Trauma-Sensitive Theology

I saw this title on Goodreads, and I was immediately interested. I quickly ordered the book, and started it within the same day it came in the mail. The need for good books handling trauma and Christian theology is great. So, it was all the more disappointing that this book did not do a good job.

Jennifer Baldwin gives a decent overview of the components of trauma, but her writing style was the least accessible I have read on the topic. It seemed unnecessarily complicated. She also does an inadequate job handling classic Christian theology. To do this properly is a big job for a short book. However, the premise of the book claims to do so. The bigger problem was that she misrepresents classic Christian theology in several ways. This is a shame because it will cause her good points about the weaknesses the churches and church leaders to likely to be lost on a group that really needs to hear it.

I did find several points of value throughout the book, but its weaknesses significantly outweigh its strengths. I’m still glad I read it, and I will still use it for some reference in the future.