The area of research that I have taken on is that of gang lifestyles in America. I
have a passion for this community, as, this is the population that I feel needs the
most help within our society. Wolters (1985) has laid a great biblical foundation
that is something that has really changed my mind set when it comes to reading
and studying the word of God. One of the great aspects of this is that we as
humans do have free will (Wolters, 1985) and within that free will we are allowed
to make choices. As Wolters (1985) explores creation we can see that we are
even though condemned to a life of sin and suffering due in part to our free will
and sin, we also can find redemption within our Lord. We all are evil people but
must work on becoming that Christ like human.
Many in our society write of the population that I work with, and gang and gang
members are always viewed with a surface level lens (Dedios Sanguineti &
Jovchelovitch, 2021). At the root, yes these kids start off with very rough lives but
breakthroughs in psychology are not only going to help these kids pull out of the
gang life they need a place of belonging, a community. I feel that after reading
Wolters (1985) that compassion and introducing faith will also add a layer to
recovery for this population and allowing them to see that we as a whole have
fallen and too can be redeemed.
References
Dedios Sanguineti, M. C., & Jovchelovitch, S. (2021). Is violence ever right? moral
reasoning about violence among youngsters belonging to gangs and
peacebuilding groups. Psychology of Violence, 11(2), 123-132.
https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000376
Wolters, A. M. (1985). Creation regained: Biblical basics for a Reformational
worldview. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.
