The family wanted to return home two months later, but Mukwege was afraid and was granted permission to stay. While in Kaziba he became impressed by Orlien’s way of treating patients with warmth

90 91 92 93 94 95

Rooth, “Dr. Ingegerd Rooth,” 2019. Haugstvedt, 2020. Haugstvedt, 2020. Haugstvedt, 2020. Haugstvedt, 2020. Berthil Åkerlund, Denis Mukwege: Lege på liv og død (Oslo: Cappelen Damm, 2015), 37–​38, 49–​50, 70–​71, 184.

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and empathy. Orlien became a role model for him and convinced him that being friendly, and showing empathy and understanding, was a vital part of patients’ recovery process. Moreover, in Orlien he also found a person who cared for the neglected, and someone who stood up against injustices.96 At the age of fifteen, he was accepted into an elite four-​year high school, called Bwindi, which was a cooperation between the Norwegian and Swedish missions, where only the best students were admitted.97 At first, he planned to become a nurse but was encouraged to try to become a doctor. After some consideration, he decided to become a pediatrician and apply to medical school in Kinshasa. When he was nineteen, he went to Kinshasa to study medicine, but the government decided he was to study engineering. The solution was to go to Burundi in 1977 and study medicine there instead.98 During his studies, he received some economic support from the Swedish Pentecostal Mission.99 In 1983 Mukwege finished medical school in Burundi and went to Lemera to do his internship. It was at that time he first met Svein Haugstvedt, who became his friend and mentor.100 While completing his internship, Mukwege became distressed by the many problems he witnessed in relation to childbirth, and the gruesome suffering of expecting mothers who never managed to arrive at the hospital on time. The experience shifted his focus from pediatrics to gynecology and obstetrics and gave him the idea of establishing a hospital closer to the people.101 The following year Mukwege was able to go to France to study gynecology, his studies being first sponsored by the Swedish missionary nurse, Ingrid Åkerstöm, whom he had worked with in Lemera, and later by the Swedish Pentecostal Mission.102 When he finished his studies in 1989, he moved back to Congo to work at the Lemera hospital. There they started a nursing school and built a waiting house for pregnant women who were approaching their due date, similar to the one the Norwegians had built at Kaziba.103 Two years later, in October 1991, the Swedish missionaries had to be evacuated from Lemera, and Svein Haugstvedt asked Mukwege to take charge of the hospital, saying this was to 96 97 98 99 100 101 1 02 103

Åkerlund, 41, 60–​61, 66, 151. Åkerlund, 48, 54, 65, 82. Åkerlund, 66–​67. Åkerlund, 142. Åkerlund, 84, 143. Åkerlund, 41, 143–​145, 151–​152. Lemera was situated on a remote hill ten kilometers from the main city of Bukavu. The arduous journey to reach the inaccessible hospital was often too much for pregnant mothers and ailing children, some even perishing on the way. Åkerlund, 158–​159. Åkerlund, 169–​170.

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be a permanent arrangement. Mukwege was worried about the financial situation, but Haugstvedt assured him that the Swedish Pentecostal mission would continue as a sponsor.104 He officially became the head doctor of the hospital in 1992, at a time when they were experiencing increasing political and social unrest in the country. 9.2.6 War and Violence When the Rwanda genocide broke out in 1994, it had very serious consequences for the people in Eastern Congo. The Tutsi dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front (rpf) had initiated the Rwandan civil war in 1990 by invading the country from their base in Uganda. The war ebbed back and forth from 1991 to 1994.105 The fragile political situation was drastically changed on 6 April 1994, when the airplane carrying the Rwandan and Burundian presidents was shot down over Kigali, Rwanda. Although unresolved questions surrounded the incident, Hutu leaders seized the opportunity to blame Tutsis and moderate Hutus for the incident and unleash a genocide that caused the death of around 800,000 victims in a timespan of about six weeks.106 Horrendous acts of sexual violence also accompanied the killing, with women being raped and having their reproductive organs mutilated in indescribable ways.107 The international response to the violence was virtually non-​existent, but the rpf managed fairly quickly to end the violence by gaining control of the country. Fearing Tutsi retaliation, hundreds of thousands of Hutus crossed the border to Zaire. Rwandan attacks across the border led to the First Congo War in 1996 and an immense refugee crisis in Eastern Congo.108 The methods of war that had been prevalent in the Rwandan genocide were soon to be repeated in Congo. Through cooperation between celpa, cepac, and the Norwegian Church Aid, Scandinavian and Congolese Pentecostals ran several refugee camps and 104 Åkerlund, 172–​173, 185.The Swedish Pentecostal mission continued to pay Mukwege’s salary. 105 Deborah Mayersen, On the Path to Genocide: Armenia and Rwanda Reexamined (New York: Berghan Books, 2014), 160–​163. 106 The genocide had been planned for a long time before the incident, which is evident by the fact that the persecution was unleashed the very next day of the plane crash. Anti-​ Tutsi propaganda had been spread through publications and media outlets such as “The Hutu Ten Commandments” and the radio and tv station Radio-​Télévision Libre des Milles Collines (rtlm) since the beginning of 1990. The original tension between Hutus and Tutsis started during Belgian collonial times. Mayersen, 121–​147, 167–​175. 107 Mayersen, 176. 108 For an in-​depth study of the First and Second Congo Wars, see Jason K. Stearns, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collaps of the Congo and the Great War of Africa (New York: PublicAffairs, 2012). Åkerlund, Denis Mukwege: Lege på liv og død, 213.

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field hospitals during the crisis, and their efforts were led by Mukwege and Reidar Solholm. Several retired missionaries also returned to Congo to aid in the effort.109 The hospital at Lemera was attacked by rebels led by Laurent-​ Désiré Kabila, who became the nation’s president the following year. The rebels killed three nurses and 32 patients and looted and destroyed most of the hospital.110 The Second Congo War started in 1998, and Mukwege fled to Kenya with his family. Being asked by Svein Haugstvedt to accompany him on a mission to Bukavu to investigate how the Swedish Pentecostal mission could aid the local population, he became trapped in the city.111 It was during this time that the systematic use of sexual violence against women as a weapon of war started to appear in Eastern Congo. During this time Mukwege revisited an earlier idea of establishing a small hospital closer to the people in the Panzi-​region in Bukavu, on a property cepac had previously received from the Congolese government. Mukwege asked the Swedish Pentecostal mission to take on the responsibility of restoring the old colonial houses on the property, which they agreed to do. In 1999 they completed the restoration project, and the hospital was opened.112 The intention was for the Panzi hospital to function primarily as a maternity ward, but the wave of brutal rapes that started to appear changed the trajectory. The first patient was a woman who had been brutally raped by six men and then shot. Mukwege writes that even though he had been a gynecologist for ten years, he had never seen such a combination of rape and violence before.113 Through funding from the Swedish Pentecostal Mission and the Swedish organization, Läkarmissionen, they were able to build a large and well-​ equipped hospital, which was inaugurated in 2002.114 The hospital managed to treat 23,757 victims of sexual violence from September 1999 to June 2015.115 The success of Panzi hospital meant that it overtook much of the function that the hospital in Lemera once served.116 1 09 Kommedal, 2020. 110 Åkerlund, 67, 88–​89, 104–​109, 213. Mukwege had left 11 days earlier on an urgent matter, which spared his life. Shortly thereafter his life was spared again when the Swedish Pentecostal mission managed to arrange for a Mission Aviation Fellowship plane to evacuate him and his family from Bukavu, just as the rebels entered the city. 111 Åkerlund, 202–​203, 213. 112 Haugstvedt 2020; Åkerlund, 203–​204. 113 Åkerlund, 26, 203–​204. The Finish missionary surgeon Veikko Reinikainen, who had been Mukwege’s colleague at Lemera, conducted the surgery. 114 Åkerlund, 197, 204. 115 pmu, “Demokratiska Republiken Kongo,” accessed February 8, 2020. https://​pmu.se/​dr -​kongo/​. 116 Haugstvedt, 2020.

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Fighting Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War (1999–​2020)

The outbreak of the First Congo War in 1996, and the subsequent Second Congo War in 1998, with a combined death toll of 5,4 million people, ushered in an era of even more specialized focus for Scandinavian Pentecostal medical mission. The conflict was marked by an unprecedented number of “vicious rapes” and “sexual assaults” as a tool of conducting war.117 Jeanna Mukuninwa, a victim of rape herself, says that “Rape is a weapon even more powerful than a bomb or a bullet. At least with a bullet you die. But if you have been raped, you appear to the community like someone who is cursed. After rape, no one will talk to you; no man will see you. It’s a living death.”118 Another young girl’s story further illustrates how the victims encounter difficulties in their communities and lives in addition to the trauma of rape: The soldiers that came to her village raped and killed three girls and then took her and others to their camp. There she was raped day and night for two weeks until the girls one night ran away. “When we got home some parents rejoiced, but my father wasn’t happy. He said, “You returned from being raped and brought a curse here. You must leave!” My mother is the one who took care of me. She did everything for me. And then I gave birth.”119 According to Christine Schuler-​Deschryver, the strategy of rape as a weapon of war is also used to control the valuable mines in Congo.120 Thus, attacking defenseless women became a means of destroying many individual lives and the very fabric of Congolese society. Its frequency, even after the war ended in 2002, caused a tremendous need for treatment of sexual victims on all levels.121 The situation improved little even after the implementation of political countermeasures such as the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (cedaw), the UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 in 2000 and 1820 in 2008, and the 117 Mathias Onsrud, et. al., “Sexual Violence-​Related Fistulas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 2008. doi:10.1016/​ j.ijgo.2008.07.018. 118 Aryn Baker, “The Secret War Crime,” time, March 10, 2016, https://​time.com/​war-​and -​rape/​. 119 Madeleine Gavin (dir), City of Joy, Impact Partners, 2016. 120 Gavin, City of Joy. 121 Norwegian Church Aid. “Democratic Republic of the Congo: Strategy 2016–​2020,” last modified September 22, 2015.https://​www.kirk​ensn​odhj​elp.no/​conten​tass​ets/​32dac​ae95​ 7e84​004b​312c​3d37​8652​a52/​drc-​nca-​strat​egy-​2016-​2020.pdf, 6.

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new rape legislation in 2006.122 The Norwegian Church Aid points to “corruption, limited capacity of [the] legal system, and [a]‌lack of political will” as causes for the insufficient results.123 Dunia Zongwe further remarks that “the new rape law is progressive, liberal, gender-​neutral, and in keeping with international law. However, an unfortunate lapse in legislative drafting puts in doubt the authority of the courts to use the new rape law to prosecute systematic sexual violence.”124 The Norwegian Church Aid concludes, on the other hand, that Faith-​Based Organizations (fbo s) are strategically placed to make a difference in the drc: fbo s benefit from a high level of legitimacy and they have a huge outreach in Eastern drc, given the fact that the Congolese society is very religious minded. fbo s exercise their leadership at all levels of society, and they have the capacity to advocate and mobilize people to claim for their rights. They are deeply rooted in communities that are vulnerable to injustice and they can contribute to positive change.125 The following section is an overview of a limited number of fbo s and individual efforts that specifically work with the problem of sexual violence in the drc and are either supported or led by Scandinavian Pentecostals. The initiatives are often joint efforts between Scandinavian Pentecostals and the local Pentecostal denominations, celpa and cepac. Scandinavian Pentecostals usually take a supporting role in these initiatives, supplying financial aid, providing education for staff, and lending support to bring about political change. It is important to underscore here that this overview is by no means exhaustive of all the efforts being done to fight rape as a weapon of war in the drc. Statistics show that already in 2006, 326 ngo s were addressing the problem of rape as a weapon of war “in the South Kivu province alone.”126 9.3.1 camps celpa has over the years developed a variety of diaconal programs and projects, many of which are connected to celpa’s schools and healthcare

1 22 Norwegian Church Aid, 6. 123 Norwegian Church Aid, 6. 124 Dunia Prince Zongwe, “The New Sexual Violence Legislation in the Congo: Dressing Indelible Scars on Human Dignity,” African Studies Review 55 nr. 2 (2012): 37. 125 Norwegian Church Aid, 8. 126 Mathias Onsrud, et. al., “Sexual Violence-​Related Fistulas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,”4.

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institutions. In 2002 the denomination launched camps (Centre d’Assistance Medico-​Psycho-​Social) with the purpose of rehabilitating people that have been tortured and traumatized by war, and especially the victims of sexual violence in Eastern Congo. camps focuses on psychological and medical treatment, and social rehabilitation of victims, but its goal is also to prevent sexual violence against women.127 The organization was launched by Pastor Bulambo Lembelembe, who was president of celpa from 1995–​2005 and led by the Congolese psychologist Justin Kabanga.128 camps has received financial support from norad, and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as other international organizations.129 Norwegian Pentecostals have supported the organization financially and through medical and psychological expertise, including the training of camps staff. According to a report on camps’ work conducted by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative’s Women in War Program, women who survive sexual violence in Eastern Congo “report that the social stigma they face as a result of rape can sometimes be as traumatic as the attack itself.”130 The women are often viewed as ‘tainted’ and can experience ridicule and rejection from their family members and others in their community. Victims are sometimes abandoned by their families, which leads to “intense social isolation.”131 Justin Kabanga confirms that many of the Congolese rape victims are rejected and even expelled from their communities. He further notes that some believe the women have become possessed through their experience.132 camps tries to help women psychologically, physically, and economically. They also facilitate family and broader community reintegration. For many women help to reunite

127 Raftostiftelsen, “Laurate 2008 Bulambo Lembelembe Josué: Bringing hope for the victims of war,” last modified September 25, 2008, https://​www.rafto.no/​the-​rafto-​prize/​bula​ mbo-​lem​bele​mbe-​josué; Kommedal 2020. 128 Raftostiftelsen 2008; Kommedal 2020; Ellen Juul Andersen, “Får støtte av Utenriksdepartementet,” September 6, 2007, https://​tidss​krif​tet.no/​2007/​09/​aktu​elt-​i-​for​ enin​gen/​far-​sto​tte-​av-​utenri​ksde​part​emen​tet. 129 Yves Mulume, De la Mission Libre Norvégienne aux Églises libres de Pentecôte en Afrique (1922–​2007): Une étude missiologique. Ph.D. dissertation. Bangui Evangelical Graduate School of Theology; Andersen, 2007. 130 Jocelyn Kelly and Beth Maclin, “Assessing the Impact of Programming to Reduce the Stigmatization of Survivors of Sexual Violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. Final Report. Logica Study Series. April 30, 2014. https://​hhi.harv​ard.edu/​sites/​defa​ult/​files/​publi​cati​ons/​women-​in-​war-​sti​gmat​izat​ ion.pdf, 3. 131 Kelly and Maclin, 3. 132 Andersen, 2007.

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with their husbands is especially important, as well as learning new job skills to help them gain a sustainable income.133 camps has a holistic approach to the issue of sexual violence. It divides its work into four different, but interconnected, service programs: “Psychosocial Support, Medical Assistance, Legal Assistance, and Socio-​ Economic Reinsertion.”134 The psychosocial support consists of individual and group counseling, and if they need medical assistance camps refers them to hospitals and pays for their transportation and medical fees. If the victim knows who the perpetrator is, camps legal team works towards a conviction, and the organization provides a wide variety of financial support to cover the victims’ legal costs.135 Efforts are also made to make people aware of their services, to spread the message of acceptance for the victims, and to create support networks. When a survivor of sexual violence comes in contact with camps, a staff member will assess their individual needs and inform them of the available services. It is often through this work that women are referred to Mukwege’s Panzi hospital for surgery or other medical needs.136 Through celpa’s large network of churches, schools, and health clinics, camps has the possibility to reach victims in many different regions and remote areas, where they have also managed to establish their own offices.137 They also work as a grassroot organization, networking with local communities and organizations to prevent sexual violence and social stigmas. camps has been widely recognized for its significant work in Eastern Congo, and Pastor Bulambo Lemembele was awarded the Rafto Prize in 2008 for his efforts to combat sexual violence and give help to victims through camps and other initiatives. In their assessment of camps, Kelly and Maclin write that: Despite challenges around funding mechanisms, consistency of services, and difficulty accessing remote areas, beneficiaries expressed overwhelming gratitude and deep appreciation for the care and assistance they received. Participants used power metaphors to describe the effect that services had on them, such as “coming back to life,” feeling “human” again, and feeling as capable as they had before the assault. The combination of medical, psychosocial, and economic reinsertion activities was described as critical for holistic recovery.138 1 33 134 135 136 137 138

Andersen 2007; Kelly and Maclin, 2014, 3–​4, 14. Kelly and Maclin 2014, 10. Kelly and Maclin 2014, 10. Kommedal 2020; Kelly and Maclin 2014, 10. Kommedal 2020; Kelly and Maclin 2014, 4, 11. Kelly and Maclin 2014, 4.

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Through camps, celpa provides important aid for victims of sexual violence, but as for many other organizations, a major goal is to see the end of the violence. They, therefore, work to establish peace as well as bringing perpetrators to justice. Pastor Bulambo’s message to the church and the broader Congolese society is that they cannot accept that women in their communities are raped. “It should be possible for women to be safe. It is our responsibility to make life safe.”139 9.3.2 join Good Forces join Good Forces originated out of Oslo Christian Center, a charismatic church affiliated with Norwegian Pentecostal Mission, in 1993 under the name of Christian Relief Network (crn). Its purpose was “to improve humanitarian situations of women, children, and men living in poverty, oppression, and vulnerability, especially related to war and insecurity.”140 Their slogan was “joining good forces,” which led to the change of name in 2010 to join Good Forces.141 Its current leader is the Norwegian Pentecostal pastor, Fred Håberg, and most of its work today is done through its Congolese partner, Hope in Action. join started its work in the drc already in 1994 and has since helped over 30,000 violated women and children. Additionally, join has been instrumental in the building and rebuilding of health facilities all over Eastern Congo. Notable achievements are the rebuilding of the Pinga Hospital in 2005, the construction of the fistula ward at the Panzi Hospital in 2006, and the Kyeshero Hospital in Goma in 2010, which also treats women suffering from sexual violence-​related fistulas. Other noteworthy efforts are its work of reintegrating child soldiers, aiding refugees, and running the Fatherhood Programme, a program that seeks to “give men an increased understanding of how their role as a father can prevent violence against women and children.”142 Their experience

139 Raftostiftelsen, “The 2008 Rafto Prize awarded to Pastor Bulambo Lembelembe Josué,” 2008. In 1991, Bulambo also helped establish the organization Héritiers de la Justice (the Inheritors of Justice), which “works to raise awareness of human rights, assist victims of human rights abuses, and stop impunity from sexual violence” (Raftostiftelsen, 2008). From 2006 he worked with the project Paix et Réconciliation (Peace and Reconciliation) that has the goal to “disarm, demobilize, and repatriate soldiers and civilians” to Rwanda. Raftostiftelsen, “Laurate 2008 Bulambo Lembelembe Josué: Bringing hope for the victims of war,” 2020. 140 join Good Forces, “Development Strategy 2020–​2024,” accessed February 10, 2020. https://​ www.joi​ngoo​dfor​ces.no/​file/​join-​good-​for​ces-​develo​pmen​tal-​strat​egy-​2020-​2024.pdf, 1. 141 join Good Forces, 1. 142 join Good Forces, “Change for Peace,” accessed February 10, 2020. https://​www.joi​ngoo​ dfor​ces.no/​our-​work/​cha​nge-​for-​peace.

