Christian Ethics, Trauma, and Dust in the Blood: Moving Toward Enfleshed Counter-Memory
While presenting very real medical and religious challenges, theology tends to both over-psychologize and over-spiritualize mental health suffering. Inspired by Jessica Coblentz’s theology of depression, articulated most thoroughly in _Dust in the Blood_, I expand her analysis to the field of trauma...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Journal of Moral Theology, Inc.
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Moral Theology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.55476/001c.127968 |
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| author | Stephanie C. Edwards |
| author_facet | Stephanie C. Edwards |
| author_sort | Stephanie C. Edwards |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While presenting very real medical and religious challenges, theology tends to both over-psychologize and over-spiritualize mental health suffering. Inspired by Jessica Coblentz’s theology of depression, articulated most thoroughly in _Dust in the Blood_, I expand her analysis to the field of trauma studies. Reading trauma with Coblentz clearly calls theology to account for its ongoing insufficient responses to real persons in pain. It also further exposes the metaphysical/ existential import of mental health writ large. To begin to address this void, I outline a Christian social ethic that calls the wider community to work for justice in contexts of suffering and facilitate spaces for potential healing when such justice is impossible. I call this ethic “enfleshed counter-memory.” Christian theology, as read by Coblentz, requires an ethic that can respond within the “wilderness” as well as point beyond its borders. Such an ethic has the capacity to enliven theological scholarship and practice to rightly respond to the ongoing global mental health crisis. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-840bda965e0f4c1790edf1f2544f8b5e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2166-2851 2166-2118 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | The Journal of Moral Theology, Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Moral Theology |
| spelling | doaj-art-840bda965e0f4c1790edf1f2544f8b5e2025-01-03T02:17:25ZengThe Journal of Moral Theology, Inc.Journal of Moral Theology2166-28512166-21182025-01-01141Christian Ethics, Trauma, and Dust in the Blood: Moving Toward Enfleshed Counter-MemoryStephanie C. EdwardsWhile presenting very real medical and religious challenges, theology tends to both over-psychologize and over-spiritualize mental health suffering. Inspired by Jessica Coblentz’s theology of depression, articulated most thoroughly in _Dust in the Blood_, I expand her analysis to the field of trauma studies. Reading trauma with Coblentz clearly calls theology to account for its ongoing insufficient responses to real persons in pain. It also further exposes the metaphysical/ existential import of mental health writ large. To begin to address this void, I outline a Christian social ethic that calls the wider community to work for justice in contexts of suffering and facilitate spaces for potential healing when such justice is impossible. I call this ethic “enfleshed counter-memory.” Christian theology, as read by Coblentz, requires an ethic that can respond within the “wilderness” as well as point beyond its borders. Such an ethic has the capacity to enliven theological scholarship and practice to rightly respond to the ongoing global mental health crisis.https://doi.org/10.55476/001c.127968 |
| spellingShingle | Stephanie C. Edwards Christian Ethics, Trauma, and Dust in the Blood: Moving Toward Enfleshed Counter-Memory Journal of Moral Theology |
| title | Christian Ethics, Trauma, and Dust in the Blood: Moving Toward Enfleshed Counter-Memory |
| title_full | Christian Ethics, Trauma, and Dust in the Blood: Moving Toward Enfleshed Counter-Memory |
| title_fullStr | Christian Ethics, Trauma, and Dust in the Blood: Moving Toward Enfleshed Counter-Memory |
| title_full_unstemmed | Christian Ethics, Trauma, and Dust in the Blood: Moving Toward Enfleshed Counter-Memory |
| title_short | Christian Ethics, Trauma, and Dust in the Blood: Moving Toward Enfleshed Counter-Memory |
| title_sort | christian ethics trauma and dust in the blood moving toward enfleshed counter memory |
| url | https://doi.org/10.55476/001c.127968 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stephaniecedwards christianethicstraumaanddustinthebloodmovingtowardenfleshedcountermemory |