David Tombs, The Crucifixion of Jesus: Torture, Sexual Abuse, and the Scandal of the Cross (London: Routledge 2023).
Roman crucifixions sought to degrade and dehumanise their victims in ways that destroyed their dignity and stigmatised their memory. Paul speaks of the cross as a ‘scandal’ or ‘stumbling block’, but the significance of this language has never been explored in terms of sexual violence. The Crucifixion of Jesus examines crucifixion as a form of torture, state terror, and sexual abuse. It reads recent accounts of torture alongside the presentation of crucifixion in the Passion narratives and other Greek and Roman sources.
Content warning
My work on crucifixion includes attention to sexual violence. I write on why this disturbing history demands acknowledgment and thoughtful theological attention. Readers who are not familiar with this research may wish to start by listening to my conversation on this research with Rosie Dawson in the Shiloh Project Podcast series or with Ernie Heim on the OnScript series (click here).
What people are saying
‘Tombs demonstrates the truly scandalous aspects of Crucifixion endured by Jesus and others... There is no rush to resurrection but it arrives.’
— Mitzi J Smith, J. Davison Philips Professor of New Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA, USA.
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‘superbly clear, compelling, and tactful.’
— Eric Vanden Eykel, Associate Professor, Religious Studies, Ferrum College, Virginia, USA.
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‘Why is the idea of Jesus as a victim of sexualised violence so hard to acknowledge? What does this resistance reveal about how we still, today, stigmatise sexualised violence and those who experience it? How can awareness of Jesus’ historical experience bring dignity, support, and healing to survivors today?’
— Elisabet le Roux, Research Director of the Unit for Religion and Development Research, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
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‘This is a powerful book that will forever alter one’s reading of the biblical crucifixion narratives.’
— Sean Adams, Professor of New Testament and Ancient Culture, University of Glasgow, UK.
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‘Scholars will be impressed with the clarity and ease from which Tombs arranges this complex material. But this is also a book for all those involved in Christian churches. Few of whom could read and remain unconvinced: the church simply must reckon with the sexual violence of Jesus’s crucifixion if it ever hopes to reckon with its own history of sexual violence. This is a book of critical and timely relevance.’
— Janice McRandal, Research Fellow, University of Divinity, Australia.
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‘if this work enables churches – congregations and church leaders – to recognise that even Jesus suffered sexual harm – it follows that they must take a more compassionate, a more informed, and a more responsible approach to the scourge that is sexual violence in the church. If Jesus suffered sexual harm, the stigma begins to fall away. If, conversely, Christians cannot accept the possibility that Jesus too, was a victim of sexual violence, then they have not truly understood the incarnation.’
— Miryam Clough, St John’s College of the Evangelist, Aotearoa New Zealand
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“While the topic is confronting, Tombs is sensitive and careful in his discussion of it.”
— Derek Tovey, Book review editor, Stimulus, Aotearoa New Zealand
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‘Tombs argues that the central task of the church is to seek and speak the truth. This book exemplifies the manner by which such truth—however uncomfortable—may become a true gift to be embraced.’
—Fang Fang Chandra, Vancouver School of Theology, Canada
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‘This book offers original and significant research into the passion narratives. The stripping of Jesus provides the occasion for reflecting not only on the brutality but on the specific sexual violence he experienced. Evidence from biblical and other ancient sources pose new questions about the possible sexual violence belonging to the practice of crucifixion and its connection to various types of impalement. This book opens new horizons about the suffering of Jesus and its relation to sexual violence.’
— Craig L. Nessan, Professor of Contextual Theology and Ethics, Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubque, Iowa, USA.
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‘L’un des points forts de l’ouvrage de Tombs réside dans son approche novatrice et courageuse de la crucifixion de Jésus, en la réexaminant à travers le prisme des pratiques de torture et de la violence sexuelle, tant anciennes que contemporaines.’
— François Doyon, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
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