Does the Church ask for Consent, or is Faith linked to Coercion?
Is the Church engaged in Coercion?
A look at Consent in Scripture.
by Jana Peterson
(friend, writer, theologian, thinker, leader, mother, student)
Despite the increased conversation around consent in recent years, pockets of conservative faiths that decry the term still remain. In addition, the lasting effects of a lack of autonomy still reverberate through the bodies of those raised in environments that never taught consent, mine included.
With such heartbreaking prevalence of this harm, it is imperative that we continue to build a culture within our churches that embodies the immense value of consent.
Consent is one of the most vulnerable and authentic parts of a relationship.
It is requested by someone because of the value they see and honor in themselves and in another. It is granted (or not) for the same reason. It is a close cousin to the conversations we have around boundaries, and yet it is so much more. A relationship is strengthened anytime consent is mutually exchanged regardless of the activity at hand and regardless of the age or abilities of the people involved. The opposite of requesting consent is coercion, which is never good.
One passage that has been traditionally used to rob people of their voice, agency and consent is 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body. (NRSV)
Unfortunately, I have heard far too many authoritarian voices forcefully wield these words over individuals in order to require them to comply with behaviors that were chosen and dictated by external authorities, ultimately disregarding and dismissing individual autonomy and choice. As a result of such teaching, those within the church learn to distrust themselves, dismiss their voice, and limit their personal agency.
A brief glimpse of the stories tagged with #churchtoo demonstrates that this is the recipe for great harm.
However, this passage is actually in the middle of a much larger pericope in which Paul is writing to those in the Corinthian church about how to relate to each other in unity as they live in community with each other. In these two verses, Paul is summarizing what he's written in the rest of chapter 6 and reminding the Corinthians of their value as a community. The word tenses in the Greek tip us off to this in a way that English can't quite capture. In the Greek rendition of this passage, "you" is plural and "body" is singular, which means this verse could be better translated like this:
Don't y'all know that y'all's body is a temple of the Holy Spirit in y'all which y'all have received from God, and not y'all's own? For y'all have been bought with divine honor and dignity. Therefore, glorify God with y'all's body.
It changes the meaning, doesn't it? Rather than being a verse that speaks to individuals, I hear Paul reminding his readers that they are part of a valuable and precious community that collectively embodies the Holy Spirit's presence on the earth. Rather than an authoritarian hierarchy, the plural y'all invites the community into a mutually beneficial relationship. In fact, through this lens, consent fits right in with the ethos of a church community.
Asking permission of and honoring the agency of individuals who make up the collective temple of the Holy Spirit absolutely honors and glorifies God within the body of the church.
My own path toward honoring mutual consent in community necessarily meant that I first did the individual work of learning to reclaim my voice as my own, listening to my own internal authority over external authoritarian voices, and asking and granting consent from/for myself about things that matter.
It began by learning to listen to my tastebuds (eating more of what I like and less of what I didn't) and by learning to honor my emotions by crying when I'm sad and laughing with abandon when I'm delighted.
As the after-shocks of a lack of autonomy continues to surge through my bones, this path of reclamation continues. But that's okay! Because I believe this is a path that ultimately honors and glorifies God and community in every way.