Post-Traumatic Jesus: Reading the Gospel with the Wounded

by David W. Peters

After twenty years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, a global pandemic, protests against racial violence, and frequent shootings, more Americans than ever are living with the effects of trauma. The good news is that Jesus was born and died in a traumatized world, and his story speaks forever to wounded people worldwide. Army veteran and Episcopal priest David Peters explores Jesus’ life story through the post-traumatic lens with which the Gospel writers first wrote it—as people who had seen their leader executed by the same oppressive government that had already shrouded their whole lives in anxiety and fear. Meeting the post-traumatic Jesus—the only Jesus the world has ever known—can be a balm to the wounds of modern Christians and spiritual seekers.

219 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 21, 2023

About the author

David W. Peters enlisted in the Marine Corps the day after his high school graduation. After his enlistment, he attended theological seminary and worked as a youth minister. Shortly after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, he was commissioned as a chaplain in the US Army. He served as the battalion chaplain for the 62nd Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) at Fort Hood, Texas, 2004-2007, which included his deployment to Iraq in 2006. After Iraq he also served as a chaplain clinician in the amputee, orthopedic, neuroscience, and psychological wards at Walter Reed. His essay, "A Spiritual War: Crises of Faith in Combat Chaplains from Iraq and Afghanistan" was included in the volume titled *Listening on the Edge: Oral History in the Aftermath of Crisis (Oxford University Press, 2014). David has written for the Huffington Post and is a priest in The Episcopal Church. He lives with his wife in Austin, TX.

Reviews

[Tami Vigesaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise of Post-Traumatic Jesus is honestly one I have not seen before: the trauma Jesus experienced, the trauma those around him experienced connects our traumatized selves to Him even more. As a woman, the example of the hemorrhaging woman who is healed when she touches Jesus was incredibly powerful to look at through this post-traumatic lens: “Jesus knows… He believes her whole story, every bit of it. He includes her in his community.”

I struggled at times with spots that seemed to get too heavy into historical details, feeling like we didn’t need quite such depth of explanation in some cases, but that could be personal preference rather than fair critique. This made it a harder read for me, whereas other portions I could take in the examples more easily and not feel like I needed to give my brain a break.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who is working out what their relationship with faith and Jesus looks like now- having lived through various traumas and in a broken world, where it seems even the church is broken in many ways- we are reevaluating, and I think the connections made in this book can help.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

[Lisa Quenon · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Peters' writing is insightful, compelling, compassionate. As an army chaplain, he developed an intimate knowledge of the unique issues our soldiers struggle with.

As an Episcopal priest, David is able to marry the past and the present with such profound insight that even those of us who never experienced the horrors of Iraq or Vietnam yet faced our own 'front line wars' and are dealing with PTSD can incorporate his insights into our own lives.

A book for the everyday reader; for therapists; for anyone whose life intersects with trauma and healing.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn to the author by Twitter posts -- posts that first caught my attention because we have similar names.
I am PTSD-adjacent. While working on VA appeals as a law librarian, I finally read the DSM-IV and DSM-5 entries on PTSD and realized that was my Dad. It took the edge off my view of him and his second generation self-medication. He was in WWII, his father was in WWI.
I have tagged several sections to go back and explore in more detail. I have limited myself to reading two chapters a day, mostly because I want to process more of my experience.
My Dad has passed away, so some of my apologies are to him in heaven.
The book is recommended for people exploring their PTSD, family members who are alongside the people with PTSD, and pastors who are seeking to better serve that segment of the population.
In reaction to another review, I found the historical references to be points of resonance. It might be that I had an expectation of going into the military -- a path my Uncles discouraged -- and so the topics were very much a part of my reading in my youth.