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and assistance in this area contributed to the development of the Survivors of Sexual Violence program at Panzi hospital in 2004.143 join is eager to accentuate the exceptional work of two Congolese women, Jeanne Nacatche Banyere and Jeannette Kahindo Bindu, who were both nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize, together with Dr. Denis Mukwege, in 2015. Jeanne and Jeanette have been “key fieldworkers in join’s aid work in the eastern Congo.”144 Jeanne Nacatche Banyere’s extraordinary work began in 1994 during the Rwandan genocide when she received fleeing orphans and raped women into her childhood home in the remote region of Masisi. With the support from crn (join), she soon became responsible for additional orphans who had fled their orphanage in Kigali, Rwanda, to seek refuge in Goma. Today she is running two orphanages with about 300 children. In 2004, she was chosen to become the president of cepac’s women network, while also overseeing join’s work with violated women and children. It was during this intensive period that Jeannette Kahindo Bindu came into the picture to assist Banyere in caring for rape victims. The two are today running 12 “listening houses”145 and “4 larger reception centers” in North Kivu.146 Banyere and Bindu have both received top-​notch training from Norwegian trauma experts, and the number of women and children they have helped now exceeds 27,000.147 9.3.3 Health for Congo Health for Congo is a humanitarian foundation established by Mathias Onsrud in 2014 that cooperates with health institutions linked to celpa and cepac. The purpose of the foundation “is to support the education of medical personnel, as well as supporting research relevant to the health situation in the drc.”148 Its main emphasis is to provide support for the celpa-​owned midwifery school, Institut Supérieur de Technique Médicale, in Kaziba, and to increase the competency in the mission’s healthcare. The foundation’s financial support comes exclusively from private donors, which goes to supporting Dr. Mukanire, one of Mukwege’s closest colleagues at the Panzi hospital, and a Norwegian-​Congolese midwife, Bauma Buranga, who both teach at the school.149 1 43 Onsrud, 2019. 144 join Good Forces, “Mama Jeanne and Mama Jeannette,” accessed February 10, 2020. https://​www.joi​ngoo​dfor​ces.no/​arbei​det/​mama-​jea​nne-​and-​mama-​jeanne​tte. 145 See footnote 33 for more on listening houses. 146 join Good Forces, “Mama Jeanne and Mama Jeannette,” 2020. 147 join Good Forces, 2020. 148 Helse for Congo, accessed February 26, 2020, https://​helsef​orco​ngo.com/​about. 149 Helse for Congo, 2020.

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Apart from meeting the overwhelming need for educated midwives in the drc, the foundation’s educational goal also serves as an important means of fighting rape as a weapon of war. Onsrud lists several reasons why midwives are particularly suited to engage in first-​line intervention and to bridge the social stigmas that are associated with rape. First of all, midwives are trained to give both physical and psychological assistance. Secondly, midwives are viewed as resourceful and stable, and their confidentiality ensures that victims can safely share their experiences without further social repercussions. Thirdly, midwives are frequently out in the countryside where the attacks occur, which minimizes both the distance and the time it takes for victims to seek help. Fourthly, midwives can prevent families from being dissolved.150 Onsrud stresses that keeping families together is especially important in fighting rape as a weapon of war. When husbands abandon their ‘defiled’ wives, the women are forced to seek refuge in shelters to secure their livelihood and to escape the social stigma. The centers provide much-​needed help for the woman, but they are often unable to keep the family together, so the children are left without an immediate caregiver. The children’s home in Kaziba, for instance, was established to house such abandoned children. Onsrud insists that a properly trained midwife, however, can circumvent some of the effects of the trauma by providing early medical and psychological intervention, and by maintaining strict confidentiality, so that the victim will not be left in a vulnerable state. Midwives can therefore provide vital holistic care, that not only treats the victim’s wounds, but also preserves her family, and her social standing in the community.151

1 50 Onsrud, 2019. 151 Onsrud further notes that, rather than establishing large centers for victims of sexual abuse, which make reunification of families difficult, a more decentralized approach is now being preferred in the drc. One such approach is the establishment of rural ‘listening houses’ (maison d’écoute), which encourage both victims and perpetrators to share their experiences and to receive help from trained professionals. Onsrud 2019; Nadine Puechguirbal, “Breaking the Silence: New Approaches to the Consequences of Rape in Some African Conflicts, 1994–​2008,” in R. Branche and F. Virgili (eds.) Rape in Wartime (London: Palgrave McMillan, 2012). Onsrud maintains, however, that the listening houses struggle with protecting the victims’ anonymity, since appearing there easily alerts the community. Visiting a nurse or a midwife will not raise the same suspicion. Thus, Health for Congo’s emphasis on educating midwives is in line with the drc’s decentralized approach, and though expensive and slow-​moving, it has great potential of combatting the multifaceted problems associated with sexual violence. Onsrud, 2019.

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9.3.4 Survivors of Sexual Violence Program The Survivor of Sexual Violence program (ssv) started in 2004 as a joint initiative between the Panzi Hospital and the Swedish Pentecostal Mission (pmu). An application for funding was sent to the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (echo) and was approved in January 2004.152 Panzi’s experience pointed to the fact that a holistic approach was needed to properly treat rape victims and women suffering from a general lack of maternal healthcare. Women are thus in need of more than just medical assistance to be reintegrated into society. ‘The Panzi Model’ was therefore put in place through the ssv program to provide a full range of socio-​ economic support. Its “four pillars” of (1) medical treatment, (2) psychosocial care, (3) forensic and legal support, and (4) socioeconomic training are virtually identical to camps’ holistic model.153 By 2015 a total of 36,871 patients had received help through the ssv program.154 The last two pillars of the ssv program are particularly done today through Maison Dorcas and the Badilika (‘change’ in Swahili) projects, which both receive pmu funding. Masion Dorcas is the name of a number of transition centers that try to make reintegration into society as smooth as possible. The 12-​month program is designed to teach women income-​generating skills while receiving medical follow-​up. Legal assistance is also provided if necessary.155 The Badilika project focuses on bringing about socio-​political change by addressing the systemic issues that underlie the rape epidemic. The project’s goals are as follows: –​ Promote human rights in general and women’s rights in particular –​ Raise awareness of citizens to know their rights and duties

152 Annual Activity Report: Panzi Hospital 2013, accessed April 4, 2020, http://​donord​irec​tact​ ion.org/​wp-​cont​ent/​uplo​ads/​2014/​04/​Pan​zi_​E​NG_​w​ebb.pdf, 13. 153 Included under the headings are, for example, individual medical screening and voluntary hiv testing, treatment for Post-​Traumatic Stress Syndrome, training sessions by legal assistants, and the development of professional skills. The ssv project does not only have an individual focus relating to patients at Panzi, but also includes a communal aspect. Information about reproductive health, women’s rights, and the legal penalties for rape is given in schools, in churches, on radio stations, and at local police stations (Annual Activity Report: Panzi Hospital 2013, 15). 154 pmu, “Medical and Psychosocial Assistance to Survivors of Sexual Violence and Women in Need of Specialized Gynecological Care,” 2015. https://​pmu.se/​wp-​cont​ent/​uplo​ads/​ 2017/​11/​14514​041-​SSV-​eva​luat​ion-​2015-​DR-​Congo.pdf. 155 Panzi Foundation, “The Panzi Model: Compassionate, Holistic Healing for Survivors of Sexual Violence,” accessed March 18, 2020. https://​www.panz​ifou​ndat​ion.org/​ the-​panzi-​model-​1#the-​panzi-​model.

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–​ Raise awareness of Congolese citizens on the accountability of leaders vis-​ à-​vis their citizens –​ Promote the creation of a movement for change in attitudes and behaviors in order to achieve greater societal change –​ Advocate for good governance and the promotion of democratic values156 These lofty goals are achieved by holding informational meetings and teaching sessions throughout the Bukavu region, often through its project manager, Roger Buhendwa.157 The challenge is to translate the laws and resolutions already in place into practical realities for common people. Badilika’s efforts of meeting the immediate needs of the local people, while simultaneously bringing about political change, correspond with pmu’s vision of bringing about change on all levels.158 9.4

Concluding Reflections

The question can be asked whether Pentecostals have done enough for suffering women and children around the world. Although an impossible question to answer, this chapter has demonstrated that at least Scandinavian Pentecostal missionaries to Congo have felt their plight deeply and have acted toward lasting change. If initially, they were only able to address a fraction of all the needs, they did not shy away from the challenge and invested plenty of time and resources to create medical facilities and field hospitals. At the forefront was the goal of improving the nation’s substandard or non-​existent child-​delivery services, which they viewed as complementing the Gospel message. Having an understanding that permanent change could only come from the Congolese themselves, the Scandinavian Pentecostal Movement was not afraid of handing over the running of their churches, schools, medical facilities, and eventually even their hospitals to the Congolese. Taking a supporting, rather than a managing role, has enabled Congolese Pentecostals such as Denis Mukwege, Jeanne Nacatche Banyere, Jeannette Kahindo Bindu, pastor Bulambo Lembelembe, and Justin Kabanga not only to follow in the footsteps of the missionaries but also to achieve remarkable results that both inspire 1 56 Annual Activity Report: Panzi Hospital 2013, 21. 157 pmu, “Så här skapar vi förändring,” accessed February 8, 2020. https://​pmu.se/​pmu -​varl​den/​. 158 pmu is supporting projects in the areas of democracy, peace, equality, health, education, relief work, environment, disaster relief, and political lobbying (pmu, “Så här skapar vi förändring,” 2020).

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and motivate Scandinavian Pentecostals to continue their support. Even if the drc might still be “the worst place on earth to be a woman,” as humanitarian author Lisa Shannon has claimed, Scandinavian and Congolese Pentecostals have worked long and hard on an individual, communal, and state level to bring about lasting change in Eastern Congo.159

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­c hapter 10

A Jesus Follower Responds

To Sexualized Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Rory Randall The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 to Dr Denis Mukwege momentarily threw a spotlight on a region of the world that is largely ignored.1 The lack of awareness of the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is remarkable for at least two reasons: the region has abundant mineral and other resources, and incredible natural beauty with expansive lakes and lush green vegetation that is so intense as to make reality appear to be photoshopped. But it’s also the location of a series of conflicts in the preceding decades that have cost six million lives.2 Dr Mukwege’s story occurs within those two contexts.3 10.1

Context

Writing this recent history is urged on by at least three factors. First, the suffering of the women that Dr Mukwege and his colleagues treat at Panzi Hospital and its outreaches is ongoing and unacceptable.4 Second, because western colonial and Cold War interventions in the area created conditions that exacerbated if not created the dynamics that led to the conflicts, the outside world has a moral obligation not to walk away.5 Third, the descent into violence in

1 Although some brief attention is paid when Mount Nyiragongo just north of Goma on Lake Kivu erupts. 2 Owen Jones, “Let’s Be Honest. We Ignore Congo’s Atrocities Because It’s in Africa,” The Guardian (London: March 6, 2015). 3 Denis Mukwege and Berthil Åkerlund, Plaidoyer pour la Vie (Paris: Editions de l’Archipel, 2016). For biography with English-​language subtitles, see the documentary made by the Senegalese director Angèle Diabang, The Doctor Who Saves Women (2015). 4 Melanne Verveer, “Q&A: Nobel Laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege on Justice for Survivors of Sexual Violence,” Ms. Magazine, June 5, 2021, msmagazine.com/​2021/​06/​05/​nobel-​laureate-​ denis-​mukwege-​justice-​survivors- ​sexual-​violence- ​congo-​panzi-​hospital/​?utm_​source=​ email&utm_​medium=​social&utm_​campaign=​SocialWarfare. 5 Tim Butcher, Blood River: The Terrifying Journey Through the World’s Most Dangerous Country (New York: Grove, 2008), 3.

