RESISTING VIOLENCE IN THE NAME OF JESUS

Abstract

Re-imagining Jesus as the Christ is sometimes challenging for those who have experienced physical and sexual abuse at the hands of Christian fathers, Christian relatives, and Christian clergy. In recent research I have focused my attention on the poetiy and other writings of survivors of various forms of abuse in Christian homes and churches. When the Christian Scriptures and stories about Jesus are used to justify and perpetuate the terror and violence of abuse, how do survivors reconstruct positive images of God and Christ for their healing? This article is an initial, tentative exploration of some of the ways survivors of child abuse resist violence in the name of Jesus. We live in a time when God is speaking with new power through the people of God. As usual, God often does not speak through the most wellknown leaders—that is, the loudest voices of politicians, entertainers, and even religious leaders we hear on television, film and read about in newspapers and magazines. In the past God spoke through Hagar when she cried to save her son Ishmael (Gen. 21:8-21); God spoke through Rahab who risked her life to save Israel's spies (Joshua 2:1-24); God spoke through the woman with the flow of blood (Luke 8:42-48); God spoke through Mary Magdalene when she told the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead (John 20:1-2). In the same way, God is raising up prophets and saints today in unexpected places and with new images. Psalm 30, verses 1-3 is one of the psalms which speaks to the experiences of many people today.