This substantive collection of essays explores recent works in the field of trauma studies. Central to its overall theme is an investigation of the myriad ways both individual and collective violence affect one’s capacity to remember, to act, and to love, and how those various circumstances potentially challenge theological understandings of how grace is experienced, and even how the traumatic experience of Jesus' death is remembered.
Of particular interest is the author's focus on the long-term effects of collective violence on abuse survivors, war veterans, and marginalized populations, and the discrete ways in which grace and redemption might be exhibited in each context.
At the heart of each essay are two deeply interrelated faith-claims that are central to Jones's understanding of Christian theology. First, we live in a world profoundly broken by violence and marred by harms we inflict upon each other. Second, God loves this world and desires that suffering be met by words of hope, of love, and of grace.