By Raya Faith – Practical Theologian, AuDHD Survivor, and Researcher of Lived Theology

Written for survivors of closed captivity systems, including closed spiritual systems and closed family systems.

Captivity-Informed Theology: A Living Framework

This sanctuary of research and reflection introduces Captivity-Informed Theology — a survivor-led framework developed by Raya Faith, a Practical Theologian and AuDHD survivor of complex religious trauma. Rooted in Isaiah 61, this work bridges theology, psychology, and lived experience to explore how Real Jesus restores freedom not only to the soul but to the nervous system itself.

The White Paper lays the foundation for the framework — defining embodied liberation and cellular truth.

The Incubate Response expands the fifth trauma adaptation unique to AuDHD survivors, where love becomes sacred endurance and the body’s vigil for truth.

The Incarnational Neurodivergence study deepens the theology of embodiment — exploring how the Holy Spirit’s indwelling becomes a cellular experience of faith and restoration.

Together, these writings form a living trilogy — mapping how captivity becomes communion, and how the body remembers what it means to be free.

Abstract

This survivor-led white paper explores captivity-informed theology as a living framework for understanding trauma, faith, and neurodivergent embodiment. It integrates theological reflection, psychological insight, and lived experience to articulate how prolonged trauma—particularly religious trauma—shapes the nervous system’s relationship to safety, truth, and divine connection. Written as practical theology, this work expands current trauma theory to include somatic and spiritual dimensions of survival and recovery.

The Scriptural Foundation: Isaiah 61

At the foundation of this framework is Isaiah 61 — not as a distant prophecy or metaphor for those behind physical bars, but as a living promise of liberation for the mind, body, and spirit. When Real Jesus declared, ‘He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives,’ He was naming what still happens in the nervous system of those who have lived in prolonged captivity of any kind — psychological, spiritual, or systemic. Freedom is not only future or eternal; it is cellular and present. The Spirit of the Lord still moves through the body, restoring breath where fear once lived, truth where silence took root, and peace where survival once ruled. This is the heartbeat of captivity-informed theology: the good news of embodied release, happening in real time.

Background and Problem Statement

Traditional trauma frameworks often focus on psychological or behavioral outcomes, overlooking the somatic and theological layers of captivity. Captivity-informed theology bridges this gap by examining trauma through the lens of sustained captivity—where the body, mind, and spirit remain under threat for years or decades. This framework draws attention to the way survivors’ nervous systems are conditioned not merely by events, but by the architecture of control itself.

Core Theological Premise

Captivity-informed theology proposes that Real Jesus’s liberation extends into the nervous system. Healing is not abstract forgiveness; it is the restoration of internal safety. Survivors are not broken—they are temples being re-sanctified. The Holy Spirit’s work of healing occurs through embodied truth, not denial or suppression.

The Fifth Trauma Response: Incubate

Beyond fight, flight, freeze, or fawn lies the fifth trauma response: Incubate. This response emerges from AuDHD survivors who, rather than collapsing or escaping, preserve hope by holding space for repair. It is a neurodivergent expression of faith and endurance, rooted in love and the body’s refusal to abandon life. While appearing passive, it is a sacred act of preservation—a form of embodied prayer.

Cellular Theology and Embodied Truth

For AuDHD survivors, truth is not conceptual—it is cellular. The body itself holds testimony, remembering both pain and revelation. Religious trauma feels existential because it severs the connection between body and Spirit. To speak truth is not rebellion; it is survival. When truth is named, the body begins to breathe again. This is somatic resurrection.

Implications for Research and Practice

This emerging field invites collaboration between theologians, trauma therapists, and neurodivergent researchers. It offers new frameworks for understanding embodied spirituality, trauma repair, and faith recovery. By bridging neuroscience and theology, captivity-informed practice opens pathways for survivors to encounter Real Jesus in safety and truth.

Conclusion

Captivity-informed theology reframes trauma as a site of divine encounter and restoration. It recognizes that the Holy Spirit does not bypass the body but inhabits it, leading survivors from paralysis to peace. The same Jesus who proclaims freedom to the captives still whispers through the nervous system today: ‘You were never wrong to feel what was true.’

Author Note

Raya Faith is a Practical Theologian, AuDHD survivor, and researcher of lived theology who explores the intersection of trauma, neurodivergence, and faith through embodied experience. Her work bridges psychology and spirituality to create frameworks that honor both science and sacred truth. All writings are the intellectual property of Raya Faith and reflect her lived theology and survivor-led research. For ethical and safety reasons, personal details and identifiable systems are withheld.