© Rory Randall, 2022 | DOI:1 0.1163/9789004513204_012

186 Randall the Great Lakes region of Africa should be a cautionary tale to people living in cultures that seem intent on enflaming rather than repenting of racism/​ tribalism. Dr Mukwege’s pentecostal background is integral to understanding where Panzi Hospital came from and how it continues to thrive.6 His father Matteo Mukwege was the founding pastor (with Oscar Lagerström) of the first pentecostal church in Bukavu where Panzi is located and where Denis Mukwege was born in 1955.7 He recalls how he often accompanied his father on pastoral visits.8 When he was eight, they visited a terminally ill boy and his father prayed for him. On the way home, Denis asked his father why he only prayed and didn’t give the boy medicine as he did when Denis was sick. His father said he was only trained as a pastor and not a doctor. Denis decided at that point to become medically trained, so as a team he could dispense medicine and his father would pray.9 In 1999, he founded Panzi hospital with the help of humanitarian organizations and cepac (Communauté des Eglises de Pentecôte en Afrique Centrale) which was the work of pentecostal Scandanavian missionaries. cepac has close to a million members and has established 1400 schools, 700 local churches, five smaller hospitals besides Panzi, fifteen clinics, 288 dispensaries and a pharmacy.10 Mukwege is the pastor of the pentecostal church of 700 that his father co-​ founded.11 Each new day at Panzi begins in prayer with patients and staff.12 His lived-​out activist faith locates him as a progressive pentecostal as described by Miller and Yamamori: We define Progressive Pentecostals as Christians who claim to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and the life of Jesus and seek to holistically address the spiritual, physical, and social needs of people in their community. Typically they are distinguished by their warm and expressive worship, their focus on lay-​oriented ministry, their compassionate service to

6 For origins of the Panzi Mission see the chapter in this volume by Davidsson & Alegre. 7 Mukwege, Plaidoyer pour la Vie, (Kindle edition), location 489 of 3427. 8 www.mukwegefoundation.org/​story/​dr-​denis-​mukwege/​ (accessed 07-​09-​2021). 9 Mukwege, Plaidoyer pour la Vie, (Kindle edition), location 1000 of 3427. 10 Mukwege, Plaidoyer pour la Vie, (Kindle edition), location 2885 of 3427 and Micael Grenholm, “The Pentecostal Faith of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Denis Mukwege,” Sojourners December 10, 2018, sojo.net/​articles/​pentecostal-​faith-​nobel-​peace-​prize-​winner-​denis-​mukwege. 11 Mukwege, Plaidoyer pour la Vie, (Kindle edition), location 2898 of 3427. 12 Mukwege, Plaidoyer pour la Vie, (Kindle edition), location 1000 of 3427.

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others, and their attention, both as individuals and as a worshiping community, to what they perceive to be the leading of the Holy Spirit.13 For Mukwege, the union of faith and science gives Panzi Hospital its soul. It’s like Jesus’ saliva and the dust of the ground made the paste that he put in the blind man’s eyes to heal him. By mixing his saliva with clay, Jesus prepared a paste which he applied like medicine to the eyelids of the blind. And that’s what we’re doing here at the hospital, at least symbolically. We prepare a paste that works in interaction with faith and prayer. The foreign visitors who come to see us at Panzi often prefer to dodge this subject, and thus miss something that is essential in our work and in the care of patients. For my part, I feel like I’m still on the road with my father and making a pact not only between the two of us, but also between faith and science.14 Dr Mukwege continues to work at the forefront of medical practice and advocacy in the drc. On March 30, 2020 he was appointed as president and vice president of two task forces fighting against covid-​19 in South Kivu province although he resigned in June of 2020 to protest the mismanagement of the pandemic.15 In April 2021, he was appointed to the nine-​member inaugural who Science Council.16

13

Donald E. Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori, Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement (Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California, 2007), pp. 12–​13. 14 “En mélangeant sa salive à de l’argile, Jésus prépara une « pâte » qu’il appliqua, tel un médicament, sur les paupières des aveugles. Et c’est ce que nous faisons ici à l’hôpital, du moins sur un plan symbolique. Nous préparons une « pâte » qui agit en interaction avec la foi et la prière. Les visiteurs étrangers qui viennent nous voir à Panzi préfèrent souvent esquiver ce sujet, et passent ainsi à côté de quelque chose de pourtant essentiel dans notre travail et les soins prodigués aux patients. Pour ma part, j’ai l’impression d’être encore sur la route avec mon père, et de conclure un pacte non seulement entre nous deux, mais aussi entre la foi et la science.” Mukwege, Plaidoyer pour la Vie, (Kindle edition). 15 factcheck.afp.com/​ n obel-​ w inner-​ d enis-​ m ukwege-​ r ejects-​ f ake-​ p atients-​ q uote-​ circulating-​online. 16 www.researchprofessionalnews.com/​rr-​news-​africa-​pan-​african-​2021-​4-​mukwege-​and-​ abdool-​karim-​to-​sit-​on-​global-​health-​science-​council/​.

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An Interview with Dr. Mukwege

Dr. Denis Mukwege exemplifies a pentecostal response to global violence against women in an intentional and profound way. It is vital that we hear his prophetic and compassionate voice, speaking out of and to this global pandemic of horrific and unimaginable brutality. Dr Mukwege was kind enough to sit with me and answer a few questions on camera in February of 2019.17 The French text is provided for those who prefer to read in the original language. [Please be forewarned that the following interview contains graphic descriptions of sexual violence.]



17

Rory:

We’re in Bukavu in the drc [Democratic Republic of the Congo] at Panzi Hospital and it’s my great pleasure to visit here and I’d just like you to introduce yourself. Mukwege: My name is Denis Mukwege. I’m the Director of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Je m’appelle Denis Mukwege, je suis le médecin directeur de l’hôpital de Panzi à Bukavu en République Démocratique du Congo. Rory: Could you tell us just a bit about how Panzi Hospital got started? Mukwege: Panzi Hospital opened in 1999 when the Democratic Republic of the Congo was in the midst of war. At that time, what mostly prompted us to build this hospital was the suffering of pregnant women. We noticed with considerable concern that there was unfortunately no infrastructure for women who wanted to give birth. They had to cross the whole city of Bukavu to go eight kilometers in the opposite direction towards the north. As there was actually an armed conflict, often these women could not get to the hospital, or were prevented due to troubles here. The idea came to us to be able to build this center in order to meet their needs and fight against maternal mortality. That was in 1999.  Unfortunately, when we started, another issue arose. That is, the issue of violence, and the extreme violence especially on women. So, we ended up addressing two issues: the fight

I also had the opportunity in June 2019 and February 2020 to do video projects with another doctor at Panzi Hospital, Dr Kenny Raha.

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against maternal mortality, and the care for victims of sexual violence.  L’hôpital de Panzi avait commencé en 1999 alors que la République Démocratique du Congo était en pleine guerre. À cette époque-​là, la chose qui nous avait poussé le plus à construire, à commencer cet hôpital c’était la souffrance des femmes enceintes. Nous avions pu constater avec beaucoup d’amertume que les femmes qui voulaient donner naissance, malheureusement il n’y avait pas d’infrastructures pour le faire. Elles devraient traverser toute la ville de Bukavu pour aller à huit kilomètres dans l’autre sens, vers le Nord. Souvent en fait, comme il y avait un conflit armé, souvent ces femmes soit, n’arrivaient pas ou elles étaient empêchées à cause de troubles qui étaient ici et l’idée nous est venue de pouvoir construire ce centre pour répondre à ces besoins et lutter contre la mortalité maternelle. Ça c’était en 1999.  Malheureusement, lorsque nous avons commencé, un autre problème avait surgi. Le problème de violence avec l’extrême violence sur spécialement les femmes, donc on se retrouvait entrain de résoudre deux problèmes: la lutte contre la mortalité maternelle et la prise en charge des victimes de violences sexuelles. Rory: So one of the worst features of the conflict in the Congo, is the way rape has been used as a weapon of war. Tell me some of the ways you are able to repair the damage. Mukwege: I actually think I worked in this region for a very long time, and I had never seen this type of rape with extreme violence: rape which consisted specifically of mass rape and also gang rape in which women were violated by introducing various objects into their genital organs or the genital organs were destroyed with knives or firearms. Most often, women arrived here suffering from vesico-​vaginal fistulas or recto-​vaginal fistulas with incontinence of feces and urine. My team and I started repairing these genital organs, and this was becoming increasingly complicated, depending on the perpetrators who were committing these barbaric acts on women’s female genital organs. We were doing surgery we had never learned in school, since these were acts that could not be described. Unfortunately, we had to deal with these barbaric acts through surgery.  We realized quite quickly that surgery and medical care were not enough. We therefore introduced psychological care,

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since these rapes were committed with such barbarism and extreme violence that psychological trauma accompanied the physical trauma. Here we observed that our patients recovered better when medical and psychological care were combined. When they felt better, they had to go back to their villages, but these villages were occupied by armed groups or the women faced rejection by their community, by their family.  We then introduced the third pillar of our care, that is, the socio-​economic pillar It empowers these women to be economically self-​reliant. We had observed that when women became strong enough economically, these women were reintegrated into the society based on their economic capacity. It was truly a joy to see these women starting a business with a small amount of micro-​credit, and who suddenly become women who have their own business and who could build their own houses and educate their children.  When we reach this point, that is when the problem of dignity emerges, since these women would still like their dignity to be restored. And that restoration of dignity comes through the path of justice that sometimes brought these women to us to seek our support in courts and tribunals in order to file a complaint in regards to what they went through. That’s what our lawyers do here at Panzi where we have a team of lawyers and jurists who walk alongside the women, prepare their cases, and accompany them before the judicial authorities. I believe that as part of this support, if you come every morning, you’ll see that we hold a morning meeting where we share the word of God, but equally we share love for each other, and see the other as yourself. You are a caregiver, but how do you see the patients who come to you? I think this is also a therapy session both for these women and the staff who want to attend. I think it’s also an opportunity to be able to emphasize and develop the empathy that enables us to have the compassion that was in Christ in his compassion for the sick.  Je pense que j’avais travaillé dans cette région pendant très longtemps effectivement, je n’avais jamais vu ce type de viol avec extrême violence. De viols qui consistaient spécialement à être de viols de masse, mais également de viols collectifs où les femmes après avoir été violées, on introduisait différents objets dans leur appareil génital ou détruire l’appareil génital avec des

