This study analyzes the narrative of human fall in Genesis 3 through an integrative lens that combines evangelical theology and contemporary trauma psychology. It reframes the Fall not as a mere moral failure but as a multidimensional trauma—ontolog...
This study analyzes the narrative of human fall in Genesis 3 through an integrative lens that combines evangelical theology and contemporary trauma psychology. It reframes the Fall not as a mere moral failure but as a multidimensional trauma—ontological, relational, and affective in nature. To this end, the paper incorporates four key trauma concepts: primordial trauma, primal trauma, attachment trauma, and primary relational trauma. These frameworks are applied to interpret the psychological elements in the Genesis account, such as shame, fear, relational rupture, and self-fragmentation, and are shown to closely correspond with mechanisms of post-traumatic responses. Based on this analysis, the study proposes the “Integrated Trauma Recovery Model (ITRM),” which includes four central components: restoration of intersubjectivity, narrative reconstruction of identity, integration of dissociated selves, and healing through communal participation. This research demonstrates a meaningful convergence between evangelical theology and clinical psychology, offering new theoretical foundations for biblical interpretation, Christian counseling, and trauma-informed ministry. It highlights the importance of addressing the totality of human woundedness—spiritual and psychological—in processes of healing and redemption.