Lament and the voice of the veteran : theological hope in the aftermath of war

George, Seth H.

Etd

Lament and the voice of the veteran : theological hope in the aftermath of war

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

George, Seth H. Lament and the Voice of the Veteran : Theological Hope In the Aftermath of War. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/cdd4c8d1-533f-42bb-943c-208727c836cd.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

G. S. H. Lament and the voice of the veteran : theological hope in the aftermath of war. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/cdd4c8d1-533f-42bb-943c-208727c836cd

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

George, Seth H. Lament and the Voice of the Veteran : Theological Hope In the Aftermath of War. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/cdd4c8d1-533f-42bb-943c-208727c836cd.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

George, Seth H.

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore how Lamentations 3 provides a connection between the ministry of the Word and pastoral care for veterans who have experienced various forms of spiritual distress during and after warfare. This research addresses a gap between the care clinicians and ministers offer to veterans and the religious need that some combat veterans have. Given the presence of combat veterans within the church, how do ministers of the Word fill this gap with biblically-based pastoral care? Addressing this question utilized a qualitative design with semi-structured interviews and seven Christian veterans from the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and the War on Terrorism. Research questions guiding the interviews were (1) How did Christian veterans experience God during combat? (2) How did combat shape the faith of Christian veterans upon their return home? (3) How have pastors helped Christian veterans engage God? Three areas of literature were explored: spiritual and moral injury, the challenges of providing pastoral care within this context and a survey of Lamentations 3. Findings revealed that the care which ministers of the Word provided to Christian combat veterans was individualized and well received. However, the religious care specific to the effects of combat was primarily provided by combat veterans to one another resulting in three primary findings. First, the binary gap between the church and the clinic was expanded to include veteran organizations creating a triangular network of care. Second, feelings of spiritual distress were surpassed by the presence and protection of God during and after combat. Third, the ministry of these combat veterans to other veterans resembled the spiritual progression of the speaker in Lamentations 3 and the willingness to explore the need for confession and forgiveness with other combat veterans in ways that therapists or ministers typically cannot. The significance of these findings reveals a connection between the role of the speaker in Lamentations 3 and combat veterans who have suffered spiritual distress and yet experienced God’s hope. These veterans are the ones who engage their community of veterans as shepherds and invite them to engage God through confession. The task for the minister of the Word is to recognize the uniqueness of this ministry and equip its churches and veterans with scriptural encouragement and tangible support to these shepherds.

Year