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Holy Resilience: The Bible's Traumatic Origins
A leading biblical scholar offers a powerful reexamination of the Bible’s origins and its connections to human suffering
Human trauma gave birth to the Bible, suggests eminent religious scholar David Carr. The Bible’s ability to speak to suffering is a major reason why the sacred texts of Judaism and Christianity have retained their relevance for thousands of years. In his fascinating and provocative reinterpretation of the Bible’s origins, the author tells the story of how the Jewish people and Christian community had to adapt to survive multiple catastrophes and how their holy scriptures both reflected and reinforced each religion’s resilient nature.
Carr’s thought-provoking analysis demonstrates how many of the central tenets of biblical religion, including monotheism and the idea of suffering as God’s retribution, are factors that provided Judaism and Christianity with the strength and flexibility to endure in the face of disaster. In addition, the author explains how the Jewish Bible was deeply shaped by the Jewish exile in Babylon, an event that it rarely describes, and how the Christian Bible was likewise shaped by the unspeakable shame of having a crucified savior.
Human trauma gave birth to the Bible, suggests eminent religious scholar David Carr. The Bible’s ability to speak to suffering is a major reason why the sacred texts of Judaism and Christianity have retained their relevance for thousands of years. In his fascinating and provocative reinterpretation of the Bible’s origins, the author tells the story of how the Jewish people and Christian community had to adapt to survive multiple catastrophes and how their holy scriptures both reflected and reinforced each religion’s resilient nature.
Carr’s thought-provoking analysis demonstrates how many of the central tenets of biblical religion, including monotheism and the idea of suffering as God’s retribution, are factors that provided Judaism and Christianity with the strength and flexibility to endure in the face of disaster. In addition, the author explains how the Jewish Bible was deeply shaped by the Jewish exile in Babylon, an event that it rarely describes, and how the Christian Bible was likewise shaped by the unspeakable shame of having a crucified savior.
322 pages, Paperback
First published November 25, 2014
32 people are currently reading
214 people want to read
About the author
David M. Carr
17 books11 followersDavid M. Carr is Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Over his decades-long academic career, he has become an international authority on the formation of the Bible, ancient scribal culture, and issues of the Bible and sexuality.
Decades into a career as a biblical scholar, he suffered a life-threatening bicycle accident that changed his view of the scriptures he had devoted his life to studying. As he grappled with his own individual trauma and survival of it, he became interested in how the collective trauma of Israel and the early church had shaped the Bible. He saw that these holy texts are defined by survival of communal catastrophe. This is part of what makes them special, what made them last. The result of this basic insight is Carr's forthcoming work, Holy Resilience: The Bible's Traumatic Origins (Yale University Press, Fall 2014).
His academic journey to that point started with dropping out of high school at age sixteen to attend college full-time and completing a BA in Philosophy at Carleton College at age eighteen in 1980. Eight years later, in 1988, he finished his Ph.D. with a focus on the Old Testament and Early Judaism at Claremont Graduate University.
Since then he has taught full time for twenty-five years, first at Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio (1988-1999) and the last fifteen years at Union Theological Seminary in New York City (1999-present). Some of his publications have been directed to fellow specialists on the Bible, such as Reading the Fractures of Genesis (Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Scripture and Literature (Oxford University Press, 2005) and The Formation of the Hebrew Bible: A New Reconstruction (Oxford University Press, 2011). While other publications have been directed to a broader audience of students and the general public such as Carr's Introduction to the Hebrew Bible: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts (Wiley Blackwell, 2010) and The Erotic Word: Sexuality, Spirituality and the Bible (Oxford University Press, 2001).
A father/stepfather of four, Carr lives, rides his bicycle and plays funk-blues organ in New York City with his wife and fellow biblical scholar, Colleen Conway.
Decades into a career as a biblical scholar, he suffered a life-threatening bicycle accident that changed his view of the scriptures he had devoted his life to studying. As he grappled with his own individual trauma and survival of it, he became interested in how the collective trauma of Israel and the early church had shaped the Bible. He saw that these holy texts are defined by survival of communal catastrophe. This is part of what makes them special, what made them last. The result of this basic insight is Carr's forthcoming work, Holy Resilience: The Bible's Traumatic Origins (Yale University Press, Fall 2014).
His academic journey to that point started with dropping out of high school at age sixteen to attend college full-time and completing a BA in Philosophy at Carleton College at age eighteen in 1980. Eight years later, in 1988, he finished his Ph.D. with a focus on the Old Testament and Early Judaism at Claremont Graduate University.
Since then he has taught full time for twenty-five years, first at Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio (1988-1999) and the last fifteen years at Union Theological Seminary in New York City (1999-present). Some of his publications have been directed to fellow specialists on the Bible, such as Reading the Fractures of Genesis (Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Scripture and Literature (Oxford University Press, 2005) and The Formation of the Hebrew Bible: A New Reconstruction (Oxford University Press, 2011). While other publications have been directed to a broader audience of students and the general public such as Carr's Introduction to the Hebrew Bible: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts (Wiley Blackwell, 2010) and The Erotic Word: Sexuality, Spirituality and the Bible (Oxford University Press, 2001).
A father/stepfather of four, Carr lives, rides his bicycle and plays funk-blues organ in New York City with his wife and fellow biblical scholar, Colleen Conway.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 18, 2015
Discussion of the Bible in terms of its relation to ancient trauma, memory and resilience. Re-frames the books and stories of the Bible with a discussion of historical context and the thinking/mindset of the time.
I found this to be fascinating reading.
I found this to be fascinating reading.
April 26, 2015
Carr's book is both a readable primer on the formation of the Bible and a revealing window into the way trauma studies can inform the way we read Scripture. While I have my reservations about how we determine which elements of biblical text to attribute to trauma and the way we apply study of personal trauma to the text, on the whole I found this book informative and will probably reference it for some time to come.
December 5, 2016
Though I learned very little new in this book, I liked the way he told the story of the Bible in a new way--looking at the way trauma had impacted the formation of the Bible. I will recommend this text as a good introduction to the biblical story giving one an overview of biblical history and the writing and formation of the canon.
March 29, 2021
"The crises of ancient Israel, however, birthed a form of piety that allowed devotion to only one deity, who could not be given a worldly image. All others were rejected. Yet further crises led Israel to deny that any other deities than Yahweh even existed. Their world became disenchanted." 10
Trauma is a catch word. But just because it is being co-opted and used willy-nilly these days doesnt mean that books about trauma should be discounted. If written by highly informed or well grounded therapists or theologians, it is good and maybe even essential to listen to their explorations.
Carr's book is a step into a "trauma informed" perspective on the bible. If we grant that it is an interesting experiment to take significant themes in trauma therapy/theory and apply them to a book that is filled with traumas and was written, in many cases, by traumatized monotheist people (OT) or early Jesus followers; what do you find?
Well, i found that it shades the historical-critical work with another hermeneutical lens. I think this is probably speculative because who knows how the jewish captives in Babylon would be traumatized in the same way that modern north american people are traumatized? It is a radically different social situation. But it is helpful to be reminded that the Bible is written by people who suffered and for Christians, the suffering became a central part of understanding the incarnation of God in his Son as suffering WITH humanity and on behalf of humanity. To of the main historical events that caused deep communal trauma were three fold: in 720 BCE the 10 tribes of israel exiled by the Assyrians, in 586 the Babylonians destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and the 70ad Roman decimation of Jerusalem.
So utilizing trauma theory seems to fit as a helpful tool for seeing the texts of Scripture in a new light. Not radically new, because suffering and theodicy are common themes in biblical theology.
