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VIOLENCE: RAPE
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Theological Reflection In Truth is stranger than it used to be Richard Middleton and Brain Walsh refer to the work of Phyllis Trible on four 'texts of terror' from the Old Testament, namely the banishment of Hagar by Abraham and Sarah, the rape of Tamar (daughter of King David, by her half brother Amnon as told in 2 Samuel 13), the death by gang rape and then dismemberment of an unnamed concubine in Judges 19 and Jephthah’s sacrifice of his daughter to fulfil a vow to God. If the biblical narrative were intended as a manual to show us the way to act, then the only way to read these stories would be to assert that this is how women should be treated. But we realise that these stories do not fit with the greater themes of God's care for people and desire for justice. So why are they here? One suggestion is that they ensure the reading of Israel's history cannot become triumphalistic and self-righteous: these appalling things happen even amongst God's chosen people, and serve to judge the others in the story, the characters who do not act to ensure justice. We cannot neglect the theological challenges presented by such stories: the other characters stand judged and so do we as heirs of the same promise. Thus as members of God's community today, we stand judged by the stories of violence for God's people today. The stories told by those who are the victims of rape and violence are a modern equivalent of these 'texts of terror' and the church will be called to account for her reaction to them. We cannot stand by and watch while claiming that our God is one of justice who hears the cries of the oppressed. And so we have to reflect on what these stories mean for us and for the church as a whole if we are to manifest integrity in a covenant relationship with God. These ugly bits of the Old Testament cry out for resolution and pinpoint the need for us to resolve the 'ugly bits' shown by those suffering in our world today. In Tamar's story her brother doesn’t really deal with the rape, but hides her away for the sake of family honour and later causes more hurt by murdering the perpetrator. And how does that help Tamar – she is still discredited, discarded and not helped to find wholeness again. In Judges 19 the concubine does not even merit being named – and the man lets her be raped to ensure his own safety. But the stories of women who are raped show such to be true again and again and again. God hears their stories – but does God also have to hear our excuses?
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