The Trauma of Doctrine : New Calvinism, Religious Abuse, and the Experience of God

The Trauma of Doctrine is a theological investigation into the effects of abuse trauma upon the experience of Christian faith, the psychological mechanics of these effects, their resonances with Christian Scripture, and neglected research-informed strategies for cultivating post-traumatic resilience. Paul Maxwell examines the effect that the Calvinist belief can have upon the traumatized Christian who negatively internalizes its superlative doctrines of divine control and human moral corruption, and charts a way toward meaningful spiritual recovery. New Calvinism and the Victim endeavors into the overlapping areas of psychological trauma and systematic theology by investigating the dynamic interplay between the psychology of holding maximalist theological beliefs and recovery from abuse trauma. Maxwell examines the effect that the Calvinist belief can have upon the traumatized Christian who negatively internalizes its superlative doctrines of divine control and human moral corruption. The project seeks to understand these intersecting realities by investigating a triptych of inquiries: From a theological perspective, can a Christian lose his faith because of a traumatic experience? Moreover, what are the consequences of such a loss? And, how could Reformed theology exacerbate this religious detachment? 0Ultimately, the research suggests that there are experiential harmonies between the belief in Reformed theology and the experience of trauma, which are neither existentially necessary nor therapeutically negligible-rather, they are conceptually likely based on both philosophical analysis and psychological research Introduction --Reformed theology.Maximalist conceptions of divine control and human corruption --The unique obstacle of reformed theodicy --Traumatized faith.The imagination and its operations --Faith and the imagination --How trauma works --Trauma in the religious imagination --Pistic resilience.Perseverance and resilience : introducing pistic resilience --Passive pistic resilience : Divine patience with disrupted faith --Active pistic resilience : spiritual fortitude within disrupted faith --Pistic recovery --The traumatized Christian and the Reformed community --Recovering a sanctified notion of personal autonomy --Autonomy in community --Conclusion "The Trauma of Doctrine is a theological investigation into the effects of abuse trauma upon the experience of Christian faith, the psychological mechanics of these effects, their resonances with Christian scripture, and neglected research-informed strategies for cultivating post-traumatic resilience. Maxwell examines the effect that the Calvinist belief can have upon the traumatized Christian who negatively internalizes its superlative doctrines of divine control and human moral corruption, and charts a way toward meaningful spiritual recovery" -- From back cover The Trauma of Doctrine investigates the difficult relationship between traumatic experiences, maximalist religious beliefs, and the experience of God. The book highlights the dynamic and conflictive interplay between the timeless realities of abuse, divine control, and the psychology of religious participation