| |
| author |
Sheluyang Peng
| | title |
The People v. Jesus Christ: Jesus as the Paraclete for Sexual Scapegoats
| | abstract |
This thesis reads Jesus Christ as a defense attorney, or a paraclete, through the lens of
René Girard's theories on human desire, scapegoating, violence, and the Christian transvaluation
of values. Jesus Christ is portrayed as a defense attorney that ensures due process for everyone,
and this motif is applied to contemporary defense attorneys in the Western world. Girard's
theories and themes are used to portray courtroom scenarios where Jesus defends scapegoats
against Satanic accusations: scenarios that Job predicted in the Hebrew Bible and that are
bolstered by Jesus's own lived experience as someone who was falsely accused and crucified. A
key theme is the Christian role in inverting Western morality into one where victims are
celebrated (and perhaps even deified): a concept elucidated by Nietzsche's genealogical history
of Western morality. This thesis then examines how sex crime accusations have fueled
scapegoating both in the historical and contemporary contexts, especially examining
Christianity's historical role in shaping laws (moral and legal) around sex and sexuality. A
Girardian exegesis of John 7:53-8:11 is used as a foundation in thinking about questions of
sexual morality and accusations of sexual misconduct in a Christian context. An extensive range
of historical and contemporary topics are covered: various interpretations of the pericope of Eve
and the serpent in the Garden of Eden; sexual violence against slaves in the Bible and in the
American South; how sex crime accusations are viewed differently based on race, gender,
sexuality, and perceived privilege; the Satanic Panic of the 1980s; the contemporary alliance
between "carceral feminists" and prosecutors; the popularity of prison rape jokes; the #MeToo
movement and its backlash; and much more. Finally, this thesis proposes a Christian vision for
criminal justice reform that is free from scapegoating and affirms that all humans, regardless of
their actions, are made in the imago Dei.
| | school |
The Theological School, Drew University
| | degree |
M.A. (2025)
|
| advisor |
Chris Boesel
Jesse Mann
|
| full text | SPeng.pdf - requires Drew uLogin |
| |
