An Understanding of the God of the Sufferers and Suggestions for Caring
An Understanding of God of the Sufferers and Suggestions for Caring
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In this paper, I examine the understanding of God among sufferers who experience undeserved abuse and violence. The research provides informal individual interviews with Kim, a survivor of physical and spiritual abuse; the interviews show how victims understand God and why they tend to blame God. In the midst of agony, victims of abuse and violence, especially those who have Christian faith, experience a brutal and unjust God, the One with almighty power who has allowed violence in their lives. The stories of Kim and Job in the Bible, both of whom experience calamities and violent accusations from the community, reveal that, in the traditional Christian faith, the omnipotent image of God often appears to victims of abuse as being rigid, indifferent, and even violent. An omnipotent God, therefore, needs to answer human suffering with the state of evil and evildoers. To solve the dilemma in the context of pastoral care and church ministry, I suggest changing the core meaning of power from control to loving and persuasion. My main argument is that re-understanding God is the crucial part of care and recovery for victims of abuse and violence. People with traditional belief, however, often prohibit the victims from blaming God and teach them not be rebellious against God. Often, they believe that the victims’ sufferings result from their sin; thus, their advice turns into another act of violence to the victims. Prohibiting free exploration of God in abusive human life only contributes to the image of an authoritative and violent God. The greatness of God can be revealed in the circumstance where humans freely examine and question God in reflection on their suffering. I suggest that victims blaming God should be accepted and welcomed in pastoral caring and ministry. It helps victims re-understand the God of love and justice to lead them to an epistemological shift toward the meaning of who they are and, consequently, helps them recover from their agony.
Abstract
In this paper, I examine the understanding of God among sufferers who experience undeserved abuse and violence. The research provides informal individual interviews with Kim, a survivor of physical and spiritual abuse; the interviews show how victims understand God and why they tend to blame God. In the midst of agony, victims of abuse and violence, especially those who have Christian faith, experience a brutal and unjust God, the One with almighty power who has allowed violence in their lives. The stories of Kim and Job in the Bible, both of whom experience calamities and violent accusations from the community, reveal that, in the traditional Christian faith, the omnipotent image of God often appears to victims of abuse as being rigid, indifferent, and even violent. An omnipotent God, therefore, needs to answer human suffering with the state of evil and evildoers. To solve the dilemma in the context of pastoral care and church ministry, I suggest changing the core meaning of power from control to loving and persuasion. My main argument is that re-understanding God is the crucial part of care and recovery for victims of abuse and violence. People with traditional belief, however, often prohibit the victims from blaming God and teach them not be rebellious against God. Often, they believe that the victims’ sufferings result from their sin; thus, their advice turns into another act of violence to the victims. Prohibiting free exploration of God in abusive human life only contributes to the image of an authoritative and violent God. The greatness of God can be revealed in the circumstance where humans freely examine and question God in reflection on their suffering. I suggest that victims blaming God should be accepted and welcomed in pastoral caring and ministry. It helps victims re-understand the God of love and justice to lead them to an epistemological shift toward the meaning of who they are and, consequently, helps them recover from their agony.
참고문헌 (24)
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