God and the Victim: Traumatic Intrusions on Grace, and Freedom
Jennifer Erin Beste
Abstract
How does severe interpersonal harm affect our freedom and the ways in which we relate to ourselves, others, and God? God and the Victim addresses the challenges that trauma and feminist theory pose to cherished theological convictions about human freedom and divine grace. Overall, the Christian tradition has held that a person's response to God's grace is not entirely vulnerable to earthly contingencies: interpersonal harm, however severe, cannot separate one from the grace of God and from the power to love others. Does this longstanding belief remain credible, however, in light of social scie ... More
How does severe interpersonal harm affect our freedom and the ways in which we relate to ourselves, others, and God? God and the Victim addresses the challenges that trauma and feminist theory pose to cherished theological convictions about human freedom and divine grace. Overall, the Christian tradition has held that a person's response to God's grace is not entirely vulnerable to earthly contingencies: interpersonal harm, however severe, cannot separate one from the grace of God and from the power to love others. Does this longstanding belief remain credible, however, in light of social scientific research on the insidious effects of interpersonal violence? Should we not consider more carefully the possibility that individuals can harm one another to such an extent that the other's capacity to respond to God's grace is severely diminished, if not altogether destroyed?
Keywords:
Rahner,
freedom,
grace,
interpersonal harm,
relationality,
feminist theory,
trauma theory
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2007 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780195311099 |
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2008 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195311099.001.0001 |