VU Research Portal A Practical Theology of Posttraumatic Coping Cruz Villalobos, L.E. 2020 document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in VU Research Portal citation for published version (APA) Cruz Villalobos, L. E. (2020). A Practical Theology of Posttraumatic Coping: Hardiness, Resilience, Posttraumatic Growth, and Second Corinthians. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. E-mail address: [email protected] Download date: 04. Oct. 2021 1 2 VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT A PRACTICAL THEOLOGY OF POSTTRAUMATIC COPING Hardiness, Resilience, Posttraumatic Growth, and Second Corinthians ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor of Philosophy aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr. V. Subramaniam, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie van de Faculteit Religie en Theologie op maandag 22 juni 2020 om 13.45 uur online Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 door Luis Enrique Cruz-Villalobos geboren te Santiago de Chile, Chile 3 promotor: prof.dr. R.R. Ganzevoort copromotor: dr. C. van Engen 4 VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT AMSTERDAM A PRACTICAL THEOLOGY OF POSTTRAUMATIC COPING Hardiness, Resilience, Posttraumatic Growth, and Second Corinthians Luis E. Cruz-Villalobos Santiago de Chile, 2020 5 All Scripture quotations were taken from the New International Version (1995) of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Cover image: Hugo Godoy (2017) ENGLISH LANGUAGE DISCLAIMER: As a non-mother tongue speaker of English, I recognize there may be places where the English is not as clear as it could be. The primary purpose of this work is to carry out a theoretical development applied to a particular context. Despite problems with the language, I have attempted to make the meaning clear. I appreciate the assistance in translation and editing (especially Ryan Flanders, Lorena Cerda, Ken Herfst, and my promotors), but take full responsibility for this work. ―Luis E. Cruz-Villalobos 6 This work is dedicated with deep gratitude to trinitarian trill and to my wife and children. 7 8 INDEX / TABLE OF CONTENTS 11 List of Diagrams, Tables, and Boxes 13 Summary 17 Chapter 1. Introduction 33 Chapter 2. Adversity, Trauma, and Coping 2.1. Stress and Coping 2.2. Posttraumatic Responses 2.3. Explanatory Perspectives on Trauma and Coping 2.4. Critical Approach on Trauma Perspectives 77 Chapter 3. Resources for Positive Coping with Trauma 3.1. Resources for Resistance to Trauma (Hardiness) 3.2. Resources for Recovery from Trauma (Resilience) 3.3. Resources for Rebuilding after Trauma (PTG) 3.4. Religious Coping 131 Chapter 4. Suffering and Coping in the Bible 4.1. Old Testament Perspective 4.2. Intertestament Perspective 4.3. New Testament Perspective 4.4. Synthesis of Perspectives 143 Chapter 5. Approaching the Study of Paul 5.1. Approaching Paul 5.2. Interpretations of Paul 5.3. Paul‘s Letters 5.4. Paul‘s Letters with the Corinthians 165 Chapter 6. Hermeneutic Methodological Framework 6.1. Psychological Biblical Criticism 6.2. Psychological Perspective and Hermeneutic 6.3. Introduction to our Exegetical Analysis 9 185 Chapter 7. Exegetical Analysis of 2 Corinthian 4:7-5:10 7.1. Paragraph A 7.2. Exegetical Commentary 7.3. Hermeneutical Keys Analysis about Coping from Paragraph A 219 Chapter 8. Exegetical Analysis of 2 Corinthian 6:3-10 8.1. Paragraph B 8.2. Exegetical commentary 8.3. Hermeneutical Keys Analysis about Coping from Paragraph B 243 Chapter 9. Exegetical Analysis of 2 Corinthian 11:21b-12:10 9.1. Paragraph C 9.2. Exegetical commentary 9.3. Hermeneutical Keys Analysis about Coping from Paragraph C 273 Chapter 10. Exegetical Analysis of 2 Corinthian 1:3-11 10.1. Paragraph D 10.2. Exegetical commentary 10.3. Hermeneutical Keys Analysis about Coping from Paragraph D 291 Chapter 11. Towards a Pauline Practical Theology of Coping 11.1. Pauline Keys for Coping and Positive Coping with Trauma 11.2. Trauma in Pauline Perspective 11.3. Pauline Coping Mechanisms as Religious Coping 11.4. Critical Approach to Pauline Coping 341 Chapter 12. Conclusions 12.1. Pauline Coping as Sense of Theological Coherence 12.2. Key Theological Concepts of Coping in 2 Corinthians 12.3. Positive Coping and Ecclesial Functions 12.4. A Pauline Practical Theology of Posttraumatic Coping 12.5. Limitations of the Research, and Future Research Perspectives 375 References 10 LIST OF DIAGRAMS: 181 Diagram 1: Hermeneutic Arc in the Persective of PBC 329 Diagram 2: A Multidimensional Model of Religious Coping LIST OF TABLES: 98 Table 1: Resilience Resources 160 Table 2: Reconstructing Paul’s Letters to the Corinthians 213 Table 3: Hermeneutical Keys about Coping from