Priscilla Papers here begins its thirty-seventh year. As many of our readers know, all issues—dating back to 1987—are freely available at CBEInternational.org. A complete index is online as well.
This issue gathers earlier articles, a best-of collection so to speak. The rational, however, is not simply to reprint our best articles. Rather, the focus of this issue is to re-introduce readers to certain high-quality and still-relevant articles that tackle aspects of the complex problem of violence against women. We’ve included the following:
- 1997: Catherine Clark Kroeger speaks truth to power in a speech given to Washington DC elites, including President Bill Clinton.
- 2006: Scarlet Hai Yin Fung Tsao offers wisdom about various aspects, including legal aspects, of supporting adult survivors of child sexual abuse.
- 2014: Aída Besançon Spencer promotes healthy marriage in an article about the Song of Songs.
- 2015: Chuck Pitts sheds light on the ancient and modern sin of human trafficking through a careful reading of Judges 19.
- 2020: Jessica Stefick examines what Deuteronomy 22, a particularly difficult passage, says about rape.
In addition to the above articles, we have included two new reviews of books published in 2022: Amy Peeler’s Women and the Gender of God (Eerdmans), reviewed by Todd Edmondson, and William Spencer’s Three in One: Analogies for the Trinity (Kregel Academic), reviewed by Christa McKirland.
As I scoured the Priscilla Papers index in preparation for this issue, I noted the many reviews we have published over the years of books that deal with abuse. A partial list follows:
- Barbara Sapinsley, The Private War of Mrs. Packard, 6/1 (Winter 1992), reviewed by James Beck.
- Catherine Clark Kroeger, Nancy Nason-Clark, and Barbara Fisher-Townsend, eds., Beyond Abuse in the Christian Home, 24/2 (Spring 2010), reviewed by Jean Lane Dimock.
- Nancy Nason-Clark, Catherine Clark Kroeger, and Barbara Fisher-Townsend, eds., Responding to Abuse in Christian Homes, 25/3 (Summer 2011), reviewed by Victoria Fahlberg.
- Marnie Ferree, No Stones: Women Redeemed from Sexual Addiction, 25/3 (Summer 2011), reviewed by Margaret English de Alminana.
- Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky, 26/1 (Winter 2012), reviewed by John DelHousaye.
- Elizabeth Gerhardt, The Cross and Gendercide, 29/4 (Autumn 2015), reviewed by Shaun Brown.
- John Kilner, Dignity and Destiny, 29/4 (Autumn 2015), reviewed by Christa McKirland.
- Elaine Storkey, Scars Across Humanity, 30/4 (Autumn 2016), reviewed by Kevin Giles.
- Kevin Giles, The Headship of Men and the Abuse of Women, 35/2 (Spring 2021), reviewed by Jonathan Tysick.
- Diane Langford, Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church, 35/3 (Summer 2021), reviewed by Sue Bailey.
I recommend to you all of the scholarship mentioned above—articles, reviews, and books. Finally, please note that CBE’s magazine, Mutuality, also has much to say about violence toward women. See, for example, the Spring 2013 issue on the theme “Rape and Sexual Violence” (Mutuality is also available online).