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armes blanches ou des armes à feu. Les femmes qui arrivaient ici, arrivaient souvent avec des fistules vésico-​vaginales ou des fistules recto-​vaginales avec pertes de matières fécales et des urines. Mon équipe et moi-​même, on a commencé à faire des réparations qui étaient de plus en plus compliquées en fonction des personnes qui commettaient ces actes barbares sur l’appareil génital des femmes. On faisait la chirurgie qu’on n’avait jamais apprise à l’école, puisque ce sont des actes qui ne sont pas décrits et malheureusement, que nous devons faire face à ces actes barbares par la chirurgie.  Assez rapidement, on s’était rendu compte que la chirurgie est la prise en charge médicale n’étaient pas suffisantes. On a introduit la prise en charge psychologique puisque ces viols se commettent avec une telle barbarie, une extrême violence que le traumatisme psychologique s’associe à ce traumatisme physique. Ici nous avions observé que nos malades récupéraient mieux lorsqu’on associait la prise en charge médicale et la prise en charge psychologique. Lorsqu’elles sont mieux, il fallait qu’elles aillent dans leur village, mais les villages étaient occupés par les groupes armés où tout simplement les femmes étaient rejetées par leur communauté, par leur famille.  Nous avons introduit le troisième pilier de notre prise en charge qui est le pilier sociaux économique. Donner aux femmes la capacité de se prendre en charge sur le plan économique. Nous avions observé que lorsque les femmes devenaient suffisamment fortes économiquement, ces femmes se réinséraient dans la société par leur capacité économique et donc ça c’était vraiment une joie de voir les femmes qui partaient d’une petite somme de micro-​crédit et qui subitement, elles devenaient des femmes qui avaient leurs propres affaires et qu’elles pouvaient se construire leurs propres maisons, éduquer leurs enfants.  Lorsqu’on arrive à ces niveaux c’est là où se pose tout le problème de la dignité puisqu’en fait, ces femmes voudraient quand même qu’on leur restaure la dignité et la dignité, c’est par la voie de la justice que parfois ces femmes venaient nous voir pour demander à ce que nous puissions les accompagner devant les cours et tribunaux pour pouvoir porter plainte par rapport à ce qu’elles ont subi. C’est ce que nos avocats font ici à Panzi où nous avons une équipe d’avocats et de juristes qui accompagnent les femmes, constituent leurs dossiers et les accompagnent devant

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les autorités judiciaires. Je crois que dans cette prise en charge, tous les matins si vous arrivez ici, vous allez voir que nous avons une réunion matinale où nous partageons la parole de Dieu mais également, nous partageons l’amour de l’autre, voir l’autre comme vous-​même. Vous êtes corps soignant mais comment vous voyez le malade qui se présente à vous? Je pense que ça c’est aussi une phase de thérapie pour les femmes et le personnel qui veulent y assister. Je crois que c’est aussi le moment de pouvoir mettre en exergue et développer l’empathie qui nous permet d’avoir cette compassion qui était en christ par rapport aux malades. Rory: Thank you. It amazes me that you have chosen to be here in Bukavu, one of the most difficult and dangerous places in the world. And yet here you are. You’ve invested yourself, invested your life. Why do you do that? Mukwege: I think that’s what I’ve just said. What hurt me the most was seeing all these women dying simply because no one could help them to access quality obstetric care. That was shocking to me. But equally today, I believe that when I see the multitude of women who come for treatment with injuries from rape with extreme violence actually, I believe that for me to do the work that I do here, I do it primarily because I’m a human being. I do it for my fellow beings. I do it when I look at these women with the eyes of a human being, who sees in them his mother, in these girls his daughters, his sisters; in these babies his little children. I think that’s what we’re trying to develop here—​a team where each time you are in front of a person who is suffering, you develop compassion, because without compassion you can’t do this job. I think that if I stay, if I am here, if I continue working here, it is because I consider that the people who live here are my fellow human beings and because they reach out their hand to me. I can’t refuse the hand of someone who is drowning to try to save them. That is very, very important. Today I think we’re living in a world that has become very materialistic to the point of forgetting that we share a common humanity with even those who are suffering.  Je crois que ce que je viens de dire, moi ce qui m’a fait le plus mal c’est de voir toutes ces femmes qui mourraient tout simplement puisque personne ne pouvait les aider à accéder aux

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soins obstétricaux de qualité. Pour moi ça c’était choquant. Mais également aujourd’hui, je crois que quand je vois la multitude des femmes qui viennent se faire soigner ici avec des lésions dues au viol avec extrême violence, effectivement, je crois que pour moi à faire le travail que je fais ici, je le fais d’abord puisque je suis humain, je le fais puisque je le fais à mes semblables, je le fais puisque quand je regarde ces femmes, je les regarde avec un œil d’un humain qui voit dans ces femmes, sa mère ; dans ces filles, ses filles, ses sœurs ; dans ces bébés, ses petits enfants. Je crois que c’est ce que nous ici nous essayons de développer qu’il y ait les personnes, à chaque fois quand vous êtes en face d’une personne qui souffre, vous développez la compassion puisque sans compassion on ne peut pas faire ce qu’on fait. Je pense que si je reste, si je suis ici, si je continue à travailler ici, c’est puisque je considère que les gens qui vivent ici sont mes semblables et qu’ils me tendent la main et que je ne peux pas refuser la main de quelqu’un qui est entrain de se noyer pour essayer de le sauver. Ça c’est très important. Aujourd’hui je crois que le monde est devenu très matériel au point d’oublier que nous partageons une humanité commune avec même ces personnes qui souffrent. Rory: I think as followers of Jesus, we have to believe that hate and violence won’t win out in the end. How does love overcome hate? Mukwege: I’m persuaded and convinced that hatred destroys first and foremost the one who bears it. When you hate someone, it means that you develop within you, this desire to see the other disappear. Hatred is even virtually killing someone, and when you actually carry this hatred in you, it is like a flame that burns in you against the other if he or she has hurt you. Unfortunately, this hatred ends up destroying yourself. It destroys you on all levels: intellectual, psychological, and physical. Hatred ends up destroying you. The only way to be able to respond to hate when someone hates you to the point that he or she wants you to disappear, the best response to give is love. If you respond to hatred with hate, you enter this vicious circle of destroying yourself.  When you respond to hatred with love, you are able to transform that person filled with hatred against you. You can transform that person to be able to realize that despite what he or she carries against you, you continue to love him or her.

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 For me, the strongest response to hatred that Jesus teaches us is when he is on the cross. Among his seven last words, Jesus says, “Father, forgive them because they don’t know what they’re doing.” Jesus asks forgiveness for the people who are crucifying him, killing him, making him suffer in the most horrible way. The crown of thorns. They even went as far as wounding Jesus with a sword, nailing him in order to crucify him, But Jesus didn’t answer by saying, “Father, curse them, kill them.” He says forgive them.  I think that’s the power of love. The power of love to destroy hatred is to love. When you love, you destroy hatred. When you respond to hatred with hatred, you destroy yourself.  Love gives life to the person suffering from hatred, and also the person who bears hatred since the power of love can transform both people, while hatred ends up killing both of them. That’s why I firmly believe that we must respond to hatred with love. It’s the way to your own survival.  Je suis persuadé et convaincu que la haine détruit d’abord celui qui porte la haine. Quand vous avez la haine contre quelqu’un, quand vous haïssez quelqu’un, ça veut dire que vous avez en vous, cette envie de voir l’autre disparaitre. La haine c’est même tuer virtuellement quelqu’un et la haine en fait, lorsque vous la portez en vous, et qu’elle est comme une flamme qui vous brule contre l’autre même s’il vous a fait du mal, malheureusement, la haine finit par vous détruire vous même. Elle vous détruit sur tous les plans : psychique, psychologique, sur le plan physique, la haine finit par vous détruire. La seule façon de pouvoir répondre à la haine lorsque quelqu’un vous haït au point où il veut vous voir disparaitre, la réponse et la meilleure réponse qu’il faut donner, c’est l’amour, puisque si vous répondez à la haine par la haine, vous entrez dans ce cercle vicieux de vous détruire vous-​même.  Quand vous répondez à la haine par l’amour, vous pouvez transformer cette personne remplie de la haine contre vous, vous pouvez transformer cette personne à pouvoir se rendre compte que malgré ce qu’il porte contre vous, vous, vous continuez à l’aimer.  Pour moi, la réponse la plus forte de la haine que Jésus nous enseigne, c’est lorsqu’il est sur la croix, parmi ses sept paroles, Jésus dit : « Père, pardonne leur puisqu’ils ne savent pas ce qu’ils font. » Jésus demande pardon aux personnes qui sont entrain

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de le crucifier, entrain de le tuer, entrain de le faire souffrir de la manière la plus horrible. La couronne d’épines. Ils viennent même de blesser Jésus avec une flèche, ils viennent de le clouer pour le crucifier, mais Jésus n’a pas répondu en disant, « Père, maudit les, tue les » mais il dit pardonne.  Je crois que c’est ça la force de l’amour. La force de l’amour, pour détruire la haine, c’est aimer, lorsque vous aimez, vous détruisez la haine. Lorsque vous répondez à la haine par la haine, vous vous détruisez vous-​même.  L’amour fait vivre celui qui subit la haine, et celui qui porte la haine, puisque la force de l’amour peut transformer les deux personnes, alors que la haine finit par tuer les deux personnes. C’est pour ça que je crois fermement, qu’il faut répondre à la haine par l’amour. C’est la voie de survivre soi-​même. Rory: Thank you so much. I know you are both a medical doctor and a pentecostal pastor, so how do you see the Holy Spirit working in Congo to bring reconciliation? Mukwege: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the population has been abandoned for a very long time. The population has been subjected to the most despicable barbaric acts: slaughtering of human beings in the presence of their family, children in the presence of their parents, parents in the presence of their children, and raping mothers in front of entire communities. These are not only barbaric acts, but acts against the faith, satanic acts meant to destroy love in a population. I think today it’s very, very difficult to teach about love and forgiveness. On Sunday, no, on Thursday, I was invited to preach in a Catholic church, and I preached about forgiveness. A woman stood up and asked me the following question: “Doctor, I had only one son, and he was killed by my neighbor whom I see every day, but since I’m a widow and I have no means, this person is free. How can I forgive him?” It’s a perplexing question. That woman, after asking me that question, burst into tears. It stirred up the whole crowd. We were all moved. You actually have a child who had been killed by someone, and he is not even being prosecuted. How can you reconcile with that person? My response was the example of Jesus, which is the most appropriate example I could give. Jesus gave food to multitudes of crowds, that is, 4000 or 5000 people. Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter. Jesus healed the sick, and the blind

