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Moral Injury

A Guidebook for Understanding and Engagement

Edited by Brad E. Kelle - Contributions by Brad E. Kelle; Joseph McDonald; Alanna Coady; Jessica R. Carney; Sheila Frankfurt; Brett T. Litz; Gabriella Lettini; Tyler Boudreau; Zachary Moon; Michael S. Yandell; Nancy R. Bowen; Joseph M. Currier; Wesley H. McCormick; Nancy J. Ramsay; Duane H. Larson; Amy C. Cottrill; Warren Carter; Kelly Denton-Borhaug; Brian S. Powers and Joseph Wiinikka-Lydon

Moral injury has developed in earnest since 2009 within psychology and military studies, especially through work with veterans of the U.S. military’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A major part of this work is the attempt to identify means of healing, recovery, and repair for those morally injured by their experiences in combat (or similar situations). What this volume does is to provide insight into the identification of moral injury, the development of the notion, attempts to work with those affected, emerging ideas about moral injury, portraits of moral injury in the past and present, and, especially, what creative engagement with moral injury might look like from a variety of perspectives. As such, it will be an important resource for Christian ministers, chaplains, health care workers, and other providers and caregivers who serve afflicted communities.

Lexington Books

Pages: 232 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-7936-0685-3 • Hardback • August 2020 • $117.00 • (£90.00)

978-1-7936-0687-7 • Paperback • December 2021 • $44.99 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Religion / Christian Theology / Ethics, Psychology / Psychopathology / Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Religion / Biblical Criticism & Interpretation / Old Testament, Religion / Biblical Criticism & Interpretation / New Testament, Political Science / Public Policy / Military Policy

Moral Injury

A Guidebook for Understanding and Engagement

Hardback

Paperback

Summary

Moral injury has developed in earnest since 2009 within psychology and military studies, especially through work with veterans of the U.S. military’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A major part of this work is the attempt to identify means of healing, recovery, and repair for those morally injured by their experiences in combat (or similar situations). What this volume does is to provide insight into the identification of moral injury, the development of the notion, attempts to work with those affected, emerging ideas about moral injury, portraits of moral injury in the past and present, and, especially, what creative engagement with moral injury might look like from a variety of perspectives. As such, it will be an important resource for Christian ministers, chaplains, health care workers, and other providers and caregivers who serve afflicted communities.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 232 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-7936-0685-3 • Hardback • August 2020 • $117.00 • (£90.00)

978-1-7936-0687-7 • Paperback • December 2021 • $44.99 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Religion / Christian Theology / Ethics, Psychology / Psychopathology / Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Religion / Biblical Criticism & Interpretation / Old Testament, Religion / Biblical Criticism & Interpretation / New Testament, Political Science / Public Policy / Military Policy

Author

Brad E. Kelle is professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Point Loma Nazarene University Recently and author of The Bible and Moral Injury: Reading Scripture Alongside War’s Unseen Wounds.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Brad E. Kelle

Part One: Understanding Moral Injury (Definitions, Questions, Debates)

1. What Is Moral Injury? Current Definitions, Perspectives, and Contexts

Joseph McDonald

2. The Emergence and Development of the Concept of Moral Injury

Alanna Coady, Jessica R. Carney, Sheila Frankfurt, and Brett T. Litz

3. Moral Injury and Its Causes, Symptoms, and Responses

Gabriella Lettini

Part Two: Depicting Moral Injury (Ancient and Modern Portrayals)

4. Feast or Famine: A Veteran’s Reflection on Moral Injury and Recovery

Tyler Boudreau

5. Moral Injury and the Role of Chaplains

Zachary Moon

6. “Do Not Torment Me”: The Morally Injured Gerasene Demoniac (Mark 5:1-20)

Michael Yandell

7. Moral Injury in Genesis 19 and Moral Repair in the Book of Ruth

Nancy R. Bowen

Part Three: Engaging Moral Injury (Diverse Perspectives and Resources)

8. Addressing Moral Injury in Psychotherapy and Counseling

Joseph M. Currier and Wesley H. McCormick

9. Spiritual Care for Veterans and Their Families Affected by Moral Injury: How Faith Communities Can Help

Nancy J. Ramsay

10. Spiritual Formation and Pastoral Care Approaches to Moral Injury

Duane H. Larson

11. Moral Injury, Scripture, and Contemporary Biblical Studies

Brad E. Kelle

12. Moral Injury and Humanizing the Enemy in Judges 5

Amy C. Cottrill

13. The New Testament and Moral Injury: Peter, Judas, and the Portrayals of Moral Harm and Repair

Warren Carter

14. Moral Injury, the Bible, and US War-Culture

Kelly Denton-Borhaug

15. Christian Theology and Moral Injury

Brian S. Powers

16. Approaching Moral Injury through the Lens of Social Ethics

Joseph Wiinikka-Lydon

Index

About the Contributors

Reviews

This is a remarkable and remarkably useful volume, excellently edited by Brad Kelle, who recently penned his own monograph on moral injury and its relationship to the Bible. Sixteen substantial essays from expert theorists and practitioners (some of whom are themselves military veterans) offer great insight onto this difficult and draining topic from the fields of theology, psychology, biblical studies, chaplaincy, and more. The result is exactly what editor Kelle hoped for and what we readers need: a multi-voiced and multi-perspectival resource for understanding moral injury and a model for creative and cross-disciplinary ways of engaging an issue that will only become more important in our ever more violent world. Highly recommended!
— Brent A. Strawn, professor of Old Testament and professor of law, Duke University

This indispensable collection reveals the power of moral injury as an intersecting, salient, and generative lens for understanding trauma and suffering. Rich in resources for veterans, it invites us all to take responsibility for those who serve society in high-stakes situations; it offers illuminating interpretations of ancient texts; and it provides clinical and pastoral resources for mitigating the devastating effects of moral injury on both individuals and society.
— Rita Nakashima Brock, co-author of Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury After War, director of the Shay Moral Injury Center at Volunteers of America

Moral Injury

A Guidebook for Understanding and Engagement

Moral Injury

A Guidebook for Understanding and Engagement

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