I enjoyed the book and especially Carr's unpacking of the reality of ancient Israel's experiences of deportation and re-settlement in Babylon. The history of the multiple traumas experienced was fascinating for understand the specific shape of Christianity. Also Carr's short breakdown of the developmental history of PTSD was helpful (see appendix).
Quotes:
“The cross is no sign of humiliating defeat for Christians. Instead, it is a proud symbol of movement membership. Jesus’ followers did not end up fleeing from the reality of his crucifixion, but “took up the cross” themselves. Such a thing would have been incomprehensible to Romans. It is an excellent example of the adaptability of symbols, especially in cases like imperial domination, where a dominated group confronts symbolic actions imposed on it by its oppressor." 162
Trauma is a catch word. But just because it is being co-opted and used willy-nilly these days doesnt mean that books about trauma should be discounted. If written by highly informed or well grounded therapists or theologians, it is good and maybe even essential to listen to their explorations.
Carr's book is a step into a "trauma informed" perspective on the bible. If we grant that it is an interesting experiment to take significant themes in trauma therapy/theory and apply them to a book that is filled with traumas and was written, in many cases, by traumatized monotheist people (OT) or early Jesus followers; what do you find?
Well, i found that it shades the historical-critical work with another hermeneutical lens. I think this is probably speculative because who knows how the jewish captives in Babylon would be traumatized in the same way that modern north american people are traumatized? It is a radically different social situation. But it is helpful to be reminded that the Bible is written by people who suffered and for Christians, the suffering became a central part of understanding the incarnation of God in his Son as suffering WITH humanity and on behalf of humanity. To of the main historical events that caused deep communal trauma were three fold: in 720 BCE the 10 tribes of israel exiled by the Assyrians, in 586 the Babylonians destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and the 70ad Roman decimation of Jerusalem.
So utilizing trauma theory seems to fit as a helpful tool for seeing the texts of Scripture in a new light. Not radically new, because suffering and theodicy are common themes in biblical theology.
I enjoyed the book and especially Carr's unpacking of the reality of ancient Israel's experiences of deportation and re-settlement in Babylon. The history of the multiple traumas experienced was fascinating for understand the specific shape of Christianity. Also Carr's short breakdown of the developmental history of PTSD was helpful (see appendix).
Quotes:
“The cross is no sign of humiliating defeat for Christians. Instead, it is a proud symbol of movement membership. Jesus’ followers did not end up fleeing from the reality of his crucifixion, but “took up the cross” themselves. Such a thing would have been incomprehensible to Romans. It is an excellent example of the adaptability of symbols, especially in cases like imperial domination, where a dominated group confronts symbolic actions imposed on it by its oppressor." 162
August 20, 2021
Excellent. Carr writes of the resilience of the Hebrew people who lived and survived Assyrian invasion, Babylonian exile, Persian, Greek and Roman colonisation. He suggests that the perpetual political and existential crises propelled the leadership community to maintain community cohesion through a series of processes including the development of soft monotheism (choosing and worshipping only Yahweh), hard monotheism (worshipoing Yahweh and rejecting all other Gods as false), Religious purging and cleansing, prophetic metaphors admonishing relinquishing of idolatry, poetic writings of the crisis ie lamentations and psalms, and looking to the ancestors struggles to shed light on how to understand their current struggles.
Carr's insights into the processes are well developed and contribute to an understanding of the changing shape of Hebrew/Israel/Jewish identities and culture.
Beyond this he progresses into the New testament and examines Paul's writings in light of Jewish scripture to understand how early Jesus' followers made sense of the execution of Jesus. He also analyzes particularly the book of Mark and the indications that this book reflects the devastation of that first community of Jesus' followers. This section is not as long or fleshed out as the Old Testament sections.
He writes further of the importance of the cross to early christian thinking and how the trauma of losing their leader contributed to their attachment of much significance to their suffering and dying for others and for martyrdom.
Overall an excellent introduction to how existential crisis, trauma, and intense difficulties faced by Jews and Christians have shaped their culture, beliefs, deity, forms of worship and ritual and enabled both traditions which had their origins in Judaism to survive thousands of years.