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were healed by Jesus. Jesus dedicated his whole life to his people not only physically, but also spiritually. He taught them. But Jesus, despite all that he did for his people, when it came to choosing between Barabbas and Jesus, the people chose to have Jesus crucified.  I think this is where every Christian must put their faith to the test. We are not judged by our acts; we are justified by faith. Jesus, on the cross where he knew that he was going to die, but before dying, he liberated those who crucified him. He liberated them by asking his Father to forgive them because they didn’t know what they were doing in crucifying the son of God. I know it’s difficult, but I answered this woman. That’s the example to follow, but you can’t forgive without talking. You must be able to speak to the person, to talk with that person openly as a Christian. Let him know your suffering. Tell that person the truth that is deep inside you and listen to how that person responds to you.  He might answer you out of malice. He might answer you with emotion, but you have to talk to him. I think that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we need to tell the truth. Why rape a seven-​month-​old baby? Why don’t we tell this truth to each other? Also listen to the torturers on this matter. How can we embark on the path to reconciliation? For me, the first thing, no matter how difficult, is you need the courage to speak, to argue about it, to talk with the person who hurt you. Jesus didn’t wait for those who crucified him or the priests to ask for forgiveness for what they had done, But Jesus forgave them for what they did. I think the step we must take once we have this opportunity to speak is to tell the truth and forgive.  Once we forgive through the faith of Jesus Christ, he asks us to love our neighbors as ourselves. That’s even the theme of my faith. I’m not religious, but I have this faith that the world can be transformed when we apply what Jesus asks us to do—​ to love our neighbors as ourselves, to love the people who hate us, and pray for those who persecute us.  I think that’s the basis of Christian faith and once you’ve forgiven, you must remain in prayer since listening to the truth, forgiving, and loving your enemy don’t heal scars. The healed wounds will always be there in the form of scars, and what enables us to overcome this scarring is prayer, the communion

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with the Holy Spirit that leads us into all reality. The Holy Spirit helps us to overcome what we can’t, humanly speaking, overcome. And I think it’s only in this way that the parties can reconcile—​first with God, and then with themselves before reconciling with others. Thank you.  En République démocratique du Congo, la population a été abandonnée pendant très longtemps, la population a été soumise à des actes barbares les plus ignobles. Égorger des êtres vivants devant leurs familles, les enfants devant leurs parents, les parents devant leurs enfants, violer les mamans devant des communautés entières. Ce sont des actes qui sont des actes non seulement barbares, mais des actes contre la Foi, les actes sataniques pour détruire l’amour dans une population. Je crois qu’aujourd’hui c’est très difficile d’enseigner sur l’amour et le pardon. Le jeudi j’étais invité à prêcher dans une église catholique et j’ai prêché sur le pardon. Une femme s’est levée et m’a posé la question : « Docteur, j’avais un seul fils et il a été assassiné par mon voisin que je vois tout les jours mais puisque je suis veuve, je n’ai pas de moyens, cette personne est en liberté. Comment je peux lui pardonner ? » C’est une question perplexe. Cette femme, après m’avoir posé cette question, elle a fondu en larmes. Ça a donné l’émotion dans toute la foule. Nous tous on étaient émotionnés. Effectivement, vous avez un enfant, quelqu’un l’assassine, cette personne n’est même pas poursuivie en justice, comment vous pouvez arriver à se réconcilier avec cette personne ?  Ma réponse était pour moi, l’exemple de Jésus, c’est un exemple le plus fort que je puisse donner. Jésus a donné à manger à des foules, à des multitudes, 5000, 4000 personnes. Jésus a ressuscité la fille de Jaïrus. Jésus, il a guéri les malades, les aveugles ont été guéris par Jésus. Jésus, il a fait de toute sa vie, c’était une vie dédiée à ça, à son peuple non seulement physiquement, mais également spirituellement. Il a enseigné. Jésus, malgré tout ce qu’il a fait pour son peuple, quand il était question de choisir entre Barabbas et Jésus, les gens ont choisi que Jésus soit crucifié.  Je pense que c’est là où tout chrétien doit mettre sa foi à l’épreuve. Nous ne somme pas justifiés par ce que nous faisons, nous sommes justifiés par la foi. Jésus, à la croix où il sait qu’il va mourir, mais avant de mourir, il libère ceux qui l’ont crucifié, il les libère en demandant à son père de leur pardonner puisqu’il ne savent pas ce qu’ils sont entrain de faire en crucifiant le fils de Dieu. Ça

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je crois que c’est dur mais j’ai répondu à cette femme : c’est l’exemple à suivre mais vous ne pouvez pas pardonner sans parler. Vous devez être en mesure de parler à la personne, parler avec lui ouvertement comme un chrétien, dire à cette personne votre souffrance, dire à cette personne la vérité qui est au fond de vous-​ même, écouter ce que cette personne vous répond.  Il peut vous répondre par méchanceté, il peut vous répondre par émotion, mais il faut parler. Je pense qu’en république démocratique du Congo nous avons besoin de dire la vérité. Pourquoi violer un bébé de sept mois ? Si on ne se dit pas cette vérité. Écoutez également les bourreaux par rapport à ça. Comment nous pouvons nous engager sur la voie de la réconciliation? Pour moi la première chose, quelle que soit la difficulté, il faut avoir le courage d’en parler, de disputer, de parler avec la personne qui vous fait mal. Jésus n’a pas attendu que ceux qui l’ont crucifié, les sacrificateurs puissent demander pardon par rapport à ce qu’ils ont fait mais Jésus a demandé pardon à ce qu’ils soient pardonnés pour ce qu’ils font et je pense que la démarche que nous devons prendre une fois que nous avons cette possibilité de parler, de dire la vérité c’est de pardonner.  Une fois que nous pardonnons dans la foi en Jésus Christ qui nous demande d’aimer nos prochains comme nous-​mêmes. Ça c’est le leitmotiv même de ma foi. Je ne suis pas religieux mais j’ai cette foi que le monde peut être transformé lorsque nous appliquons ce que Jésus nous demande de faire, d’aimer nos voisins comme nous-​mêmes, d’aimer les gens qui nous haïssent et de prier pour ceux qui nous persécutent.  Je crois que c’est ça la base de la foi chrétienne et une fois que vous avez pardonné, vous devez rester en prière puisque écouter la vérité, pardonner, aimer votre ennemi ne soignent pas les cicatrices. Les blessures cicatrisées seront toujours-​là sous forme des cicatrices, et ce qui nous permet de vaincre cette cicatrisation, c’est la prière, communion avec le Saint-​Esprit qui nous conduit dans toute la réalité. Le Saint-​Esprit qui nous aide à surmonter ce que humainement, on ne peut pas surmonter et je pense que c’est seulement dans cette démarche que les corrélés peuvent se réconcilier d’abord avec Dieu et puis, avec eux-​mêmes avant de se réconcilier avec les autres, merci. Rory: I have many friends who like to say, “God is in control.” That’s the idea that he controls the details of everything that

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happens. And it just seems to me that when you’ve experienced that kind of suffering and violence it’s impossible for you to think that a good God is responsible and causing all the pain and suffering. I was just wondering if you’d like to reflect on that? Mukwege: God is in control. I believe in him. I believe God controls, but God gives us choice. The choice to do good. We are the ones who choose. And the choice to do evil, it’s us who choose. When we see all the suffering around us, that’s not God’s will, but this is from the wrong choices we make—​in our lives, in our couples, in our country, in our governance—​that lead to the suffering of others. And I think that if we choose to do good, God will bless us, but if we choose to do wrong, we are the ones choosing, and I firmly believe it.  We should not always think that if evil happens, if suffering happens, it is because God is punishing us or that he is making us to suffer. And God wants us to do good, but each time, it’s up to us to choose to do good or do evil. Remember the story of Cain who kills Abel because the offering of Abel was accepted and God says to Cain, “If you had done good, wouldn’t I have equally accepted your offering?” Being a Christian does not take away our freedom, you have the freedom of choice. I invite Christians, whatever position you have, no matter the work you do, you must always know that you are a creature of God, and that God is not a dictator. God gives you the freedom to choose, and you have to always choose what is right to have the blessing of God.  Dieu est en contrôle. Je le crois. Je crois Dieu contrôle, mais Dieu nous donne le choix. Le choix de bien faire, c’est nous qui choisissons et les choix de mal faire, c’est nous qui choisissons et quand on voit toute la souffrance qui nous entoure, ce n’est pas la volonté de Dieu mais ce sont des mauvais choix que nous faisons dans nos vies, dans nos couples, dans nos pays, dans notre gouvernance qui entraînent la souffrance des autres. Je pense que si nous choisissons de bien faire, Dieu nous bénira mais si nous choisissons de mal faire, c’est nous qui choisissons et moi j’y crois fermement.  Nous ne devons pas à chaque fois penser que si le mal arrive, si la souffrance arrive, c’est puisque Dieu nous punit ou nous fait souffrir. Dieu nous veut du bien mais à chaque fois c’est à nous

