The Grief/Faith Relationship and the Disabling Effect of Unresolved Grief

Abstract

The emotional trauma of grief can be disabling. The Biblical story of Ruth and Naomi is a metaphor for better understanding the relationship between grief and faith. The grief/faith relationship will be examined from several different points of view. This article will explore the theory and hypothesis of whether or not a person involved in an active Christian life will experience a strengthening of their faith because of the grief/faith relationship. The research method used to gain information about the grief/faith relationship was Thomas Groom’s shared Christian praxis. First Baptist Church, Augusta, Georgia (USA) has for 26 years (1998) conducted Grief Ministry Workshops. In these workshops, participants share about their grief/faith story through writing and verbally engaging in group dialogue. The information gathered from these many years of ministering to and consulting with these workshop participants has been very beneficial to examining the influence grief has on faith and faith has on grief. This article will address the Biblical and Theological interpretation of the grief/faith relationship, as well as the Psychological and Sociological dimensions of grief and faith. The concept of Reframing grief will be discussed in detail. Theodicy and Free Will are theological issues that have a major influence of grief. These concepts will be explored as they impact the grief/faith relationship. The article will conclude with a critical analysis of whether or not the shared Christian praxis approach is an effective method in gathering the needed information for a study of the grief/faith relationship