Varying Views on Trauma and the Body
A biblical counselor on X said,
“Your response to trauma reveals what has been stored in your heart, not your body.”
Here are my initial, preliminary thoughts on this quote.
Biblical Trauma Reflection #1: “Blame It on the Brain?” or “Care for the Whole Person?”
I assume that the statement is meant to protect against the false belief that we do not have moral responsibility for our responses to trauma because we can blame our bodies/brains.
However, we can maintain a biblical view of the impact of traumatic suffering on the embodied-soul without blaming the body, without rejecting personal responsibility, and without rejecting compassionate, comprehensive ministry for the sufferer.
Biblical Reflection #2: We Are Embodied-Souls
Given how God created us as a complex, interconnected, interrelated body/soul—embodied-soul, it is not theologically accurate to say that trauma impacts and “reveals” only what is in your heart. God did not create us as disembodied spirits, but as embodied-souls (Genesis 2:7).
Biblical Trauma Reflection #3: Being Sinned Against Has a Lasting (“Stored”) Impact on the Embodied-Soul
Because we live in fallen, finite bodies in a fallen, sinful world, our embodied-souls will continue to groan our entire lives
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
