APU Seminary discusses gender justice from a Biblical perspective

The Azusa Pacific Seminary hosted an event called “Behold Her Body! Pursuing and Policing Female Sexuality” on March 22. The focus of the discussion was gender justice from a Biblical perspective, particularly concerning women’s bodies.

Biblical studies professor Alice Yafeh-Deigh lent her insight into the nuances of the Apostle Paul’s comments about women and purity.

“There is much in Paul’s discourse that advocates for gender justice. Therefore, Christian men and women need to pay attention to…especially the subordination and oppression of women and girls,” Yafeh-Deigh said. “I would like to extend the invitation to Christians to…actively engage in faith-motivated advocacy scholarship.”

She focused on Paul’s message to the Corinthian believers in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (NKJV). The last two verses in the passage read, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Yefeh-Deigh said that most of Paul’s audience in Corinthians were women, who were convinced by Paul’s ethical instructions to use their bodies to glorify God. However, she asked the question many Biblical scholars neglect: What about the women who have been taken advantage of and have been the victim of systemic oppression?

Biblical studies professor Janette Ok spoke of Yafeh-Deigh’s unique take on the topic.

“Through her Afro-feminist-womanist perspective, she questions whether Paul’s theology of the visible body can be liberating and empowering, can be good news for those who do not possess a certain agency over their bodies that Paul assumes his [audiences] have,” Ok said.

Yafeh-Deigh illustrated her point by using examples from her research on sexual violence in the central African country of Cameroon.

Sexual violence is such a threat in Cameroon that mothers will often flatten their young daughters’ breasts with hot irons to stunt their development in attempt to prevent them from rape.

“The irony of this is that [by this act], females in Cameroon perpetrate female objectification and loss of agency,” Yafeh-Deigh said. “The modest decision to practice breast ironing is reflective of systemic injustices and victim-blaming…[to realize] that these mothers are themselves trapped without a safer cause to protect their daughters from sexual violence. [This is the] result of sexual objectification by males.”

She also spoke about the paradox of education in Cameroon. Education is one of the only ways women can escape from poverty and oppression, but the cost of education is that they must sell their bodies to men who pay for their education.

“They know that education will give them agency and autonomy,” Yafeh-Deigh said. “But for 60 percent of the women in universities in Cameroon, it comes at the cost of their dignity.”

Yafeh-Deigh said that while much of Paul’s discourse does advocates gender justice, it is both good news and and a “text of terror” for those women in Cameroon.

“How can women like those in Cameroon have agency without paying with their bodies? What does Paul’s message say about those women?” Yafeh-Deigh asked.

After Yafeh-Deigh’s presentation, Ok spoke on the topic, discussing the same verses.

“Does Paul’s metaphorical language of being ‘bought with a price’ offer possibility for agency and choice for women whose bodies have literally been bought with a price, such as the temple prostitutes in Paul’s Corinthian context, or the [Cameroonian women]?” Ok asked. “When patriarchal and male-centric structures are maintained within the context of Christian worship and marriage, do Paul’s words have any liberating power for women whose bodies are seen still as a site on which male power is exercised?”

Ok spoke of the double standard of the popular theology of purity, which convicts men and condemns women.

“Many churches have a theology…that men have agency over their bodies, that women have agency to defile or glorify God with their bodies, while women have limited agency and carry pollution and contamination with them. There is a sense that a man could have committed sexual sin in the past, but that he can change his ways and glorify God with his body,” Ok said. “But what about the [woman]? Paul… marginalizes the [woman] in this narrative…”

Ok talked about mothers wanting to protect their daughters.

“The fact that mothers desire to police or protect their daughters’ bodies from unwanted attention, and sexual violation of men, suggests that the problem resides in the girls’ bodies…the need to protect women’s bodies from the male gaze comes from a centuries-long globally-wide deeply entrenched systems of patriarchy inextricably linked to social inequality,” Ok said. “Seeing females as inferior, as objects of male desire, and as subject of authority…allows men to possess, subject, and control women’s bodies.”

In attendance at this event was freshman history major Franklin Kardus, who had a different opinion. Kardus saw a poster advertising the event with the hashtag #TimesUp and was curious as to what the APU Seminary had to say about the movement.

“For me, I don’t think that celebrities are doing a great job being role models for the movement, with their provocative behavior,” Kardus said. “The goal they’re trying to accomplish is good, but does the end justify the means? I’m not saying it’s the women’s fault, but if you know you’re in a hostile environment where men will do this kind of thing, don’t provoke a reaction.”

Ok spoke of the way this mindset affects modern culture. To support her argument, Ok used statistics from the Center for Disease Control, which reported in the United States, one out of five women have been raped, and that 44 percent of women have reported some other form of sexual violence.

“‘Boys will be boys’ is a dangerous cliché. It’s used as a way of justifying actions and absolving men from blame for their actions. In churches and families have led to placing the burden of protection on their mothers and on girls themselves,” Ok said. “Church, can we agree to say that the time’s up for such a dangerous, degrading double standard? Without that physical agency to control their own bodies they will never experience that grace-empowered agency and be able to glorify God with their bodies.”

Ok shared some advice about how the church can practically respond to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movement.

“The church should first accept and believe the magnitude of the problem. Then, they should preach and teach about sex, rape and harassment in their church, setting safe guidelines and appropriate channels of communication for any issues that arise. Last, they should invite those who are ready to share their stories to be heard,” Ok said.

Professor of practical theology Kirsten Oh spoke about the role of Jesus as an “alternative redemptive narrative,” and gave advice on how to help victims heal.

“What difference does Jesus make in a culture permeated with sexual violence? ‘Bought with a price’ in this case means redemption for all women and dehumanized lives that bear the image of God,” Oh said.

Oh ended by suggesting how to help victims of sexual abuse.

“We should guide victims to heal through lament, through solidarity, through transformation and through asking ourselves how do we change cultural perspectives to mitigate sexual abuse,” Oh said. “[We should be] pained by the ways God’s kingdom has not already fully come. In the trust that we have in the redemptive work of Christ, we grieve with hope, bearing the scars that others have suffered as agents of that redemption.”