Army veteran and Episcopal priest David W. Peters explores Jesus’ life story through the post-traumatic lens
by Westminster John Knox Press | Special to Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE — After 20 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.
Peters’ new book, “Post-Traumatic Jesus: A Healing Gospel for the Wounded,” which will be published Feb. 21 by Westminster John Knox Press, is perfect for book clubs and group discussions. A downloadable reading guide is available here.
David W. Peters
David W. Peters served as an enlisted Marine and Army chaplain who deployed to Iraq in 2005. He is the author of several books, notably “Death Letter: God, Sex, and War and Post-Traumatic God: How the Church Cares for People Who Have Been to Hell and Back.” Today he serves as the vicar of St. Joan of Arc Episcopal Church, a new church plant in the diocese of Texas.
Praise for “Post-Traumatic Jesus: A Healing Gospel for the Wounded”
“Life-altering trauma can raise profound questions about our relationship with ourselves and with God. David Peters’ penetrating insights in this new book offer a lifeline of healing and hope to those of us who are courageously trying to make sense of our faith journeys in the midst of our woundedness.”
— Mark Allen Bourlakas, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia
“Peters writes a book crucial for our time. As our world reels from the pandemic, injustice, violence, and climate change, we long for Jesus. Peters immerses us in Jesus’ world and helps us understand our trauma through a new, and healing, lens. “Post-Traumatic Jesus” is essential reading.”
— Sarah Gaventa, Dean of Students at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
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