We’re used to seeing #MeToo in Hollywood and the media. But the movement broke into a whole new institution recently when a professor suggested that the Virgin Mary did not consent to Jesus Christ’s conception. #MaryToo?
Minnesota State University professor Eric Sprankle suggested that “the virgin birth story is about an all-knowing, all-powerful deity impregnating a human teen. There is no definition of consent that would include that scenario. Happy Holidays,” reported Campus Reform.
It’s not clear whether Dr. Sprankle has actually read the Bible. Luke 1, Verse 31 has an angel telling Mary “behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.” Mary’s response comes in Verse 38, when she says “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
One Twitter user pointed this out to the professor, but Dr. Sprankle was not having any of it. He said “The biblical god regularly punished disobedience. The power difference (deity vs mortal) and the potential for violence for saying ‘no’ negates her ‘yes.’ To put someone in this position is an unethical abuse of power at best and grossly predatory at worst.”
You know, I think it’s finally time for a challenge. Name one, ONE domain that social justice has not yet infiltrated. It started off in the confines of social sciences and humanities, but look where it is today. It’s reached the most technical of subjects with Princeton offering a “science after feminism” course, it’s hit the world of comedy, and it’s even trickled into the video game industry with scandals like #GamerGate.
It makes sense for religion, ordinarily viewed as a bastion of purity, to be the last stop for progressive, PC cancer. But something tells me you won’t find Dr. Sprankle criticizing consent when it comes to Islam.
