Christian women respond to Donald Trump
Many of you have read the Huffington Post article about the Christian response to this election--particularly the letter that Faith in Public Life put together. If you haven't, I encourage you to. Many powerhouse theologians weigh in over there. The journalist, Carol Kuruvilla, posted excerpts, so I thought I would give you the rest of my answers here.
- This letter is not just about women standing up to Trump -- it's about Christian women standing up to Trump. Why was it important to you to add your voice to this, as a Christian?
When the news of the video came out, a wave of trauma rippled through my personal relationships and social media feeds. With shattered hearts, we confessed that we had been raped or violated. We knew the indignity of having unannounced and uninvited prodding hands clutching at our intimate selves. We remembered looking up in blurred confusion to see a powerful man lurching over us, devouring our weakness and mortification in order to sate his ravenous ego.
We may have been too bewildered to know how to respond when the assault happened. We may have been held captive, pretending that it didn’t occur in order to avoid retaliation or to save our jobs. We might have filed away our indignity in the thickening folder that included all the other evidence of everyday sexism. But as Christians, we know women do not exist in order to titillate fragile egos in locker rooms. Women were not created so that entitled men can use us as objects for flippant fondling or heinous leering. We proclaim that women are God-bearers, and God has empowered us to bring good news to the poor, bind up the broken hearted, and set the captives free. That’s why I added my voice to this letter.
