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Trauma and Christianity

Traumas, or tragedies, happen to all people. Sometimes these traumas come from outside a person, inflicted by the will or carelessness of others, and other times a person creates problems for herself that she must then deal with. One must also understand that God allows traumas, either to weaken a person or to reveal her own weakness. Only when her weakness is revealed in herself can God's strength be then revealed in that person.

Roy Clements begins by referring to the Apostle Paul's life story in the second epistle to the Corinthians, noting that in defending his leadership as an apostle he does not shy from the problems, opposition, and persecution he endured as a direct result of evangelizing (15). Part of that Clements gives a background to, explaining that Greek heroes never are handicapped or ill, and Jews even saw illness as a sign of God's disfavor (17). This leads to the paradox of the Christian walk: "When I am weak, I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10). Not only those Jews who, like Paul, had strict training in God's law, but especially Gentile, Christians must endure disciplined training so that the Holy Spirit in them can be manifest. Christians need to learn to get themselves out His way.

Therefore, when bad things happen to good people, the Christian must remember that there are no good people, oneself included: "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Things are thus "bad" or "good" only when seen from God's view: "Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" (Isaiah 5:20). For the Christian, therefore, events are, essentially, only good: "For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). Even for the lost, "good" and "bad" events in their lives are arranged by the God Who "is not willing...

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Trauma and Christianity. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 08:57, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1689994.html