Prof David Tombs

Lots of my publications are available open access from my web-site david-tombs.com

@Rgt71Robert @WilGafney Yes — sexualised violence as an instrument of power, intimidation, and humiliation. David Tombs, ‘Alone and Naked: Reading the Torture of Jesus alongside the Torture of Miriam Leitão’, International Journal of Public Theology 17 (4) (2023), pp. 537-557; doi.org/10.1163/156973…

I really very highly recommend reading Reaves and Tombs, alongside theologians like @WilGafney, Elaine Heath and Michael Trainor, they are forcing us to confront is uncomfortable but necessary: Sexualised violence is not incidental. It is a tool of power. From Roman crucifixion to lynching, from plantations to prisons, the pattern is the same: strip the body, expose it, degrade it not for desire, but for domination. This is how systems break people and an obliterate identities. Enslaved women could be raped without it being recognised as rape. Black men were lynched with sexual mutilation as spectacle. Prisoners are still sexually humiliated in modern war. And across all of it runs the same logic: certain bodies are made violable to reinforce hierarchy. That’s the context in which the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth sits. To say Jesus was subjected to sexualised violence is not mere metaphor it is to recognise that the cross was an instrument of state terror, using the same grammar of bodily and sexual humiliation we see across history. If we refuse to name that, we’re not protecting theology we’re protecting our own discomfort that God in Jesus Christ may well have experienced rape too. And if we do name it, then the implications are unavoidable: the central symbol of Christianity is bound up with the very forms of violence we still struggle to confront, against women, against Black bodies, queer bodies, against the marginalised, and against men stripped of status and power. That should change how we talk about both faith and justice.

@Rgt71Robert @synod @churchofengland A church in New York made a similar point on Mt 25 with a sign-board, ‘You have done this to #MeToo’, in 2017. doi.org/10.1163/156973…

“i was a victim of abuse and what if your churches and you did very little for me.” it could be part of Jesus’s sayings in Matthew. Please please please all on @synod all @churchofengland please read and watch this.

Really interesting and innovative new work...

@DeChurching Thanks — and take care of yourself

I am taking a break from social media for a while. The public consumption of horrific trauma as the Epstein files are released is beyond words. I want to witness, but not to raw, unfiltered abuse while I eat my breakfast. Available at deconstructingchurch@gmail.com. Stay safe. R

Delighted that this article is now available and very grateful to the journal Neotestamentica for publication. The Abstract is publicly available at the Project Muse link below but a Neotestamentica subscription is required for the full article, doi.org/10.1353/neo.20…

This book 'Abuse in the Latin American Church' previously published in English by Routledge is now also available in Spanish (published by PUCP) and includes my chapter with Rocío Figueroa on Sodalicio @rocifig fondoeditorial.pucp.edu.pe/categorias/174…

'Significantly, the 2024 report said the church’s way of handling abuse cases internally, according to a secretive process that provides no tangible accountability, was itself retraumatizing for victims.' Nicole Winfield cruxnow.com/vatican/2025/1…

Defence spending boost puts peacemaker role in doubt | The Press thepress.co.nz/nz-news/360847…

“In response to the new Archishop-Designate of Canterbury, The Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, His Eminence Cardinal Kurth Koch said: "Having learned of your nomination… I write to congratulate you on your appointment and to express the good wishes of the Catholic Church to you as you prepare to undertake this important service in your Church. I pray that the Lord will bless you with the gifts you need for the very demanding ministry to which you have now been called, equipping you to be an instrument of communion and unity for the faithful among whom you will serve"” This is lovely ♥️♥️ vaticannews.va/en/vatican-cit…

'...To the reporters who found him, he would repeat that everything had happened long ago and that it was a difficult topic to talk about.' Eduardo Campos Lima @Crux cruxnow.com/church-in-the-…

'The lack of clarity about his standing, and the Vatican’s inaction during the conclave on his case, remains a source of scandal for survivors and advocates, especially in Peru' @eliseannallen cruxnow.com/vatican/2025/1…

Our Chair, Rev Martine Oborne, on Bishop Sarah’s appointment as #ArchbishopofCanterbury theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

‘Unbeatable unity’: the Holmesdale Fanatics on art and activism at Crystal Palace | Crystal Palace | The Guardian theguardian.com/football/2025/…

Judge Finds ‘Likelihood’ That Charges Against Abrego Garcia Are Vindictive nytimes.com/2025/10/03/us/… via @NYTimes

Worth mentioning he was a Palace player for 3 seasons.

Pleased to be in Cape Town for this. share.google/21vCXfNzdZbp2W…

We're proud to be supporting the #TogetherAgainstSuicide initiative alongside @Samaritans and the @PremierLeague. 💙🤍 Find safe spaces, trained listeners and vital support at @The_AmexStadium. 🫂

Great day of sharing international research coming up in Leeds on 8 October @ProjShiloh shilohproject.blog/religion-viole…

@digitaldion Ouch!

@digitaldion Warm greetings!

Bokke!!!