Dialogical responses to suffering in a traumatised world: An experiment in epistolary theology

Engaging with themes from the 2024 Church of Scotland Chalmers Lectures, as well as the authors’ forthcoming co-authored book (provisionally titled Defiant Hope: Theological Conversations in a Traumatised World), this article takes the form of an epistolary conversation about the problem of suffering and the reality of ongoing trauma. This dialogical format has deep roots within the Christian tradition and early Christian communities. It is used here because the problems under discussion resist resolution by solitary monologue. Similarly, the work of trauma theology involves communal, rather than singular, response. Our exchange critiques the limitations of traditional theodicies, which often conflate suffering with evil, thereby risking misplaced blame on those who suffer. It also warns against pastoral responses that inadvertently normalise or sustain oppressive systems, advocating instead for transformative theological practices that unmask systemic complicity, foster communal resistance, and reimagine Christian responses to suffering beyond resignation or passive endurance.