Made in God's Image: The Incest Survivor's Embodied Journey from Deicide to Resurrection($27.00Value)

Description

Child sexual abuse, particularly incest, violates the body in profound and lasting ways—disrupting identity, severing trust, and attempting to erase the core of who we are as people. Survivors are often left shrouded in shame, struggling with painful theological questions: Who is God, and where was God during the abuse? How can divine presence be felt now, in bodies marked by betrayal and violation? In the wake of such overwhelming trauma is it possible to know, trust, or feel the love of God? Despite the devastation inflicted by incest, the violated body is not only capable of healing—it is also a sacred site of revelation. The abused body speaks theological truth. Within its wounds lies a deep, often overlooked wisdom that bears witness to the imago Dei . By bringing the experience of incest into dialogue with the narrative of Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Resurrection Sunday, the survivor’s body is re-imagined as a living testimony to divine presence, resilience, and truth. "Guided by an unshakable conviction that humanity is created in the image of God, Sumer Bingham Musick confronts the devastating harms of incest. Insightful analogies are offered to Jesus's betrayal, neglect, denial, silencing, sexual abuse, death, and resurrection. This is a profoundly important and beautifully written contribution to practical theology in response to childhood abuse." --David Tombs, Howard Paterson Professor of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago "Sumer Bingham Musick speaks with eloquent candor in her portrayal of the ultimate betrayal of a child's innocence. Out of the wilderness of trauma and abuse, she delineates a resilient theology of forgiveness and belonging, offering a narrative of love that embraces the injured body making it whole. With the poetic beauty of Christian belief, she points to a way beyond the stillness of death to the light of personal resurrection and reminds trauma survivors that they are not alone." --Carolyn Muessig, Chair of Christian Thought, University of Calgary "This book is a gift to the church, not because it is an easy read, but because it is a difficult one, which calls on the church to sit with those who have faced the atrocities of incest. With pastoral sensitivity and theological insight, Dr. Bingham Musick reminds us that the wounds of Jesus carry the experiential knowledge of trauma and pain, while also inviting survivors--really, all of us--to experience resurrection hope. This book is for all who long to see the church become a trauma-informed community of healing love." --Paul D. Potter, Senior Pastor, Cornerstone Christian Church, Pikeville, Kentucky Sumer Bingham Musick is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Pikeville in Pikeville, Kentucky. She completed her MA and MPhil at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom and her PhD at Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida. She specializes in trauma informed and embodied theology. As a sexual abuse survivor, educator, and yoga instructor she is committed to helping others find safe space to heal.