Paragraph A 239 Table 4: Hermeneutical Keys about Coping from Paragraph B 268 Table 5: Hermeneutical Keys about Coping from Paragraph C 286 Table 6: Hermeneutical Keys about Coping from Paragraph D 293 Table 7: Hermeneutical Keys for Coping in 2 Corinthians Paragraph 365 Table 8: Pauline Coping Keys and Coping Styles LIST OF BOXES: 191 Box 1: Argumentation Through Contrasts (2 Cor 4:7-5:10) 224 Box 2: Argumentation Through Contrasts (2 Cor 6:4-10) 11 12 Summary 13 14 The present research is a study on posttraumatic coping in some paragraphs of the second letter to the Corinthians of the Apostle Paul. As a reseach in the field of practical theology, in methodological terms, this thesis follows the steps of the hermeneutical arc proposed by Ricoeur (1976, 2002, 2016), from the perspective of the Psychological Biblical Criticism (Rollins 1983, Kille, 2001, 2004; Ellens, 2012). In the first part of this study a detailed review of current research on posttraumatic coping in the field of psychology is made. Then we examine exegetically four selected texts from 2 Corinthians that describe the ways in which Paul faced various traumatic events in his life. Each paragraph is analyzed looking for the texts to show their world and their own sense, to then identify the hermeneutical keys of coping that are observed in them. After a careful analysis, eleven keys of coping present in the selected Pauline texts were categorized: 1) Paradoxical identity that marks the experience of the Apostle as a phenomenon of self- understanding that incorporates the awareness of fragility and constant vulnerability to hardship, but simultaneously united to the perception of itself as triumphant to adversity, thanks to its unconditional link with the sacred, manifested in Jesus as the Messiah; 2) Experience of faith understood as fidelity and perseverance, especially in the midst of tribulations, in such a way that resisting, overcoming and even growing out of suffering is described as an expression of authentic faith and genuine affection for Jesus as Lord; 3) Resignification of death and traumatic events, as circumstances of a negative nature that is relativized and whose harmful effects are not perceived as chronic; 4) Coping associated with an altruistic practice towards his brothers and sisters in faith; 5) Coping with a marked character of eschatological type; 6) Explicit and habitual expression of the traumatic events experienced, which implies taking charge of them, without denying nor evading them; 7) Detachment from the material or visible things, considering these aspects of life as facets of reality that are not definitive, but as manifestations of a preliminary plan that will disappear; 8) Identification with Jesus as a model of coping with extreme adversities; 9) Thanksgiving or gratitude, as a permanent practice, in both favorable and unfavorable circumstances; 10) 15 Perception of the consoling presence of God constantly in the midst of suffering; and 11) Prayer described as a personal and community behavior of concrete beneficial influence in life. Finally, a conversation between these findings and the current psychological contributions on positive coping of trauma, allowed us to corroborate the significant similarities between the approaches of Paul regarding coping in extreme adverse events and the outcomes of this research on hardiness, resilience, posttraumatic growth and positive religious coping. Among the main conclusions reached in this investigation, we can highlight that Paul offered, in the analyzed texts of 2 Corinthians, coping modalities that showed a permanent search for "sense of coherence" (Antonovsky, 1979, 1984, 1987, 1993), which involves the comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness of adverse events, but in his case, from a fundamentally theological framework ("sense of theological coherence"). In addition, it was found, when looking for common factors in the coping keys observed in the Pauline texts, that these can be synthesized in the so called "theological virtues": faith, hope and love, besides the concept of identity in Christ, which function as dispositions that allow the religious/spiritual articulation of traumatic events, both on a personal and community level. The present study sought to develop a practical theology (defined as theological understanding of Christian praxis) of posttrau- matic coping in a Pauline perspective. We believe that this study has achieved a significant understanding of hardiness, resilience, posttraumatic growth and positive religious coping modalities, from a theological perspective, which can contribute to the development of new practices of pastoral care, especially in contexts of adversity.