Post-Traumatic God: How the Church Cares for People Who Have Been to Hell and Back - Softcover

Peters, David W.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 081923303X ISBN 13: 9780819233035

Verlag: Morehouse Publishing, 2016

Inhaltsangabe

After traumatic events, many turn away from the Church; this book presents a path home, providing a way back to a God who can be trusted, loved, and worshipped.

Today, the church is sometimes viewed (even from within) as a place apart, which may create a barrier of understanding for those who have experienced trauma. Post-Traumatic God grew out of Peters’ own experience as a chaplain in Iraq and later as an Episcopal priest, and from his subsequent work with an organization he founded, Episcopal Veterans for Peace, which helped him identify the need for this quite-different book to bridge that gap. In it, Peters explores three related themes: history (the early church itself was a post-traumatic community); theology (especially building on Tillich's World War I experiences and the theology he subsequently developed); and ecclesiology (how church can offer community to trauma survivors. Post-Traumatic God equips the Church to heal the unseen wounds of the soul.

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DAVID W. PETERS served as a Marine and Army Chaplain in Iraq, and his experience includes youth ministry, hospital and military chaplaincy, and parish ministry. David’s books and story have been featured twice on NPR’s All Things Considered. He has appeared on Fox News and local TV stations, as well as WHYY in Philadelphia. He blogs for the Huffington Post and Oxford University Press. David is currently an Army Reserve instructor at the U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, and associate rector at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas.

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Post-Traumatic God

How the Church Cares for People Who Have Been to Hell and Back

By David W. Peters

Church Publishing Incorporated

Copyright © 2016 David W. Peters
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8192-3303-5

Contents

Preface, 
To Hell and Back, 
The God Who Disappears, 
A Shattered God, 
The Hebrew Bible and the Shattering Effects of War, 
The New Testament and the Shattering Effects of War, 
Early Church Fathers and the Shattering Effects of War, 
Protestant Reformers and the Shattering Effects of War, 
Paul Tillich and the Shattering Effects of War, 
Paul Tillich and the Trials of Homecoming, 
The Courage to Be, 
The New Being, 
God as the Ground of Being, 
Post-Traumatic Witness, 
Post-Traumatic Resurrection, 
Post-Traumatic Pentecost, 
Post-Traumatic Leaders, 
Post-Traumatic Reconciliation, 
Post-Traumatic Pilgrimage, 
Post-Traumatic Pilgrimage Today, 
Post-Traumatic Compline, 
Practical Steps toward Becoming a Post-Traumatic Church, 
Five Stages on the Pilgrimage after War, 
Appendix: The Twelve Steps, 
Bibliography, 

CHAPTER 1

To Hell and Back

I can't ever remember being young in my life.

— Audie Murphy

The subtitle for this book comes from the 1955 film, To Hell and Back, starring Audie Murphy, one of the most decorated soldiers of all time. In the film, a very youthful thirty-one-year-old Murphy played himself in a swashbuckling tale of a country boy turned hero in World War II. He earned a million dollars from the film and starred in a number of westerns. After he died in a 1971 plane crash, a different picture emerged of his life.

Medical records from his release from active duty indicated vomiting, nightmares, and other indicators of combat fatigue, now known as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We now know he self-medicated his symptoms with drugs and alcohol, and reports of violence towards his first wife and more alarming behaviors have surfaced. As a war hero and media celebrity, it was hard for those who idolized him to believe such a great man could have so many demons. Perhaps no one knew. Perhaps no one wanted to know. He had, after all, pitched a sequel to To Hell and Back called The Way Back, which chronicled his homecoming, but no one wanted to finance it.

The army I served in adored Audie Murphy. Formed at Fort Hood, Texas, a base where I served for four years, the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club is an elite organization devoted to developing competent leaders for the army. To enter the club, a soldier must stand before several examining boards, answering questions to demonstrate proficiency. One of the areas of examination is Murphy's biography. Only the official biography can be used, however. To my knowledge, Murphy's PTSD, his self-medication, or any of his trials of homecoming are completely omitted. The founders of the club felt that good army leaders needed only to know his service number, how many films he starred in (forty-four), and his military awards for bravery. It is little wonder our warriors feel stigma and shame when they struggle in their post-war odyssey.

But Murphy did go to hell and back, and one of his many songs captures the loneliness of his condition.

Shutters and boards, cover the windows of the house
Where we used to live
All I have left, is a heart full of sorrow
Since she said, she'd never forgive

The house that we built, was once filled with laughter
But I changed that laughter to tears
Now, I live in a world without sunshine
Ooh, I wish you were here

Shutters and boards, cover the windows of the house
Where we used to live
All I have left, is a heart full of sorrow
Since she said, she'd never forgive

Last night I dreamed that you came to our house
To take an old book from the shelf
If you'll open the shutters, I'll tear down the boards
'Cause I drove every nail by myself

Ever since I came home from the war in Iraq, I see the world differently. At first, I thought the world had changed. Later, I realized I had done the changing. Now, for better or worse, I see everything, including God, through this post-traumatic lens. In this book I will argue I am not alone in this post-traumatic vision of God. Although my trip to hell and back cost me dearly, this post-traumatic vision of God is a good thing, a thing that will bring about more human flourishing. The Church needs this post-traumatic vision of God if she is to bring reconciliation and healing to a wounded world.

Our English word "trauma" is the Greek word for "wound." The purpose of war is to produce trauma in the enemy. Whether the enemy is killed or wounded matters little. All that matters is neutralization of the opposing fighting force. In fact, wounding enemy troops is preferable to killing them since wounded combatants require care by other troops. The dead require very little.

In the United States today, there are several million veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of us are wounded physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. Sometimes, all four of these categories of wounds exist in the same veteran. Each one of us is different and veterans should interpret their own experiences in combat and homecoming. I only know what I went through in Iraq. I only truly know my own experience, and the fog of war shadows that experience. I have forgotten some events for years, only to be reminded of them in a conversation with another veteran. In this book I offer you my experience in war and homecoming, with the hope my story might resonate with veterans and those who love and care for them.

One of the memories that keeps coming back to me happened in a Humvee between Baghdad and a forward operating base (FOB) south of the city. The vehicle had a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on the roof and a soldier in the turret on high alert. The roads were dangerous, and every car, pile of trash, or dead donkey could be concealing an improvised explosive device (IED).

On the way back from the mission, we passed through an Iraqi Army checkpoint on Route Tampa, the main highway from Baghdad to Kuwait. As we approached the checkpoint, a young Iraqi Army soldier, our ally, was having a heated discussion with an old Iraqi man. It looked like they were delaying the passage of the old man's small Toyota truck. The old man was dressed in a long, off-white, traditional Iraqi dress. As we approached the checkpoint, the young soldier stopped talking to the old man. He turned toward us, the approaching American convoy, and looked right at my vehicle. He had a defiant look on his face and I could see his eyes rest on my chaplain assistant as she sat in the passenger seat. She may or may not have noticed his gaze as she scanned the area for IEDs and other threats. Her M16A2 rifle was ready and the .50 Cal on the roof's turret remained silently vigilant. The young soldier looked at her, then he looked at me, and then he punched the old man in the stomach. The robe billowed around the soldier's fist until his fist hit the old man's stomach. The old man crumpled in a heap and we drove on. We always drove on. To stop anywhere was too risky.

There, in what was probably the least violent event of the whole Iraq War, something happened to me. Was this where my God died? I cannot be sure, but I know something shifted inside of me. I think about this moment often as I reflect on my time in Iraq. I think about what I could...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Morehouse Publishing
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2016
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 081923303X
• ISBN 13: 9780819233035
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 160
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar