THE CHURCH AND INCEST

Serene Jones’s Trauma Theology Perspective on the Narrative of 2 Samuel 13:1–22

Abstract

Incest cases are the primary focus of this study, along with the church’s limited response to them. The purpose of this study is to describe the narrative of Tamar from the perspective of trauma theology and to use it as a lesson regarding the high number of women who are victims of incest in Indonesia, while also identifying a liberating theological response that creates space for the victims’ healing. The research method we used was qualitative research employing the trauma theology approach developed by Serene Jones. The operational steps involved analyzing Tamar’s somatic and symbolic reactions as depicted in the narrative of 2 Samuel 13:1–22, assessing the responses of David and Absalom as forms of communal failure, and offering the concept of self-recognition through Tamar’s story to the victims. We then discovered that it is necessary to acknowledge Tamar’s somatic and symbolic reactions, which represent the victim’s cry for help and distress that require the attention of the community—namely, the church. The church, as both a social and spiritual community, must be attentive to cases of discrimination against women, especially the acts of violence they experience. Tamar’s story offers the church an opportunity for self-reflection so that victims can position and present themselves as both objects of advocacy and subjects capable of self-recognition through Tamar’s story, thereby making it a form of healing.