When I first read the syllabus of our class to see which books we would be using as reference I was with a close friend of mine. I told her we would be reading The Cry of Tamar by Pamela Cooper-White and she told me immediately “You can use my copy!
It’s a great story!” I never heard of Tamar and was intrigued to read this book based on my friends recommendation. As I read the story of Tamar, I was saddened and angry to see that even in those times, the men would corroborate to protect the perpetrator of the crime. It’s amazing to think of how far women have come over the years, that many women still don’t have a voice.
I have always had many friends, but only a select few that I would consider family. When I was in high school, I remember …show more content…
I hadn’t thought about this incident in so many years, but reading about Tamar it brought up this memory.
Cooper-White provided some wonderful Biblical and Theological resources to help a survivor of abuse. The word survivor alone has quite a bit of power behind it as well. The word ‘victim’ seems to enable one to stay in the depths of depression, anger, sorrow and guilt that may follow an assault like this. While the word ‘survivor’ reads empowered, strong, and driven to move forward with life, despite the scars left on one’s soul. This is very important in the recovery process of the survivor. Many times the Church’s stance upon hearing of such event is to advise the survivor that they must instantly forgive the person who did them wrong and forget this every happened. This is not something I can agree with. During the time after the assault, the last thing a survivor needs to hear is this. If I were to put myself in their shoes, I would feel a mixture of anger, shame, disgust and loneliness. A few thoughts that run through my head now are:
‘I was not the one who decided to violate another person, yet I am to
It’s a great story!” I never heard of Tamar and was intrigued to read this book based on my friends recommendation. As I read the story of Tamar, I was saddened and angry to see that even in those times, the men would corroborate to protect the perpetrator of the crime. It’s amazing to think of how far women have come over the years, that many women still don’t have a voice.
I have always had many friends, but only a select few that I would consider family. When I was in high school, I remember …show more content…
I hadn’t thought about this incident in so many years, but reading about Tamar it brought up this memory.
Cooper-White provided some wonderful Biblical and Theological resources to help a survivor of abuse. The word survivor alone has quite a bit of power behind it as well. The word ‘victim’ seems to enable one to stay in the depths of depression, anger, sorrow and guilt that may follow an assault like this. While the word ‘survivor’ reads empowered, strong, and driven to move forward with life, despite the scars left on one’s soul. This is very important in the recovery process of the survivor. Many times the Church’s stance upon hearing of such event is to advise the survivor that they must instantly forgive the person who did them wrong and forget this every happened. This is not something I can agree with. During the time after the assault, the last thing a survivor needs to hear is this. If I were to put myself in their shoes, I would feel a mixture of anger, shame, disgust and loneliness. A few thoughts that run through my head now are:
‘I was not the one who decided to violate another person, yet I am to