Forgiveness before its time: A theological reflection on the practice of forgiveness as experienced by Christian women survivors of sexual violence trauma
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Caroline Celestine Yih
Abstract
The Church can be a powerful supportive resource for Christian women in their arduous journey recovering from sexual violence trauma. However, these survivors are often found to be habitually re-traumatised by responses encountered in the aftermath leading to further wounding. Amongst the myriads of responses commonly experienced by the victims was the pressure to forgive. In this paper, I will explore the Christian practices of interpersonal forgiveness with a particular focus towards its application in the context of gender justice. The paper seeks to contribute to the growing efforts in developing theologically-robust and trauma-informed care for those struggling along the complex and challenging journey towards hope and healing.
Zusammenfassung
Die Kirche kann christlichen Frauen auf dem mühsamen Weg der Bewältigung des Traumas sexueller Gewalt eine große Hilfe sein. Allerdings werden die Überlebenden durch die Reaktionen, die sie in der Folgezeit erfahren, oft erneut traumatisiert, was zu weiteren Verletzungen führt. Eine der vielen Reaktionen, mit denen die Opfer häufig konfrontiert werden, ist der Druck, zu vergeben. Dieser Beitrag untersucht die christliche Praxis der zwischenmenschlichen Vergebung mit besonderem Augenmerk auf ihre Anwendung im Kontext der Geschlechtergerechtigkeit. Damit soll ein Beitrag zu den verstärkten Bemühungen geleistet werden, eine theologisch fundierte und traumainformierte Begleitung für diejenigen zu entwickeln, die sich auf dem komplexen und schwierigen Weg zu Hoffnung und Heilung befinden.
© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Boundary Crossing
- Research Report
- Christian Practical Theology and Islam: Disciplinary Intersections and Opportunities for Growth
- International Report
- In Search of Dialogical Partners for Asian Practical Theology
- Practice What We Teach: Academic Leadership in Times of Crisis
- The Paradoxical Concept of “Body” as Social Relation: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Corinth and an Indigenous Community in Lermatang, Maluku, Indonesia
- Sa Awa ng Diyos (Through God’s Mercy): Investigating the Family and Faith Lives of Left-Behind Fathers
- Koinonia through commensality?
- Forgiveness before its time: A theological reflection on the practice of forgiveness as experienced by Christian women survivors of sexual violence trauma
- Is the Machine Surpassing Humans?
- Preaching and Generative AI: A Perspective from Early 2024
- Who Is Interested (or Not) in Church-Administered Lifecycle Rituals?
- The Sociocultural Constructs Of Secular Time And Labour Among The Christian Farmers Of Tigray, Ethiopia
- Book Reviews
- Julia Feder, Incarnating Grace: A Theology of Healing from Sexual Trauma, New York, NY (Fordham University Press) 2023, 240 pp., ISBN 978–1531504724, $30.
- Choi Hee An, A Postcolonial Relationship: Challenges of Asian Immigrants as the Third Other, Albany, NY (SUNY Press) 2022, 181pp., ISBN 9781438486574, $99.
- Chris A. M. Hermans, Kobus Schoeman (Eds.), Resilient Religion, Resilience and Heartbreaking Adversity, Berlin (LIT VERLAG) 2023, 195 pp., ISBN 978-3-643-91500-9 (pb), $49.38.
- Kristin Merle, Manuel Stetter, Katharina Krause (Eds.), Prekäres Wissen. Praktische Theologie im Horizont postkolonialer Theorien, Leipzig (Evangelische Verlagsanstalt) 2024, 496 pp., ISBN 978-3-374-07604-8, 118 €.
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Boundary Crossing
- Research Report
- Christian Practical Theology and Islam: Disciplinary Intersections and Opportunities for Growth
- International Report
- In Search of Dialogical Partners for Asian Practical Theology
- Practice What We Teach: Academic Leadership in Times of Crisis
- The Paradoxical Concept of “Body” as Social Relation: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Corinth and an Indigenous Community in Lermatang, Maluku, Indonesia
- Sa Awa ng Diyos (Through God’s Mercy): Investigating the Family and Faith Lives of Left-Behind Fathers
- Koinonia through commensality?
- Forgiveness before its time: A theological reflection on the practice of forgiveness as experienced by Christian women survivors of sexual violence trauma
- Is the Machine Surpassing Humans?
- Preaching and Generative AI: A Perspective from Early 2024
- Who Is Interested (or Not) in Church-Administered Lifecycle Rituals?
- The Sociocultural Constructs Of Secular Time And Labour Among The Christian Farmers Of Tigray, Ethiopia
- Book Reviews
- Julia Feder, Incarnating Grace: A Theology of Healing from Sexual Trauma, New York, NY (Fordham University Press) 2023, 240 pp., ISBN 978–1531504724, $30.
- Choi Hee An, A Postcolonial Relationship: Challenges of Asian Immigrants as the Third Other, Albany, NY (SUNY Press) 2022, 181pp., ISBN 9781438486574, $99.
- Chris A. M. Hermans, Kobus Schoeman (Eds.), Resilient Religion, Resilience and Heartbreaking Adversity, Berlin (LIT VERLAG) 2023, 195 pp., ISBN 978-3-643-91500-9 (pb), $49.38.
- Kristin Merle, Manuel Stetter, Katharina Krause (Eds.), Prekäres Wissen. Praktische Theologie im Horizont postkolonialer Theorien, Leipzig (Evangelische Verlagsanstalt) 2024, 496 pp., ISBN 978-3-374-07604-8, 118 €.