Carr's insights into the processes are well developed and contribute to an understanding of the changing shape of Hebrew/Israel/Jewish identities and culture.
Beyond this he progresses into the New testament and examines Paul's writings in light of Jewish scripture to understand how early Jesus' followers made sense of the execution of Jesus. He also analyzes particularly the book of Mark and the indications that this book reflects the devastation of that first community of Jesus' followers. This section is not as long or fleshed out as the Old Testament sections.
He writes further of the importance of the cross to early christian thinking and how the trauma of losing their leader contributed to their attachment of much significance to their suffering and dying for others and for martyrdom.
Overall an excellent introduction to how existential crisis, trauma, and intense difficulties faced by Jews and Christians have shaped their culture, beliefs, deity, forms of worship and ritual and enabled both traditions which had their origins in Judaism to survive thousands of years.
July 15, 2022
A new approach to read the Sacred texts through the prism of the experienced communal trauma. The suthor tries to see how the lived catastrophies actually lived and reflected by the communities throughout the ages made an impact on the texts. Fresh, innovative but sometimes repetitive.
February 24, 2018
I really liked this book. Carr's analysis of how survivors of traumatic events used this pain to bring us the Bible was argued well. I look forward to reading more of his works, and he increased my love and appreciation for the biblical narrative. His view that the 40 year exodus taking this long gave meaning to the community of Jews during the Exile in Babylon was insightful, but I wanted more. From my study the 40 year narrative comes from more than one strand of the different authors according to the DH, and I wanted Carr to break this down for me. What has caused him to draw this conclusion? I loved it, I just wanted more in this regard.
As one who has survived a couple of traumatic events similar to Carr's, I had empathy for his personal story, and found myself in agreement with many of his conclusions. I am reading another of his books right now, and so far am enjoying it.
As one who has survived a couple of traumatic events similar to Carr's, I had empathy for his personal story, and found myself in agreement with many of his conclusions. I am reading another of his books right now, and so far am enjoying it.
January 22, 2022
The concept behind this is great, and some of the chapters are dead on. But the two chapter historical construction pulls details into the tale that have no basis: these might be a creative flourish, but a less informed reader wouldn’t know that. His opening chapter introduces the idea that Hosea almost invented monolatry, which sort of makes Hosea’s argument completely ineffectual. The chapters on the crucifixion were super interesting, but a lot of the work just relies on a Yahwistic evolutionary hypothesis of a particular flavor a little too hard. I’m not an inerrantist by any means, and I realize that this is a work intended for both religious and secular audience, but from a Christian scholar one does hope for a bit more of a theological reading.
November 13, 2020
super interesting drash on the origins of Jewish community written by a GOY
May 26, 2020
This book was a paradigm shifter for me. I don’t think I’ll really be able to look at scripture in the same way after reading this. At the very beginning of the book, this quote really drew me in and never let me go until I was finished reading:
“Where the myths of other nations focused on triumph and died with them, the Bible speaks of survival of total catastrophe. Other scriptures pictured gods who sponsored empires in their domination of others. The Jewish and Christian scriptures envision a God who brought suffering on God’s own people and yet carried them through it.”
This book explores the question of how the circumstances that were occurring when the Bible was written, edited, and canonized shaped the story itself, and the interpretation of that story. It also explores the question of why Israel’s story is so special that it is revered as scripture while so many writings of other nations are not known outside of certain scholarly circles. This book helped the scriptures come alive and be more real to me in a way that they seldom have before.
“Where the myths of other nations focused on triumph and died with them, the Bible speaks of survival of total catastrophe. Other scriptures pictured gods who sponsored empires in their domination of others. The Jewish and Christian scriptures envision a God who brought suffering on God’s own people and yet carried them through it.”
