The Cry of Tamar: Violence against Women and the Church’s Response, 2nd ed.

by Pamela Cooper-White

Publisher:

Fortress Press

, 2012

Overview

In this comprehensive, practical, and gripping assessment of various forms of violence against women, Pamela Cooper-White challenges the Christian churches to examine their own responses to the cry of Tamar in our time. She describes specific forms of such violence and outlines appropriate pastoral responses. The second edition of this groundbreaking work is thoroughly updated and examines not only where the church has made progress since 1995 but also where women remain at unchanged or even greater risk of violence.

Key Features

• Addresses what the church can do to protect women from violence
• Examines the current state of gender violence and the church’s response
• Outlines specific forms of violence against women

Contents

• Power and Violence Against Women
• Images of Women: Pornography and the Connection to Violence
• Sexual Harassment and Stalking
• Rape and Sexual Assault
• Battering
• Sexual Abuse by Clergy
• Sexual Abuse of Children
• The Pastor as “Wounded Healer”
• Ministry with Men Who Use Violence
• Empowering Women

Praise for the Print Edition

Pamela Cooper-White’s The Cry of Tamar in 1995 quickly became a standard text on gender justice in the US churches. In spite of significant increases in local and global social activism to end violence against women, the epidemic continues, supported by a backlash of religious patriarchal forces. This revised edition is required reading for all pastors and laity concerned about gender equity in the churches.

—James Newton Poling, emeritus professor, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

The Cry of Tamar encourages the church to step forward with courage to address the serious issue of violence against women. It is theological and practical, inviting pastoral leaders and congregations to utilize the healing forces of faith and community towards both survivors and perpetrators of violence.

—Teresa E. Snorton, bishop, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Fifth District

Cooper-White’s original, incisive, and articulate practical theology of various forms of violence against women remains timely and relevant. While her focus is still on violence against women in the United States, she describes global developments in how violence against women has received increased attention throughout the world. In the second edition we gain another voice: the basso profundo of wisdom and compassion distilled over her many years of scholarship, teaching and clinical work. The Cry of Tamar continues to be a primary textbook on violence against women: a book that must be read by anyone in religious leadership who wants to break cycles of violence against women and the church’s silence about such violence.

—Carrie Doehring, associate professor of pastoral care and counseling, Iliff School of Theology

Product Details

• Title: The Cry of Tamar: Violence against Women and the Church’s Response
• Author: Pamela Cooper-White
• Edition: Second
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress
• Publication Date: 2012
• Pages: 352
• Christian Group: Lutheran
• Resource Type: Monographs
• Topic: Ministry Resources

About Pamela Cooper-White

Pamela Cooper-White is the Ben G. and Nancye Clapp Gautier Professor of Pastoral Theology, Care, and Counseling at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. She is the author of Exploring Practices of Ministry, Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling, and Many Voices: Pastoral Psychotherapy in Relational and Theological Perspective.