When a person tells me that they have experienced betrayal of sexual vows of faithfulness in their marriage, I explain to them emphatically that they have been traumatized.
A casual or accidental visual encounter with pornography or nudity as a child or adolescent is often a severe trauma to that individual.
Many are surprised, especially about the latter issue of being exposed to pornography as a form of trauma. I explain that my understanding of trauma is to understand that any impact against a human being that is not loving or is wrong is potentially traumatic. So to ignore (neglect) a child is, as described in the Life Model ( www.lifemodel.com ): Absence Trauma, or is to be seen as the lack of the good nurture, provision and protection that all children need. Clearly a moral code is involved in discerning these matters, however many different cultures and peoples would agree secularly on these issues as witnessed in the DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD of the United Nations: http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/resources/child.asp
So from Judeo-Christian thought, the accidental or casual viewing of pornography by a child may well be an invasion of their innocence. Such accidental or otherwise seen lustful material assaults their growing brains and bodies and attacks their souls and spirits in ways that are damaging and distorting to their latent (yet to be awakened) sexual understanding and experience. Such trauma may be visual nudity that isn't to be seen under those particular circumstances. Clearly I am expressing Christian views on nudity. However, many Christians may not see these events as the visual assaults that I believe they can be. The effect of this trauma can set in motion destructive thoughts and behaviors that can be devastating and may impact many others lives beyond the one initially traumatized.
This is the nature of trauma: it spreads it's damaging impact to others, sometimes in the most insidious forms.
Christians may have been taught to understand two forms of sin, lawlessness or transgression against God and others: sins of omission (the lacking of right, loving actions) and of sins of commission (wrong/immoral actions). Clearly, this idea of the passing on of sin from one generation to another is warned against as a consequence in Deuteronomy 30. Many view this passing on of sin as some sort of supernatural transfer of some dark energy force called sin to the next generation. This, I will not argue, although I will caution that although we are to confess and understand the sin (moral law breaking actions or intentions/thoughts) and iniquity (lawlessness) of our ancestors, we are are never held responsible by God for the sins of those that came before us. Each of us is responsible, before God for what we think and do. So what gets passed down are character defects, lack of skill in loving and nurturing, wisdom that comes from emotionally mature and secure parents and other caregivers. These "lackings" can all be seen as the "fruit" of trauma. One might see these in a typical description of a dysfunctional family. The fact is, we are all wounded by sin/trauma and we all have the resulting dysfunction present in our families to varying degrees.
The Joy and Glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Messiah/Son of God, is that He, Jesus is the "Repairer of the Breach" that sin/trauma has torn in the fabric of Creation and especially we humans. Hebrews 10 and the Book of Romans so clearly describe these issues, as does reading the Book of John.
Jesus' supernatural conception;
the miracles He performed as He cared for people;
the Truths and right ways of Life He taught and
the nature of His Love for others and God;
the death by unlawful execution for crimes He did not commit (so that He could be the perfect sacrifice and payment for the sins we have and do commit);
His bodily resurrection (or coming back to life) after being dead for 3 days and
His physical rising up to Heaven in the presence of witnesses:
All of who He is testifies that He was the fulfilment of the foretelling of the One who would come and save us from our sins (Isaiah), the perfect Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world and heals the impact of sin's trauma (Luke 4).
http://www.alphanewsdaily.com/Messiah1.html is a great listing of the stunning Old Testament scriptural prophecy of the coming and ministry of the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus Christ of Nazereth. He is literally the solution to our trauma. Walking out that process of healing with Him and others is another big topic!
What is a greater and more worthy thing than understanding what trauma is? To understand what The Great Physician offers as Healing to the Nations is the greatest understanding and wisdom of all! (Psalm 1).
A casual or accidental visual encounter with pornography or nudity as a child or adolescent is often a severe trauma to that individual.
Many are surprised, especially about the latter issue of being exposed to pornography as a form of trauma. I explain that my understanding of trauma is to understand that any impact against a human being that is not loving or is wrong is potentially traumatic. So to ignore (neglect) a child is, as described in the Life Model ( www.lifemodel.com ): Absence Trauma, or is to be seen as the lack of the good nurture, provision and protection that all children need. Clearly a moral code is involved in discerning these matters, however many different cultures and peoples would agree secularly on these issues as witnessed in the DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD of the United Nations: http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/resources/child.asp
So from Judeo-Christian thought, the accidental or casual viewing of pornography by a child may well be an invasion of their innocence. Such accidental or otherwise seen lustful material assaults their growing brains and bodies and attacks their souls and spirits in ways that are damaging and distorting to their latent (yet to be awakened) sexual understanding and experience. Such trauma may be visual nudity that isn't to be seen under those particular circumstances. Clearly I am expressing Christian views on nudity. However, many Christians may not see these events as the visual assaults that I believe they can be. The effect of this trauma can set in motion destructive thoughts and behaviors that can be devastating and may impact many others lives beyond the one initially traumatized.
This is the nature of trauma: it spreads it's damaging impact to others, sometimes in the most insidious forms.
Christians may have been taught to understand two forms of sin, lawlessness or transgression against God and others: sins of omission (the lacking of right, loving actions) and of sins of commission (wrong/immoral actions). Clearly, this idea of the passing on of sin from one generation to another is warned against as a consequence in Deuteronomy 30. Many view this passing on of sin as some sort of supernatural transfer of some dark energy force called sin to the next generation. This, I will not argue, although I will caution that although we are to confess and understand the sin (moral law breaking actions or intentions/thoughts) and iniquity (lawlessness) of our ancestors, we are are never held responsible by God for the sins of those that came before us. Each of us is responsible, before God for what we think and do. So what gets passed down are character defects, lack of skill in loving and nurturing, wisdom that comes from emotionally mature and secure parents and other caregivers. These "lackings" can all be seen as the "fruit" of trauma. One might see these in a typical description of a dysfunctional family. The fact is, we are all wounded by sin/trauma and we all have the resulting dysfunction present in our families to varying degrees.
The Joy and Glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Messiah/Son of God, is that He, Jesus is the "Repairer of the Breach" that sin/trauma has torn in the fabric of Creation and especially we humans. Hebrews 10 and the Book of Romans so clearly describe these issues, as does reading the Book of John.
Jesus' supernatural conception;
the miracles He performed as He cared for people;
the Truths and right ways of Life He taught and
the nature of His Love for others and God;
the death by unlawful execution for crimes He did not commit (so that He could be the perfect sacrifice and payment for the sins we have and do commit);
His bodily resurrection (or coming back to life) after being dead for 3 days and
His physical rising up to Heaven in the presence of witnesses:
All of who He is testifies that He was the fulfilment of the foretelling of the One who would come and save us from our sins (Isaiah), the perfect Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world and heals the impact of sin's trauma (Luke 4).
http://www.alphanewsdaily.com/Messiah1.html is a great listing of the stunning Old Testament scriptural prophecy of the coming and ministry of the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus Christ of Nazereth. He is literally the solution to our trauma. Walking out that process of healing with Him and others is another big topic!
What is a greater and more worthy thing than understanding what trauma is? To understand what The Great Physician offers as Healing to the Nations is the greatest understanding and wisdom of all! (Psalm 1).
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