Abstract: “Examples of sexual violence and mentions of it appear with a disturbing level of frequency in the literature of early Christianity. This collection of essays explores these occurrences in canonical and noncanonical Christian texts from the first until the fifth centuries CE. Drawing from a range of interpretive lenses, scholars of early Christianity approach these writings with the goal of identifying how their authors employ the language of sexual assault, rape, and violence in order to formulate and support various rhetorical and theological claims. Individual chapters also address how and why these episodes of sexual violence have been ignored or, sometimes, read in a way that would make them less problematic. As a collection, Sex, Violence, and Early Christian Texts examines these texts carefully, ethically, and with an eye toward shining a light on the scourge of sexual violence that is so often manifest in both ancient and contemporary Christian communities.”
Contributors: Tara Baldrick-Morrone, Chance E. Bonar, Christy Cobb, Jennifer Collins-Elliott, Arminta Fox, Midori Hartman, LaToya M. Leary Francis, Travis W. Proctor, Joshua M. Reno, Laura Robinson, Jeannie Sellick, Eric Vanden Eykel, Meredith J. C. Warren, Stephen Young
Contributions to Sex, Violence, and Early Christian Texts cover a range of early Christian literature. For NASSCAL’s audience, some of the most notable texts examined include the Acts of Andrew (Cobb) and Protoevangelium of James (Vanden Eykel), although other contributions explore canonical literature like 1 Corinthians and Revelation and patristic literature ranging from 1 Clement and Tertullian to Jerome and Augustine.