200 Randall de choisir de faire le bien ou faire le mal, et si je vous ramène à Caïn qui tue Abel puisque l’offrande d’Abel était acceptée et qu’est-​ce que Dieu répond à Caïn : « Si tu avais bien fait, n’est-​ce pas que j’accepterais également ton offrande ? » Être chrétien ne nous supprime pas notre liberté, il y a la liberté de choix. J’invite les chrétiens, quelle que soit la position que vous avez, quel que soit le travail que vous faites, vous devez toujours savoir que vous êtes une créature de Dieu et que Dieu n’est pas un dictateur. Dieu vous donne la liberté de choisir et choisissez toujours ce qui est bien pour avoir la bénédiction de Dieu. Rory: Thank you so much. One last question. If you could speak to the perpetrators directly, what would you say to the perpetrators? Mukwege: I think that for many of the torturers who commit these crimes, I sometimes consider them also as victims, because I know how much all these torturers suffer from having caused others to suffer. But the fact of being victims and executioners does not exonerate you. You are responsible for accepting what the instigators have asked you to do. But I think it’s never too late to do the right thing. I simply ask all these torturers to stop, and receive treatment, because psychologically, they have an overloaded traumatic memory, and they need care.  The last thing I can say to these victimized torturers is to recover spiritually and repent and that means feeling the weight of the evil they have committed, the sins they have committed. To repent means to never do that again, never again. However, to the instigators, I would say, “You are cowards, you are not capable of committing these crimes, but you train children, you train minors and you send them like mad dogs to destroy women, and children.” That’s cowardice. We have to be brave. When you do an act, you have to have the courage to do it, but when you do it through children, in my opinion, that’s a lack of courage, and it’s cowardice.  Like the torturers, you, the instigators must all be held accountable for your actions. Again, when you commit a sin, this sin can be forgiven, but the scars will remain. What you are committing as instigators are scars that will remain with you all through your life, but what I wish for you is to pull yourself together, to repent and start a new life even if this life will be marked by an indelible scar. As a Christian, I tell you, “Jesus loves you.” Jesus loves you and, in this love, Jesus wants

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to forgive you. Jesus wants to transform your life so that it is no longer a life of a rapist or a criminal, but instead be a life that will be transformed for the glory of God.  Je crois que pour beaucoup de bourreaux qui commettent ces crimes, je les considère parfois comme aussi victimes puisque je sais à quel point tous ces bourreaux souffrent d’avoir fait souffrir les autres mais le fait d’être victimes et bourreau, ne vous dédouane pas. Ça a été une responsabilité d’accepter ce que les commanditaires vous ont demandé de faire. Mais je crois qu’il n’est jamais tard de bien faire. Je leur tout simplement demande, à tous les bourreaux, d’arrêter, de se faire prendre en charge pour se faire soigner puisque psychologiquement, ils ont une mémoire traumatique surchargée et ils ont besoin d’une prise en charge.  La dernière chose que je peux dire à ces bourreaux victimes, c’est de se ressaisir spirituellement, se repentir et ça veut dire de sentir le poids du mal qu’ils ont commis, les péchés qu’ils ont commis ; se repentir, ça veut dire ne plus jamais faire ça, plus jamais. Par contre, aux commanditaires, je dirais : « Vous êtes lâches, vous n’êtes pas capables de commettre ces crimes, mais vous formez les enfants, vous formez des mineurs et vous les envoyez comme des chiens enragés pour détruire les femmes, détruire les enfants. » C’est une lâcheté. On doit être courageux. Quand on pose un acte, il faut avoir le courage de l’acte qu’on pose, mais quand vous le faites à travers les enfants, pour moi je trouve que c’est un manque de courage et c’est une lâcheté.  Comme ces bourreaux, vous les commanditaires, vous devez tous répondre de vos actes. Encore une fois, lorsqu’on commet un péché, le péché peut vous être pardonné mais les cicatrices vont rester. Ce que vous êtes en train de commettre comme commanditaires, ce sont des cicatrices qui vont rester toute votre vie, mais ce que je vous souhaite, c’est de vous ressaisir, de vous repentir et commencer une nouvelle vie même si cette vie aura une cicatrice indélébile. Comme chrétien, je vous dis : « Jésus vous aime » et dans cet amour, Jésus veut vous pardonner. Jésus veut transformer votre vie pour que ça ne soit plus une vie de violeur, de criminel, et que ça soit une vie qui sera transformée pour la gloire de Dieu. Rory: It has been such a privilege to sit with you—​somebody who is following Jesus at such great cost. Thank you so much for taking the time.

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Mukwege: Thank you. Merci.

10.3

Reflection and Conclusions

I have come to understand that rape is often perpetrated in conflict in the drc in order to create misery and force a population to flee. It is not simply a momentary though painful humiliation. Rape is a particularly pernicious evil because it affects the victim and those around her on multiple levels. Frequently a husband will abandon the wife who has been attacked. Relatives tend to blame the victim and she is cut off from her social support network. Sometimes the rape is perpetrated in public and in front of family members. Sometimes objects are used to intentionally damage the reproductive organs. Rape is often perpetrated by low-​level militia members on orders from above. These young militants have sometimes been desensitized and initiated in particularly evil ways so that going back to their homes and families is impossible.18 Sexual violence in the drc is overwhelmingly perpetrated against women but men are not exempt. Males are sometimes the victims of rape. And then there is the account of President Mobutu Sese Seko luring his former rival, Pierre Mulele, back into the country on a promise of amnesty only to be tortured in public by having his eyes pulled out of their sockets, his genitals torn off, his limbs cut off one by one as he slowly died, then his body thrown into the Congo River.19 René Girard’s theory of mimetic desire goes a long way to explaining why rape is so prevalent in the drc and other conflict zones.20 Human beings learn how to behave by watching other human beings. Young combatants are willing to imitate the behavior they observe in others who they perceive as powerful. This phenomenon highlights why having leadership that is misogynist, divisive, xenophobic, and racist is so dangerous to democracy and the faith. Imitative haters come out from under a rock where they have been out-​of-​ sight, act out those attitudes, and change the public persona of the community. When it is done with a Christian veneer, the gospel of Jesus is discredited and undermined. 18 19 20

Richard Dowden, Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles (New York: PublicAffairs, 2009), p. 302. Michela Wrong, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu’s Congo (New York: HarperCollins, 2001), p. 90. For example, see René Girard, I See Satan Fall Like Lightning (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2001).

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Panzi’s approach has always been to care for the whole person, spiritually and physically. But soon the social, psychological, economic, and legal needs of the patients became apparent. Mukwege’s team began offering care with four emphases: (1) surgery and medical care, (2) psychological care,21 (3) socio-​ economic support that enables the women to become economically self-​ sufficient, and (4) legal support and advocacy to help the women regain their dignity. The efficacy of this multi-​faceted approach to healing and restoration is witnessed to by the grateful and beaming smiles one can see on many of the women who have been helped. The documentary City of Joy (filmed in 2016 and released by Netflix in 2018) tells how women who have been victims are empowered and healed through a nurturing community over a period of nine months. City of Joy emerged from the dreams of the affected women, Denis Mukwege, Eve Ensler (“V”), and Christine Schuler-​Deschryver, through Panzi Hospital, heal Africa Hospital, V-​Day, and unicef. The voices of courageous women survivors are also heard through the Mukwege Foundation’s sema—​The Global Network of Victims and Survivors to End Wartime Sexual Violence. Sema means “speak out” in Swahili. It’s a survivor-​led network advocating for changes in attitudes, policies, and laws.22 Still, Dr Mukwege’s now prominent voice is loud and prophetic, speaking not just “truth to power,” but also truth to his own global pentecostal community. As an influencer on a global stage, addressing issues of human rights, he is salient, challenging other pentecostals to address these atrocities out of their own pentecostal identity and spirituality. Finally, one asks, how can things change? In order for rape with impunity to be ended,23 zero tolerance must become the commonly accepted standard (as aspired to in all United Nations operations) and this standard must be implemented.24 It is imaginable that funding and infrastructure could be provided for rape kits and testing to provide forensic evidence as basic health care 21 Mukwege, Plaidoyer pour la Vie, (Kindle edition), location 3191 of 3427. 22 www.mukwegefoundation.org/​connect-​survivors-​in-​a-​movement/​. 23 monusco, “RDC: Dr Mukwege présentera à l’ONU une pétition contre l’impunité des violeurs” Radio Okapi, August 3, 2016. Nicolas Simard, the Canadian ambassador to the drc after visiting Panzi said, “It is clear that a lasting peace in the drc and in the East of the drc cannot be possible without an intense fight against impunity and without a strengthening of the justice system, without international mechanisms and national institutions to ensure that war criminals against humanity are prosecuted, are convicted, and that they serve their sentences,” Radio Okapi, October 8, 2020. 24 Carla Ferstman, “Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Peacekeeping Operations: Improving Victims’ Access to Reparation, Support and Assistance,” redress in collaboration with

204 Randall improves. A Great Lakes region dna database could be created, and all police, soldiers, and detainees could be required to provide dna samples. (The UN has demonstrated that this practice is feasible, as when an entire platoon in the Eastern drc was recently required to provide dna samples).25 Medical personnel need to be resourced to clear the backlog of tens of thousands of women in the drc who need surgery to repair damage done during rape. Perpetrators need to be identified and confronted by their victims. Legal aid must become more accessible to those seeking legal remedies. Compensation and therapy should be offered on a greater scale to those who have suffered to help them get their lives back on track.26 Action is needed urgently.

Bibliography

Anderson, Allan. An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Asamoah-​Gyadu, J. Kwabena. African Charismatics. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2005. Boyd, Gregory A. Satan and the Problem of Evil: Constructing a Trinitarian Warfare Theodicy. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2001. Boyd, Gregory. The Crucifixion of the Warrior God: Interpreting the Old Testament’s Violent Portraits of God in Light of the Cross. 2 vols. Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Press, 2017. Butcher, Tim. Blood River: The Terrifying Journey Through the World’s Most Dangerous Country. New York: Grove, 2008. Clarke, Clifton R. “Ogbu Kalu and Africa’s Christianity: A Tribute.” Pneuma 32 (2010): 107–​120. Diabang, Angèle. The Doctor Who Saves Women. New York: Icarus Films, 2015. Dowden, Richard. Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. New York: PublicAffairs, 2009. Ferstman, Carla. Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Peacekeeping Operations: Improving Victims’ Access to Reparation, Support and Assistance. redress in collaboration

25

26

the International Human Rights Law Clinic (ihrlc) of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, September 2017 [https://​www.refwo​rld.org/​pdfid/​59c383​ 034.pdf]. Ascain Zigbia-​Tayoro, monusco, “Sophie Boudre parle des mécanismes pour rapporter des cas des abus sexuels commis par le personnel de l’ONU” Radio Okapi 01/​09/​2017. The database needs to be regional rather than national because of how fluid population flows are in this region. For example, Canada last year contributed 2 million Canadian dollars to Panzi to help survivors of sexual violence. “RDC: 2 millions de dollars canadiens en faveur des survivantes de violences sexuelles,” Radio Okapi, August 10, 2020.

