The Holy Spirit's Hope for the Traumatized

Abstract

This thesis argues that the Holy Spirit fuels hope for the traumatized through regenerating, regenerating, sealing, indwelling, sanctifying, resurrecting, and glorifying believers, and producing shalom. I argue that the Holy Spirit works through these actions to heal the mind and heart, body, and relationships of individuals producing a response of genuine hopefulness in Christian trauma survivors. The introduction sets up the issue of trauma and the need for more theological resources that address the topic. Chapter 2 presents relevant components of human personhood: the heart and mind, the body, and relationality. It presents all of these in the framework of the image of God. This chapter also surveys trauma, its violation of the image of God, and its effects on the components of human person hood. Chapter 3 surveys the works of the Holy Spirit in creation and recreation and how they produce hope for Christians. In chapter 4, I show that the Holy Spirit produces shalom in individuals and in communities, and how shalom impacts hope in the wake of trauma.