Apostles, Power, and Women's Bodies - Bible and Beyond Discussions

In this archived Zoom recording of the July 22, 2024, Bible and Beyond Discussion, Dr. Shirley Paulson interviewed Mallory Challis.

While conversations about sexual ethics seem modern, early Christian texts like the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles include teachings about sex, too. We will use the framework of human flourishing to discuss how early Christian narratives emphasized standards of sexual abstinence in ways similar and different to the modern Purity Movement. We will look at how the bodies of women in the ancient narratives were utilized as a means of spiritual flourishing for others, particularly for the apostles of Jesus. This analysis attempts to show how women’s bodies drive narratives by controlling the wills of surrounding characters, illuminating how their bodies find power, even as victims of violence and subjugation. We will focus on two ancient Christian stories about Peter’s disabled daughter and Drusiana and Kallimachos.

Texts: The Acts of Peter ("The Coptic Fragment") and The Acts of John (paragraphs 58-86)