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with the International Human Rights Law Clinic (ihrlc) of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, September 2017. Girard, René. I See Satan Fall Like Lightning. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 2001. Hiebert, Paul. “Flaw of the Excluded Middle.” In Perspectives on the World Christian Movement Reader, edited by Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, 414–​19. Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library, 1999. Hollenweger, Walter J. Pentecostalism: Origins and Developments Worldwide. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1997. Johnson, Todd and Kenneth R. Ross, eds. The Atlas of Global Christianity 1910–​2010. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009. Jones, Owen. “Let’s Be Honest. We Ignore Congo’s Atrocities Because It’s in Africa.” The Guardian (March 6, 2015). Kalu, Ogbu. African Pentecostalism: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Miller, Donald E., and Tetsunao Yamamori. Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California, 2007. monusco. “RDC: Dr Mukwege Présentera à l’ONU une Pétition contre l’Impunité des Violeurs.” Radio Okapi, March 8, 2016. Mukwege, Denis and Berthil Åkerlund. Plaidoyer pour la Vie. Paris: Editions de l’Archipel, 2016. Myers, Bryant L. Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1999. Orobator, Agbonkhianmeghe E. Theology Brewed in an African Pot. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 2008. Pinnock, Clark H. Flame of Love: A Theology of the Holy Spirit. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996. Polkinghorne, John C. Science and Providence: God’s Interaction with the World. Philadelphia: Templeton Press, 2005. Schlossberg, Herbert, Pierre Berthoud, Clark H. Pinnock and Marvin Olasky, ed. Freedom, Justice, and Hope: Toward a Strategy for the Poor and Oppressed. Westchester, Ill.: Crossway, 1988. Snodderly, Beth. The Warfare Missiology of Ralph D. Winter. Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey International University. www.wciu.edu/​docs/​resources/​34_​warfare_​missiology .pdf. Synan, Vinson, ed. Spirit-​Empowered Christianity in the Twenty-​First Century. Lake Mary, Fla.: Charisma House, 2011. Volf, Miroslav. Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996.

206 Randall von Balthasar, Hans Urs. Love Alone Is Credible. Translated by D. C. Schindler. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1963, 2004. Wink, Walter. The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium. New York and London: Doubleday, 1998. Winter, Ralph D. “The Most Precarious Mission Frontier.” International Journal of Frontier Missions 21, no. 4 (Winter 2004): 167–​72. Worsfold, James E. The Origins of the Apostolic Church in Great Britain: with a Breviate of its Early Missionary Endeavours. Thorndon, Wellington, New Zealand: Julian Literature Trust, 1991. Wrong, Michela. In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu’s Congo. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. Zahnd, Brian and Miroslav Volf. Unconditional?: The Call of Jesus to Radical Forgiveness. Lake Mary, Fla.: Charisma House, 2010. Zigbia-​Tayoro, Ascain. “Sophie Boudre Parle des Mécanismes pour Rapporter des Cas des Abus Sexuels Commis par le Personnel de l’ONU.” MONUSCO: Radio Okapi, September 2, 2017.

­c hapter 11

Toward a Pentecostal Ecclesiology

Making Room for Survivors of Gender-​Based Violence Lauren J. Raley Pentecostal communities are characteristically spaces of warm interpersonal fellowship, energetic or physically moving praise and worship, and compassionate service to those within and outside their locale.1 While this description is not ubiquitous for every local church within the movement, and indeed many anecdotes or experiences may portray the inverse to be true for some, the overall ethos of the pentecostal movement pulls individuals in the community toward commonality and sharing within the worship service. Thus, the scope of this work will limit itself to the context of local pentecostal communities of faith within the United States as its framework.2 While a pentecostal community may indeed be a space of welcome and care, there is a growing impetus among pentecostal theologians that the Gospel is a theological programation for liberation and human flourishing. This chapter furthers that theological conversation by sketching out a theology of healing for those who have experienced gender-​based violence. Historically highlighted as ‘the marginalized’ are economically impoverished people who who do not hold equitable social power due to their race or ethnicity, and several other groups of people who do not benefit from systemic societal privilege or power. Yet survivors of gender-​based violence are

1 Donald Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori, Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2007), 24, 138, 143. Miller and Yamamori portray many global pentecostal places as compassionate communities with a “full-​bodied expression” of worship. They also describe examples of neighborly care and highly participative, warm communities where people can be touched, supported, and loved. 2 For the purpose of this chapter, the expression pentecostal communities will involve classic pentecostal denominations and fellowships as well as charismatic or neo-​pentecostal groups. While sociological research and data subsume most clergy perception and intervention studies under the broad category of “evangelical” and do not tease out denominations or movements in data analysis, some methodology segments do describe the distinct denominations in which their surveyed clergy serve.

© Lauren J. Raley, 2022 | DOI:1 0.1163/9789004513204_013

208 Raley often under-​represented or even overlooked within theological and ecclesial categorizations of the marginalized or oppressed.3 Further, local church leaders are often silent or fearful regarding the issue.4 The pervasive and overwhelming extent of gender-​based violence, assault, and exploitation in the United States, and even in churches, creates a demand for pentecostal theology to make room for survivors in working toward social concern and progressive social transformation grounded in the Gospel. Gender-​based violence is no respecter of persons; it is present among all ethnicities, genders, cultures, political groups, and socio-​economic statuses.5 Because gender-​based violence affects people from all walks of life, there is a need for a theological praxis of social concern that is integral to individual and communal holistic flourishing.

3 Historical and contemporary pentecostal authors who describe dynamics of liberation theology or social action often focus, and rightfully so, on economic poverty, systemic racism, socially entrenched sexism, political oppression, or other aspects of hierarchical power and control. Not many are dedicated works on gender-​based violence such as domestic violence, sexual assault, or human trafficking as it relates to pentecostal theory-​praxis, ecclesiology, or moral theology/​ethics. 4 Linda M. Ambrose and Kimberly Alexander, “Pentecostal Studies Face the #MeToo Movement,” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 41, no. 1 (June 2019): 1–​ 7. This broad statement does not take into account clergy and congregations who actively train in trauma informed care, those who consciously create cultures of trust, welcome, and embrace in light of recognizing the national statistics for pervasive gender-​based violence in the United States, or communities that actively seek avenues of healing for and enact justice on behalf of congregants who have disclosed their abuse. Rather, I am furthering the argument from Ambrose and Alexander that, “The church is not a safe place for victims of sexual abuse, and not only because of a lack of help to survivors.” For a popular-​level, succinct look at the prevalence of clergy abuse across evangelical Christian denominations and movements, see Joshua Pease, “The Sin of Silence: the Epidemic of Denial About Sexual Abuse in the Evangelical Church,” Washington Post, May 31, 2018, https://​www.was​hing​tonp​ost.com/​ news/​pos​teve​ryth​ing/​wp/​2018/​05/​31/​feat​ure/​the- ​epide​mic-​of-​den​ial-​about-​sex​ual-​abuse -​in-​the-​evan​geli​cal-​chu​rch/​. 5 Center on Gender Equity and Health, “Sexual Violence Research: Findings From A Systematic Review Of The Literature 2015—​ 2019.” (California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, University of California, San Diego, September 2019), 24–​109. It is important to note that people in material, relational, or economic vulnerable populations are at a higher risk of experiencing gender-​based violence, often have fewer services available, and have fewer resources in their communities to mitigate trauma and stress from violence. Racial/​ethnic minority membership, racial/​ethnic discrimination, lack of English proficiency, geographic isolation, and lack of social/​familial support are well documented risk factors for vulnerabilities for gender-​based violence.

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Definitions and National Statistics

Before offering a constructive theological praxis for responding to gender-​ based violence, there must be an understanding of the description and overwhelming breadth of the socialssue. The cdc defines sexual violence as “any type of unwanted sexual activity or interaction in which consent is not obtained or given freely, and includes rape, sexual coercion and sexual harassment.”6 According to the U.S. Department of Justice, rape is defined as “any completed or attempted unwanted penetrative sex act—​vaginal, oral, or anal, via physical force, threats of harm, or if the victim was incapacitated and unable to provide consent.”7 Furthermore, reports that were given at a data brief in 2018 from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintain that 21% of women and 3% of men reported that they experienced completed or attempted rape in their lifetime, according to national data from 2015. Sexual coercion “involves unwanted sexual penetration that occurs after a person is pressured in a nonphysical way;” sexual harassment “involves non-​penetrative sexual acts related to unwanted sexual contact, unwanted sexual attention, and gender harassment.”8 According to national data collected in 2019 from the ucsd Center on Gender Equity and Health, norc at the University of Chicago, California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Promundo, and raliance, 58% of women and 25% of men report experiencing physically aggressive sexual harassment in their lifetime, 49% of women and 18% of men were sexually touched in an unwelcome way, and 23% of women and 9% of men reported forced sexual activity in their lifetime.9 Most notably for this work, even forms of sexual violence that are most clearly recognized as criminal often go unreported to the police. Thus, the statistics of sexual harassment, rape, and other forms of gender-​based violence may be underrepresented. Indeed, statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice state that 1.4 per 1000 people in the United States is

6 “Violence Prevention,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last modified January 17, 2020, https://​www.cdc.gov/​vio​lenc​epre​vent​ion/​sex​ualv​iole​nce/​index.html. 7 Center on Gender Equity and Health, 7. 8 Center on Gender Equity and Health, 7. 9 UC San Diego Center on Gender Equity and Health, norc at the University of Chicago, California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Promundo, raliance, “Measuring #MeToo: A National Study on Sexual Harassment and Assault” (San Diego, CA, April 2019), 42.

210 Raley a victim of rape/​sexual assault each year, but only 0.4 per 1000 people report a rape crime to police.10 Sex trafficking, under United States federal law, “is defined as the use of force, fraud, or coercion to induce individuals into commercial sex, or inducing individuals who are minors (