Cursing Like Jesus: Theological and Pastoral Considerations for Cursing in Church Open Access
Jones, Laura Elizabeth (2012)
Published
Abstract
There has been a recent and growing trend in biblical scholarship to call for the reclamation of the imprecatory and/or lament psalms in the life and worship of Christian churches. Often pastoral concern for the marginalized is particularly cited as the stimulus for reappropriation of these psalms in the life of the church. In addition, theological concerns about the nature of God are raised, inasmuch as neglect of images of God's violence represents a theological deficit. It is my aim in this paper to build on the foundation laid by biblical scholars to sketch the contours of a theological and pastoral model for reappropriating cursing psalms in Christian worship. I will employ an interdisciplinary approach, utilizing the insights of Christian ethicists and practical and systematic theologians to explore the insights offered by these biblical scholars and their implications for theological ethics and pastoral care. My goal is to complexify the conversation by considering the ways that the multiple spaces/layers of social power that function simultaneously in congregations affect how these psalms might serve to expose injustice and facilitate ethical responses. My particular focus is the movement towards surrender of vengeance to God, and how (or whether) this movement relates to constructive ethical action. I will explore some ethically problematic ways of constructing a theology of surrender, and draw on the theological categories of the imago dei, imitatio dei, the trinity and the incarnation to construct a nuanced theological ethic based on surrender, discernment and imitation of Christ. The purpose of such an ethic is two-fold; to aid congregations in employing cursing prayers in worship without thereby undertaking the fulfillment of curses as a Christian ethical responsibility, and to consider practices by which communities might receive rage, move toward surrender of violence, and also discern constructive, ethical responses to injustice. I will also utilize the work of Christian ethicists to consider the relationship between rage and ethical behavior in order to illuminate how a healthy discernment process might look. In conclusion I will offer some practical suggestions for embodying these theological ethical principles in meaningful ways in congregational life.
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION...1
2. REVIEWING THE LITERATURE...4
The Problem of Cursing Psalms in the Canon
Cursing Psalms as Giving Voice to the
Marginalized
The Psycho-spiritual Benefit of Catharsis and/or Surrender of
Vengeance
Theological Insights of Cursing Psalms
3. THEOLOGICAL AND ETHICAL RESPONSES...25
Understanding Vengeance as God's and Not Ours
Sketching a Christian Ethical Model: Imitatio Dei?
Towards a Christocentric Theological Ethic of Surrender
4. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS...47
Receiving the Rawness of Rage
Facilitating Surrender of Vengeance
Rage and Discernment in the Christian Life
Towards Practices of Voicing and Witnessing Anger through the Cursing Psalms
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