As a student at 天美视频, there are a few things that are fundamental, such as reading thought-provoking books and studying at the intersection of theology and trauma. These intersections are where we encounter new ideas, challenge assumptions, and join in meaningful conversations. They invite us to pause and think deeply, whether they be at the corner of theology and psychology, or . We hope you are able to take time to explore some of these reads and join us as we continue to explore and ask questions at the intersection of theology and trauma.
by Shelly Rambo
鈥淚n Spirit and Trauma, Rambo draws on contemporary studies in trauma to rethink a central claim of the Christian faith: that new life arises from death. Reexamining the narrative of the death and resurrection of Jesus from the middle day-liturgically named as Holy Saturday-she seeks a theology that addresses the experience of living in the aftermath of trauma.鈥�
Surprising Connections between Neuroscience and Spiritual Practices That Can Transform Your Life and Relationships
by Curt Thompson, MD
鈥淒r. Thompson reveals how it is possible to rewire your mind, altering your brain patterns and literally making you more like the person God intended you to be. Explaining discoveries about the brain in layman鈥檚 terms, he shows how you can be mentally transformed through spiritual practices, interaction with Scripture, and connections with other people.鈥�
A Journey Of Faith In The Face Of Severe Learning Disability
By Frances Young
Theologian Frances Young writes a personal narrative about her son鈥檚 learning disability and 鈥渉ope and help for all who struggle with faith in the face of unremitting suffering.鈥� Though not distinctly about trauma, Young asks difficult questions about life, God, and how we are to respond in the midst of difficult circumstances.
By Resmaa Menakem
鈥淚n this groundbreaking work, therapist Resmaa Menakem examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of body-centered psychology. He argues this destruction will continue until Americans learn to heal the generational anguish of white supremacy, which is deeply embedded in all our bodies. Our collective agony doesn’t just affect African Americans. White Americans suffer their own secondary trauma as well. So do blue Americans鈥攐ur police. My Grandmother’s Hands is a call to action for all of us to recognize that racism is not about the head, but about the body, and introduces an alternative view of what we can do to grow beyond our entrenched racialized divide.鈥�
by Thomas Lewis (et. al)
鈥淎 General Theory of Love demonstrates that our nervous systems are not self-contained: from earliest childhood, our brains actually link with those of the people close to us, in a silent rhythm that alters the very structure of our brains, establishes life-long emotional patterns, and makes us, in large part, who we are.鈥�
Living in the Afterlife of Trauma
By Shelly Rambo
鈥淪helly Rambo rereads the Thomas story and the history of its interpretation through the lens of trauma studies to reflect on the ways that the wounds of race, gender, and war persist. Wounds do not simply go away, even though a close reading of John Calvin reveals his theological investments in removing wounds. This erasure reflects a dominant mode of Christian thinking, but it is not the only Christian reading.[…] Again, the visceral display of Jesus鈥� wounds, when placed at the center of Thomas鈥� encounter in the Upper Room, enacts a vision of resurrecting that addresses the real harm of the real wounds of war.鈥�
By Elie Wiesel
鈥淔irst published in 1958, Night is the autobiographical account of an adolescent boy and his father in Auschwitz. Elie Wiesel writes of their battle for survival and of his battle with God for a way to understand the wanton cruelty he witnesses each day. In the short novel Dawn, a young man who has survived World War II and settled in Palestine joins a Jewish underground movement and is commanded to execute a British officer who has been taken hostage. In Day, Wiesel questions the limits of conscience: Can Holocaust survivors forge a new life despite their memories?鈥�
Theology in a Ruptured World
By Serene Jones
鈥淐entral to its overall theme is an investigation of how individual and collective violence affect one鈥檚 capacity to remember, to act, and to love; how violence can challenge theological understandings of grace; and even how the traumatic experience of Jesus鈥� death is remembered. Jones focuses on the long-term effects of collective violence on abuse survivors, war veterans, and marginalized populations and the discrete ways in which grace and redemption may be exhibited in each context.鈥�
The Bible鈥檚 Traumatic Origins
By David Carr
鈥淗uman trauma gave birth to the Bible . . . the Bible鈥檚 ability to speak to suffering is a major reason why the sacred texts of Judaism and Christianity have retained their relevance for thousands of years. In his fascinating and provocative reinterpretation of the Bible鈥檚 origins, the author tells the story of how the Jewish people and Christian community had to adapt to survive multiple catastrophes and how their holy scriptures both reflected and reinforced each religion鈥檚 resilient nature.鈥