ORIGINAL TRAUMA

A Catholic educator explores themes of intergenerational trauma in biblical stories.

“Generational trauma,” asserts Jusino in this debut nonfiction book, “is among the root causes of most of this world’s ills.” Such inherited trauma is the focus of a rapidly evolving field of study, and in this book, the author combines an overview of scientific and psychological literature on the topic with own his field of expertise: religion. The stories of the New Testament, he contends, reveal many people affected by traumatic experiences, from worldwide floods and plagues to divine commands by God himself to kill others. At the time of their authorship, these passages served the purpose of religious authorities, Jusino says, who “believed in a God who explicitly said he wanted to be feared.” Yet to modern readers, the book notes, “the Bible seems confusing, contradictory, or even offensive.” To the author, the apparent paradox of the Bible’s portrayals of a vengeful, violent God and of a forgiving, loving deity comes from a misreading of Scripture. Biblical authors, he contends, “were traumatized by their own impressions of God,” and not by the divine being. Similarly, he suggests, modern readers have been traumatized not by God, but by religious leaders; indeed, the author argues that “organized religion all too often is based on forcing, coercing, or otherwise convincing people to adopt the religious leaders’ impressions of God.” This approach, the book suggests, runs counter to the message of Jesus and the writings of the Apostle Paul, who both argue in the Bible that “God can be known” within one’s own conscience.

Jusino, who has a master’s degree in theology and more than two decades of experience as a Catholic high school theology teacher, displays a firm grasp of Christian doctrine. His analysis doesn’t exclude other faiths or Christian denominations while emphasizing the roles that coercion and fear have played in the history of Christianity. Particularly admirable is the book’s combination of astute scholarship (backed by more than 350 endnotes) with prose that makes obscure biblical references and complex theological debates accessible to newcomers. The author’s emphasis on creating an engaging narrative is reinforced by classic religious paintings that accompany and clarify his retellings of biblical stories, as well as his pop-culture references to TV shows and movies. However, despite the book’s disclaimer that the Bible is not “a replacement for any professional help,” mental health professionals and others will question one of its premises that “we choose to be depressed, we choose to have and embrace fear and anxiety….And yes, we choose to be traumatized.” Although the self-help mantra that “our conscious minds can have the power over the subconscious minds” may help some readers, it may do a disservice to others. This, however, is not the book’s focus, which centers on a compelling reexamination of Bible stories—from Cain’s murder of Abel to the violent dysfunction of King David’s family—through the lens of intergenerational trauma.

An engaging reevaluation of Scripture, but one whose mental health advice falls short.