Think the unthinkable

Steve Midgley  |  Features  |  pastoral care
Date posted:  1 Jan 2023
Share Add       
Think the unthinkable

photo: iStock

Some things are unthinkable. We just can’t conceive of them happening. And sometimes that’s a problem.

As, for instance, in situations too awful for us to bear. This is what happens in trauma when someone experiences something unspeakably terrible. And because they have no words for it, it isn’t integrated into their lives. Unlike a normal memory that is processed and understood, a traumatic experience remains unprocessed – raw and disturbing. I recently heard it vividly described as being like ‘a foreign body in the psyche’.

Finding something unthinkable can also create problems in relation to sin. For when we can’t bring ourselves to believe someone could possibly have behaved so badly, we end up deaf to the cries of those who have been sinned against.

Share
< Previous article| Features| Next article >
Read more articles on:   pastoral care
Read more articles by Steve Midgley >>
Features
When we want to change – but find it difficult

When we want to change – but find it difficult

“You always do that!” Their argument, and his response, was discouragingly familiar. The same critique, the same sulking withdrawal.“Why …

Features
What is the most underrated quality in the Christian life?

What is the most underrated quality in the Christian life?

Of the many qualities worthy of note in the Christian life, surely one of the most underrated must be perseverance. …

About en

Our vision, values and history

Read more

New here?

Register and get three free articles each month!

Register