This book explores the question of how the circumstances that were occurring when the Bible was written, edited, and canonized shaped the story itself, and the interpretation of that story. It also explores the question of why Israel’s story is so special that it is revered as scripture while so many writings of other nations are not known outside of certain scholarly circles. This book helped the scriptures come alive and be more real to me in a way that they seldom have before.
March 31, 2025
This book wasn't what I expected. I had hoped to explore how scripture served as trauma literature helping the nation of Israel navigate its exile experiences. Instead, it presents a thoughtful analysis of how Israel's exile trauma shaped the writing of scripture from Genesis onward. While I disagree with many of Dr. Carr's interpretations about how Israel's traumatic experiences influenced scripture, as someone new to trauma theology, I found this to be an excellent introduction to the field. He raises a compelling question at the end that deserves further exploration: if we emphasize the legitimate victimhood of God's people, don't we risk viewing everything through that lens? How do we balance our identity as followers of Jesus—acknowledging that traumatic experiences will occur—without letting those experiences define us? I'm particularly interested in exploring how emerging research on trauma and epigenetics might illuminate our understanding of scripture and reveal new layers of meaning in the Holy text.
Read
December 28, 2020This isn’t hyperbole: David M. Carr’s Holy Resilience: The Bible’s Traumatic Origins may be the best book written about the Bible that I’ve ever read. In one sense, it does what the ‘Biblical Theology’ movement has attempted to do: provide an overarching canonology that accounts for the unification of this collection (or these collections). In another sense, it does what critical scholarship on the Bible often fails to do: show how the Bible can remain relevant, even life-giving, without resorting to a conservative Bibliology.
For my full reflections on the book, go here: https://readingthebiblewithigen.home....
For my full reflections on the book, go here: https://readingthebiblewithigen.home....
January 24, 2019
Again this is superb biblical studies. The reading is original, plausible, and helpful. I am not a scholar and thus unable to fairly review this work but I found it helpful to me in my own reading of biblical literature.
August 15, 2019
Even though this book has trauma as a theme, it is actually a really solid introduction to the whole Bible and is really accessible. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a good overview of the whole Bible.
April 9, 2024
I think Carr has some great anecdotes throughout and the connection to his own life makes the book more personal. However, the book’s subject matter was not something I was particularly invested in, so I had trouble getting through this.
December 17, 2025
Difficult to make up my mind
I find it difficult to make up my mind about this book. Initially, I thought the author was belabouring his point too much. But then I began to think there was something to it after all. Read and find out for yourself.
I find it difficult to make up my mind about this book. Initially, I thought the author was belabouring his point too much. But then I began to think there was something to it after all. Read and find out for yourself.
Read
June 29, 2019im following accurently this theme in biblical studies and i would like to go deeper in the research. Thank you.
June 13, 2024
One of the best biblical history books I've read. It's great to read a critical account of the history behind the Bible from early Israelite polytheism to Christianity, since there tends to be something of an iron curtain separating Old and New Testament scholarship. The theme of trauma was incredibly fascinating and not belaboured. I only have two nitpicks. First, it was a huge missed opportunity not to include the visionary resurrection appearances to Jesus's apostles, since these could largely be explained by their trauma. Secondly, I think that if the book was longer, maybe twice as long, so that it could really flesh out details and historiographical issues regarding the texts (especially those missed out) and their historical contexts, and maybe fit in some discussion on Gnosticism all into one big narrative, then it would be a real classic.
EDIT: I asked the author about his opinion regarding the resurrection appearances in a Reddit AMA today. He replied: "I must admit I'm not coming up with a good answer to this. I'm sorry." I wonder if, as a Quaker, the resurrection being a fictitious event would be a step too far for an otherwise critical scholar.
EDIT: I asked the author about his opinion regarding the resurrection appearances in a Reddit AMA today. He replied: "I must admit I'm not coming up with a good answer to this. I'm sorry." I wonder if, as a Quaker, the resurrection being a fictitious event would be a step too far for an otherwise critical scholar.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews