God and the Victim: Traumatic Intrusions on Grace and Freedom (Aar Academy Series)

175 Pages·2007·1.1 MB·English

by  Jennifer Erin Beste

God and the Victim
ACADEMYSERIES
SERIESEDITOR
KimberlyRaeConnor,UniversityofSanFrancisco
APublicationSeriesof
TheAmericanAcademyofReligion
and
OxfordUniversityPress
THESPECTEROFSPECIESISM
BuddhistandChristianViewsofAnimals
PaulWaldau
INCARNATIONANDPHYSICS
NaturalScienceintheTheologyofThomasF.Torrance
TapioLuoma
OFBORDERSANDMARGINS
HispanicDisciplesinTexas,1888–1945
DaisyL.Machado
YVESCONGAR’STHEOLOGYOFTHEHOLYSPIRIT
ElizabethTeresaGroppe
HSIEHLIANG-TSOANDTHEANALECTSOFCONFUCIUS
HumaneLearningasaReligiousQuest
ThomasW.Selover
GREGORYOFNYSSAANDTHECONCEPTOFDIVINEPERSONS
LucianTurcescu
GRAHAMGREENE’SCATHOLICIMAGINATION
MarkBosco,S.J.
COMINGTOTHEEDGEOFTHECIRCLE
AWiccanInitiationRitual
NikkiBado-Fralick
THEETHICSOFANIMALEXPERIMENTATION
ACriticalAnalysisandConstructiveChristianProposal
DonnaYarri
PAULINISRAEL’SSTORY
SelfandCommunityattheCross
JohnL.Meech
CROSSINGTHEETHNICDIVIDE
TheMultiethnicChurchonaMission
KathleenGarces-Foley
GODANDTHEVICTIM
TraumaticIntrusionsonGraceandFreedom
JenniferErinBeste
God and the Victim
Traumatic Intrusions
on Grace and Freedom
jennifer erin beste
1
2007
1
OxfordUniversityPress,Inc.,publishesworksthatfurther
OxfordUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellence
inresearch,scholarship,andeducation.
Oxford NewYork
Auckland CapeTown DaresSalaam HongKong Karachi
KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Nairobi
NewDelhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto
Withofficesin
Argentina Austria Brazil Chile CzechRepublic France Greece
Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore
SouthKorea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam
Copyright(cid:1)2007byTheAmericanAcademyofReligion
PublishedbyOxfordUniversityPress,Inc.
198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NewYork10016
www.oup.com
OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,
storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,
electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,
withoutthepriorpermissionofOxfordUniversityPress.
Sectionsofchapter4(treatmentofButler)werefirstpublished
as‘‘TheLimitsofPoststructuralismforFeministTheology,’’
JournalofFeministStudiesinReligion,v.22.1(Spring2006):5–19.
Ideasandsectionsofthemanuscriptfirstappearedin‘‘Receiving
andRespondingtoGod’sGrace:ARe-ExaminationinLight
ofTraumaTheory.’’JournaloftheSocietyofChristianEthics
(23:1,Spring/Summer2003:3–20).
Themajorityofchapter6hasbeenreprintedbypermissionofSagePublicationsLtd.
‘‘RecoveryfromSexualViolenceandSociallyMediatedDimensions
ofGod’sGrace:ImplicationsforChristianCommunities,’’byJenniferBeste
inStudiesinChristianEthics18:2,pp.89–112,SagePublications2005.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Beste,JenniferErin.
Godandthevictim:traumaticintrusionsongraceandfreedom/JenniferErinBeste.
p. cm.—(AmericanAcademyofReligionacademyseries)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-19-531109-9
1. Christianity—Psychology. 2. Post-traumaticstressdisorder—Religiousaspects—Christianity.
3. Grace(Theology). 4. Salvation—Christianity. 5. Liberty—Religiousaspects—Christianity.
I. Title.
BR110.B472007
233'.7—dc22 2006037211
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onacid-freepaper
For my parents, Joseph and Janice Beste, for their
unfailing support.
And for ‘‘Lauren,’’ whose daily courage and strength
in confronting her abusive past are a profound witness
to God’s and others’ love. Her spirit is truly inspiring,
and I thank her for her friendship.
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgments
Throughoutgraduateschoolandparticularlywhilewritingthisbook,
I learned that supportive relationships are not just essential for re-
covery from trauma; they are also crucial for sustaining one through
the trials of the writing process. I thank my dissertation advisor,
MargaretFarley,whoseconsistentencouragementhelpedmepersist
throughmomentsofdoubtandwhoseconstructiveinsightsimproved
my writing immensely. Thanks also to my dissertation co-advisor,
Serene Jones, for her enthusiastic support of my work and for her
willingnesstomeetweeklyanddiscusstraumaandtheologyduringa
two-year reading course. Next, I am grateful to Gene Outka, whose
work on interpersonal harm and whose guidance during the begin-
ningstagesofthisprojectwereinvaluable.ThomasOgletreealsohas
mydeepappreciationforhiskindsupportandwillingnesstodiscuss
relevant theological concerns. By no means least, I also thank my
friends Susan Pfeil, Cyndi Hess, and Shelly Rambo, who spent time
with me wrestling with the theological concerns raised by trauma.
Furthermore, friendships with my ethics colleagues at Yale, which
contributed tomyown growthandoverallqualityofmy manuscript,
constitute one of the real highlightsof my doctoralwork.
I also wish to express gratitude to my wonderful colleagues at
XavierUniversity,especiallytoFatherKenOverberg,S.J.,forhisfeed-
back onakey section ofthemanuscript. Thanksalso gotoKimberly
Connor of the University of San Francisco, editor of the American
viii acknowledgments
Academy of Religion Academy Series, and Cynthia Read, Executive Editor at
OxfordUniversityPress.
Finally, I gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to my family. I thank
myparentsfortheirwonderfulloveandsupportthroughmymanyyearsasa
student.Iamincrediblygratefultomyhusband,Steve,forhisunfailingsense
of humor, enthusiasm for my project, and meticulous reading of chapter
drafts.Thebirthofmydaughter,Anna,midwaythroughmydissertationand
thenthebirthofmyson,Jamison,duringitsrevisingprocesswereincredible
blessings;theirmischievoussmilesandlaughterhelpedtobalancemewhenI
felt weighted down by the reality of traumatic abuse.
Finally,wordscannotconveymyappreciationto‘‘Lauren,’’anincestsur-
vivor willing to be interviewed repeatedly over a span of several years. Our
conversationsdeepenedmypassionforexploringthewaysinwhichChristian
theology and ethics can most adequately attend to trauma survivors.
Contents
1. Challenges of Interpersonal Harm for a Theology of Freedom
and Grace, 3
2. Karl Rahner’s Theological Anthropology:
The Role of Freedom and Grace in the Construction of the
Human Self, 17
3. The Vulnerable Self and Loss of Agency:
Trauma Theory and the Challenge to a Rahnerian Theology
of Freedom and Grace, 37
4. The Fragmented Self and Constrained Agency:
Feminist Theories as Correctives to a Rahnerian
Anthropology, 59
5. Response to the Challenge:
Rahner’s Theology Revisited, 85
6. Ethical Directions:
Implications of a Revised Theology of Freedom and Grace, 107
Notes, 129
Bibliography, 149
Index, 161