I enjoyed your post and appreciated how you are looking at the integration of Christianity
and psychology in the area of trauma. As you stated, knowing the gospel can make a
massive difference in understanding and coping with trauma. Genesis 2:18 states, "Then
the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper
fit for him" (English Standard Version, 2022). From the very beginning, God did not intend
for man to live in isolation. God created man for relationships. Of course, trauma was
not part of God's plan for humans, but the sinful and broken world in which we live has
caused all manner of trauma to occur. Regardless of the situation, Wolters (2005) states
that we must be guided by the strategy of reformation and respect the historical givens
in our pursuit of reform. This framework could be applied to trauma. For example, if we
looked at a relationship that caused trauma through a Biblical worldview, the questions
being asked could reflect this framework. Instead of asking are relationships good or
bad, the specific direction of that situation could be addressed. In this way, the focus
remains on the gospel, and help can be administered that leads a person toward God.
By examining the structure and direction of these relationships through a Biblical
worldview, restoration is pursued. The Grand Narrative always leaves us with redemption
in our future and Scripture as our guide as we press forward on this path. You made
some excellent comparisons in your discussion thread. Also, I agree with you
when you write that the African American community and the children of Israel
have “many similarities.” For example, in the Old Testament we read, “The
Egyptians made the Israelites’ lives bitter with hard work, with brick and mortar
and all kinds of work in the fields” (Exodus 1, 14, p. 138, EHV). This passage
reminds of how the lives of the African American slaves were made indescribably
brutal by the greedy European slave traders and African slave traders who first
sold them into slavery, and then white slave owners in America who oversaw their
completed their suffering. a a a In your discussion of the fall, I thought that you
made another interesting point. You seem to say that just as Adam and Eve were
held accountable for disobeying God’s Law (in The Garden of Eden), modern man
should be held accountable if he does not use the mental health services
including the brilliant mental health professionals which are available to help
them. Please pardon me if I misunderstood, but you seem to infer in both cases
that ignorance of the law, either the state’s law or God’s law, is no excuse. In
other words, just as the ancient Israelites were not aloud to blame Satan for their
failure to follow God’s law, contemporary humans should not be permitted to seek
to blame their shortcomings and sins on forces outside themselves, especially
when help is available to them. In my own case, I remain grateful for God’s mercy
towards us because I often forget to ask for his help when I need it, and I
stubbornly try to do things my own way. I am afterall, a work in progress.
I think you make another important point when you say paraphrase Wolters (2005)
who said at the heart of all human discord is arrogance, disobediances and
defiance. Nevertheless, you go on to say that God is forgiving, because he loves
us. a “For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son, that so ever
believes in him shall not perish. For God did not send his son into the world to
condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (Holy Bible, 2015; John 3,
16:17).At any rate, I am grateful , that our God is a forgiving God who loves us in
spite of out failures and shortcomings. Thanks again for an interesting discussion
thread.
