guest post | elisabet medina - going beyond purity

When I originally came across this Facebook note posted by a college classmate, I knew I had to re-post it on my blog. Inspired by Dianna Anderson's pieces on purity culture as rape culture (found here and here), this is a timely message that cannot be stated enough. Elisabet is kindly letting me share her words with you all and I hope they resonate with you as much as they did with me. She writes tough truths here, but they need to be heard. I pray that as the body of Christ, we continue to fight against a culture that perpetuates violence against women and strive to be a light in the dark places.

**Trigger Warning: Rape, Sexual Assault**
I grew up as a Latina in the Assemblies of God and I distinctly remember promising to wait to have sex until marriage with the song “Promise” by Jaci Velasquez playing in the background, I was 13. I remember this so clearly because the following the year a friend of mine from that church was brutally gang raped; she was a year younger than me.
I was seriously disturbed by the fact that she had been drugged, raped and ended up in a hospital bed. Earlier that year, I was reassuring this girl that Jr. High wasn’t that different from Elementary except for the fact there was no recess. What disturbed me even more was how people at church talked about her. Women in the church talked about how she had been running around with the wrong crowd, never once calling it rape, and asking why she had been out that late anyway. I didn’t understand why people were talking about her that way, why they would judge my friend. As an adult, I can see how purity culture amongst evangelicals often will elevate virginity above personhood and contribute to rape culture. I believe this is contrary to the gospel and our calling as Christians.
Part of the problem can be a misconstruing of scripture, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” While this scripture could be used and has been used in a patriarchal manner to tell women and girls that their bodies do not belong to them but to their fathers and spouses, I beg to differ.
I believe that this scripture is for women and men. I have Christian colleagues in the anti-trafficking movement who uses scriptures just like this one to send a message to men not to use their bodies to exploit and commit violence against women.
Our bodies were created to be a space for the divine; our bodies were not created to be raped. Scripture itself goes against marital rape, 1 Corinthians 7:5 says, “Do not deprive one another except with CONSENT for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer” (emphasis added).
I am well aware of the legacy and systems of patriarchy that underpin Christianity. I am not pretending that Christianity has not been used to condemn, polarize, and oppress women and that purity has not been a tool for that. In fact, the only positive attribute that I have gained from the promise I made as 13 year old has been that I embraced my body to be more than a sex object. I really did see myself as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—I committed not to conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of my mind Romans 12:1-2. Even as the media swirled around me in adolescence and early adulthood I knew that I was more than my body, I was a mind, a soul and that God made me for a reason.
It is my hope that one day the church and Christianity will not be connected to rape culture. I hope to be an example of Christ’s compassion and care for the entire person and instead Christian women and men will counter the rape culture that surrounds us and expel it from our youth groups, churches and our theology.

Elisabet Medina's Bio: I grew up in South Sacramento to immigrant parents. I am a social worker to the core having both a bachelors and masters in the discipline. I am constantly learning and growing in my role as a victim advocate for survivors of human trafficking. I provide training and education on the subject matter and partner with churches, law enforcement and non-profits. I engage in research opportunities whenever possible specializing in race relations, social identities, and community service. Above all I am a disciple living to follow Jesus, seeking reconciliation and justice in my everyday life, hopefully encouraging others to do the same.