The Cry of Tamar: Violence against Women and the Church's Response, Second Edition

Title Page, Copyright Page

the cry of tamar Praise for the first edition of The Cry of Tamar: “This is a major resource both for those teaching courses on violence to women and also for practitioners who support women in situations of violence. It is the only book I know that addresses a number of major issues of violence: sexual harassment, rape, battering, . . . child abuse, and others, as well as pornography as cultural violence. It has particular importance to religious people by bringing these issues into the context of biblical and theological reflection as well as psychological counseling.” — Rosemary Radford Ruether, visiting scholar at the Claremont Graduate University and School of Theology “I can’t imagine a more authoritative accounting of the subject of violence against women than Pamela Cooper-White has accomplished here. She has given us a profound analysis of the cultural sources of violence and sexual boundary violations as well as practical remedies that can be applied by both individuals and congregations. Moreover, she does all this within a psychological and spiritual framework that does not blame, never loses hope, and maintains respect for both men and women. This is thoroughly researched, state-of-the-art scholarship. The Cry of Tamar has value beyond the church, in any setting where the restoration of the feminine voice to our culture is valued.” — Peter Rutter, M.D., author of Sex in the Forbidden Zone “If you don’t have a vision of justice and a politics to implement it, you’re just running a MASH unit in the war of the bodies of women and children. Pamela Cooper-White calls us to such a vision and such a politics—a superb effort!” — Susan B. Thistlethwaite, Chicago Theological Seminary Fortress Press Minneapolis the cry of tamar Violence against Women and the Church’s Response Second Edition Pamela Cooper-White THE CRY OF TAMAR Violence against Women and the Church’s Response Second Edition Copyright © 2012 Fortress Press. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Visit http:// www.augsburgfortress.org/copyrights/contact.asp or write to Permissions, Augsburg Fortress, Box 1209, Minneapolis , MN 55440. All quotations from the Psalms and the New Testament, except where otherwise noted, are from the translation in Victor Roland Gold, Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr, Sharon H. Ringe, Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, Burton H. Throckmorton Jr., and Barbara A. Withers, eds., The New Testament and Psalms: An Inclusive Version (New York: Oxford University Press, [1995]). All other Hebrew Bible quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and are used with permission. The Acknowledgments on p. vi reflect an extension of this copyright page. Cover design: Laurie Ingram Cover image: Light at the End of Tunnel © iStockphoto.com/Hande Guleryuz Yuce Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cooper-White, Pamela, 1955The cry of Tamar : violence against women and the Church’s response / Pamela Cooper-White. — Second Edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 978-0-8006-9734-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4514-2442-3 (ebook) (print) 1. Women—Crimes against­ —Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Violence—Religious aspects—Christianity. 3. Church work with women. 4. Women—Pastoral counseling of. I. Title. BT704.C66 2012 261.8’32—dc23 2012020294 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984. Manufactured in the U.S.A. 16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ...