The Bible’s "Heroes" Were Messy: Finding Connection in the Trauma of Scripture

As someone who has experienced religious trauma, emotional trauma, physical trauma, and even medical trauma, I have found that staying focused on the things I have no control over does not keep me on the healing path that I want.

One of the ways that has helped me heal—especially from religious trauma—has been to re-examine a lot of the Bible stories and how I was taught them. I’ve started looking at them through a new lens: seeing these characters as people who were similar to me, in the sense that they, too, experienced trauma.

The Problem with "Generic" Humanity

A lot of times, when we are taught these stories, we are given a glossy over-generalization. We hear, "Oh, they were human too," or "We all experience sadness and worry." But we rarely get the specific, gritty details of how they were human. We normalize the emotions without validating the depth of the pain.

We gloss over the fact that their "humanity" wasn’t just feeling a little blue—it was messy, ugly, and dysregulated. It didn't look like "always looking on the bright side." It often looked like poor behavior, terrible choices, and nervous system collapse.

Even Jesus Struggled

If we really want to talk about the human experience, we have to look at Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He wasn't just "worried." He was experiencing such profound terror and anxiety about what he knew was coming that his body physically revolted. He experienced hematidrosis—a rare condition where extreme stress causes the capillaries to rupture, mixing sweat with blood.

He didn't stoically accept his fate with a smile; he begged for a different way. He showed signs of agony. If Jesus himself couldn't "positive vibe" his way through trauma, why do we expect ourselves to?

Trauma Isn’t Pretty: The Ugly Responses

When we look closer, we see that the "heroes" of the faith often engaged in behavior that was deeply dysregulated. Trauma affects how we function, and sometimes that looks like "sin" or "failure," but it is also, very often, a survival response gone wrong.

• Moses didn't just have a temper; he committed murder and buried the body in the sand. That is a violent "Fight" response.

• David, the "man after God's own heart," abused his power to commit adultery and then orchestrated a murder to cover it up. That is the behavior of a man desperate to control his reality.

• Noah, after surviving the collective trauma of the Flood, didn't hold a prayer meeting. He planted a vineyard and got blackout drunk. That is a "Flight" response—using substances to numb the pain of what he had witnessed.

To be clear: I am not justifying what they did. Murder and violence are never okay. But looking at these actions through a trauma lens helps us understand them. It moves us from simply judging them as "bad people" to understanding that they were dysregulated humans acting out of extreme survival instincts.

These stories show us that trauma makes people do things that aren't pretty. But realizing this makes me feel more like them, not less. Trauma likes to lie to us and tell us we are different—that we are the only ones who are broken or "too much." But the reality is, we have more in common with these biblical figures than we think.

Here is how four of them vividly demonstrated the Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn responses.

1. Fight: The Apostle Peter

The Event: The Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:10)

Peter is our classic "Fight" type. When the Roman soldiers arrived to arrest Jesus, Peter didn’t pause to pray or reflect. His amygdala sounded the alarm, and he instantly mobilized into aggression. He drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant.

• The Connection: We often judge Peter for being impulsive, but his body was mobilizing to stop a threat. He was terrified of losing his safety.

2. Flight: Jonah

The Event: Running to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3)

Jonah provides the most literal example of "Flight." Faced with a terrifying instruction to go to a violent enemy city (Nineveh), Jonah’s system became overwhelmed. He didn't just verbally refuse; he physically ran. He boarded a ship to go to the edge of the known world.

• The Connection: We were taught Jonah was "disobedient," but through a trauma lens, we see avoidance. His body screamed that Nineveh was a death threat, and his survival instinct drove him to flee.

3. Freeze: Moses

The Event: The Burning Bush (Exodus 4:10-13)

When God called Moses to speak to Pharaoh, Moses didn't fight or run. He froze. He became paralyzed by his own perceived inadequacy, pleading, "I am slow of speech and tongue." He was so shut down by the fear that he begged God to send his brother Aaron instead.

• The Connection: This is the "Freeze" or "Collapse" response. Moses felt so small and incapable that his nervous system put on the brakes, convincing him he literally could not perform the task.

4. Fawn: Abigail

The Event: Intercepting David (1 Samuel 25)

Abigail demonstrates "Fawn"—the instinct to appease a threat to survive. When her husband Nabal insulted David, and David came to kill them, Abigail rode out to meet him. She took the blame for sins she didn't commit, validated David's anger, and fed his ego to de-escalate his rage.

• The Connection: Many of us with religious or complex trauma know this dynamic. We learned to manage other people's emotions and make ourselves small to stay safe. Abigail survived by prioritizing David’s emotional state above her own reality.

Resources for Your Healing Journey

If you are navigating the murky waters of religious trauma or C-PTSD, you don't have to do it alone.

Here are some resources from thought leaders who bridge the gap between trauma, spirituality, and the body:

• Dr. Gabor Maté: The Myth of Normal or When the Body Says No — Essential for understanding how trauma manifests physically.

• Richard Rohr: The Universal Christ or Immortal Diamond — Great for deconstructing rigid religious frameworks.

• Brené Brown: The Gifts of Imperfection — Vital for recovering from the shame often instilled by high-control environments.

• Pete Walker: Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving — A definitive guide to understanding the 4F responses in depth.

• Dr. Karyl McBride: Will I Ever Be Good Enough? — Excellent for those navigating narcissistic family dynamics.