Post-Traumatic God

After traumatic events, many turn away from the Church; this book presents a path home, providing a way back to a God who can be trusted, loved, and worshipped. Today, the church is sometimes viewed (even from within) as a place apart, which may create a barrier of understanding for those who have experienced trauma. Post-Traumatic God grew out of Peters’ own experience as a chaplain in Iraq and later as an Episcopal priest, and from his subsequent work with an organization he founded, Episcopal Veterans for Peace, which helped him identify the need for this quite-different book to bridge that gap. In it, Peters explores three related themes: history (the early church itself was a post-traumatic community); theology (especially building on Tillich's World War I experiences and the theology he subsequently developed); and ecclesiology (how church can offer community to trauma survivors. Post-Traumatic God equips the Church to heal the unseen wounds of the soul. In his work with veterans that now defines his vocation as an Episcopal priest, Peters has learned that we don’t need to “help” veterans—we need to listen to them and pray with them as they learn not to expect more trauma around the next corner. “Veterans do not need more barbeques, picnics, or trips to amusement parks,” he writes. “What we do need is community, connection to ourselves, to each other, and to God. The Church is the best organization to do this.”