Moral injury is a profound violation of a human being's core moral identity through experiences of violence or trauma. This is the first book in which scholars from different faith and academic backgrounds consider the concept of moral injury not merely from a pastoral or philosophical point of view but through critical engagement with the sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and American Civil Religion.
This collection of essays explores the ambiguities of personal culpability among both perpetrators and victims of violence and the suffering involved in accepting personal agency in trauma. Contributors provide fresh and compelling readings of texts from different faith traditions and use their findings to reflect on real-life strategies for recovery from violations of core moral beliefs and their consequences such as shame, depression and addiction. With interpretations of the sacred texts, contributors reflect on the concerns of the morally-injured today and offer particular aspects of healing from their communities as support, making this a groundbreaking contribution to the study of moral injury and trauma.
Foreword - Rita Nakashima Brock, PhD, Research Professor of Theology and Culture, Brite Divinity School, and Founding Co-Director, The Soul Repair Center; Introduction - Joseph McDonald, PhD, Visiting Instructor at Texas Christian University and Brite Divinity School; 1. Soul Repair: A Jewish View - David R. Blumenthal, PhD, Jay and Leslie Cohen Professor of Judaic Studies, Emory University; 2. Sodom and Lot's Family: Moral Injury in Genesis 19 - Nancy Bowen, PhD, Professor of Old Testament, Earlham School of Religion; 3. Moral Injury and the Qur'an: Joseph in 'The Most Beautiful Story' - Amir Hussain, PhD, Professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University; 4. Moral Injury and the Division of Spoils after Battle in the Hebrew Bible - Brad Kelle, PhD, Professor of Old Testament, Point Loma Nazarene University; 5. Civil Religion and the Moral Wounds of War - Daniel C. Maguire, STD, Professor of Theological Ethics, Marquette University; 6. Like acid seeping into your soul: Religio-cultural Violence in Moral Injury - Kelly Denton-Borhaug, PhD, Associate Professor of Religion and Co-director of Peace and Justice Studies, Moravian College; 7. Do Not Torment Me: The Morally-Injured Gersaene Demoniac - Michael Yandell, Theological Studies PhD student, Emory University; 8. Peter and Judas: Moral Injury and Repair - Warren Carter, PhD, Professor of New Testament, Brite Divinity School; 9. Angulimala's Redemption: Narrating a Buddhist Way beyond Moral Injury - John Thompson, PhD, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Christopher Newport University; Conclusion; Bibliography; Scripture Index
This may be the most important, authentic, and enjoyable volume yet written on moral injury. Each deliciously crafted essay explores new territory in the moral injury landscape using passages from ancient and revered writings as guides. The whole powerfully affirms the role of moral living-and its sometimes heartbreaking challenges-in the center of human experience.
