Encountering the Suffering of the Other


Book Description

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezechiel 36:26). This biblical image, particularly significant for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, gives insight into the central issues of this book: how a greater readiness to reconcile can take place among individuals and groups who experience the "suffering of the other," even in the midst of a protracted conflict such as the Israeli-Palestinian one. This book offers a collection of essays written by the team members of a transdisciplinary DFG project between Jena University, Ben Gurion University, Tel Aviv University, and the Wasatia Academic Institute.




Wandering in Darkness


Book Description

Only the most naïve or tendentious among us would deny the extent and intensity of suffering in the world. Can one hold, consistently with the common view of suffering in the world, that there is an omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly good God? This book argues that one can. Wandering in Darkness first presents the moral psychology and value theory within which one typical traditional theodicy, namely, that of Thomas Aquinas, is embedded. It explicates Aquinas's account of the good for human beings, including the nature of love and union among persons. Eleonore Stump also makes use of developments in neurobiology and developmental psychology to illuminate the nature of such union. Stump then turns to an examination of narratives. In a methodological section focused on epistemological issues, the book uses recent research involving autism spectrum disorder to argue that some philosophical problems are best considered in the context of narratives. Using the methodology argued for, the book gives detailed, innovative exegeses of the stories of Job, Samson, Abraham and Isaac, and Mary of Bethany. In the context of these stories and against the backdrop of Aquinas's other views, Stump presents Aquinas's own theodicy, and shows that Aquinas's theodicy gives a powerful explanation for God's allowing suffering. She concludes by arguing that this explanation constitutes a consistent and cogent defense for the problem of suffering.




The Gospel According to Isaiah 53


Book Description

Written by eleven biblical scholars, this study explores the theology of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53 and answers a number of imporant questions: What is a Christian interpretation of Isaiah 53? What is a Jewish interpretation of Isaiah 53? How did the New Testament writers understand Isaiah 53? How should forgiveness and salvation be understood in Isaiah 53? How can Isaiah 53 be used in Jewish evangelism? How do we preach Isaiah 53?




This Too Shall Last


Book Description

This book is not a before-and-after story. Our culture treats suffering like a problem to fix, a blight to hide, or the sad start of a transformation story. We silently, secretly wither under the pressure of living as though suffering is a predicament we can avoid or annihilate by working hard enough or having enough faith. When your prayers for healing haven't been answered, the fog of depression isn't lifting, your marriage is ending in divorce, or grief won't go away, it's easy to feel you've failed God and, worse, he's failed you. If God loves us, why does he allow us to hurt? Over a decade ago chronic illness plunged therapist and writer K.J. Ramsey straight into this paradox. Before her illness, faith made sense. But when pain came and never left, K.J. had to find a way across the widening canyon that seemed to separate God's goodness from her excruciating circumstances. She wanted to conquer suffering. Instead, she encountered the God who chose it. She wanted to make pain past-tense. Instead, God invited her into a bigger story. This Too Shall Last offers an antidote to our cultural idolatry of effort and ease. Through personal story and insights from neuroscience and theology, Ramsey invites us to let our tears become lenses of the wonder that before God ever rescues us, he stands in solidarity with us. We are all mid-story in circumstances we did not choose, wondering when our hard things will end and where grace will come if they don’t. We don't need to make suffering a before-and-after story. Together we can encounter the grace that enters the middle of our stories, where living with suffering that lingers means receiving God's presence that lasts.




Suffering and Sacrifice in the Clinical Encounter


Book Description

In Suffering and Sacrifice in the Clinical Encounter, the authors identify the ways in which some patients seek to create what Freud termed a "private religion" and unconsciously substitute sacrificial enactments of scapegoat surrogates to protect them against the pain of separation, mourning, and loss of primary figures of attachment. They investigate the function of sacrifice and its relationship to the breakdown of psychic structure and the development of manic defenses and pathological narcissism. Such treatments are complex, the "reversed roles" of victim and perpetrator central to the sacrificial process when enacted in therapy can trigger feelings of shame, guilt and inadequacy in the therapist. Perverse, vengeful, and sadistic transference distortions are explored to enable the therapist to appreciate the true nature of the patient's hidden traumatic experience, with the necessity for the working-through of genuine separation and grieving highlighted. Useful methods are detailed to counter the tendency to become overly active and inappropriately involved when working with patients who have deadened their desire to improve. This book is unique in utilising the dynamic concepts of the effects of trauma and sacrifice, the role of the scapegoat, and the distinctions between the experience of pain and the accomplishment of suffering in order to develop a foundational understanding of such patients. It is a must-read for all practising and trainee therapists.




Vienna 2019 - Encountering the Other: Within us, between us and in the world


Book Description

The XXI International Congress for Analytical Psychology was held in Vienna, the birthplace of psychoanalysis. It brought together an unprecedented number of participants from all over the world and from different fields of knowledge. The theme: Encountering the Other: Within us, between us and in the world, a most relevant and urgent topic of the contemporary discourse among clinicians and academics alike, was explored in a rich and diverse program of pre-congress workshops, master classes, plenary and breakout presentations and posters. The Proceedings are published as two volumes: a printed edition of the plenary presentations, and an e-Book with the complete material presented at the Congress. To professionals as well as the general public, this collection of papers offers an inspiring insight into contemporary Jungian thinking from the classical to the latest research-based scientific lens. From the Contents: Deifying the Soul – from Ibn Arabi to C.G. Jung by Navid Kermani Apocalyptic Themes in Times of Trouble: When Young Men are Deeply Alienated by Robert Tyminski Panel Encountering the Other Within: Dream Research in Analytical Psychology and the Relationship of Ego and other Parts of the Psyche by Christian Roesler, Yasuhiro Tanaka & Tamar Kron Integration Versus Conflict Between Schools of Dream Theory and Dreamwork: integrating the psychological core qualities of dreams with the contemporary knowledge of the dreaming brain by Ole Vedfelt Freud and Jung on Freud and Jung by Ernst Falzeder Opening the Closed Heart: affect-focused clinical work with the victims of early trauma by Donald E. Kalsched The Other Between Fear and Desire – countertransference fantasy as a bridge between me and the other by Daniela Eulert-Fuchs Self, Other and Individuation: resolving narcissism through the lunar and solar paths of the Rosarium by Marcus West Encountering the Other: Jungian Analysts and Traditional Healers in South Africa by Peter Ammann, Fred Borchardt , Nomfundo Lily-Rose Mlisa & Renee Ramsden From Horror to Ethical Responsibility: Carl Gustav Jung and Stephen King encounter the dark half within us, between us and in the world by Chiara Tozzi




Encountering the Book of Isaiah


Book Description

This clear and readable introduction provides guidance on the history and theology of the book of Isaiah.




Encountering the Book of Hebrews (Encountering Biblical Studies)


Book Description

Although the Book of Hebrews "is not exactly what most of us would regard as a user-friendly book," notes Donald Hagner, "Hebrews has always been popular among Christians." Encountering the Book of Hebrews was written to help students more fully appreciate the complexities of this favorite section of Scripture. Hagner begins by exploring introductory issues (e.g., historical backgrounds, author, audience, date, purpose, structure, genre) and overarching themes (e.g., heavenly archetypes and earthly copies, the use of the Old Testament, the attitude toward Judaism). The heart of the book then offers a chapter-by-chapter exposition of Hebrews. Unlike commentaries, it does not try to be exhaustive--examining all details and answering all questions--but instead guides students to the issues that are most important for their study of this difficult book. Hagner concludes with a final look at the contribution of Hebrews to the New Testament, New Testament theology, the church, and the individual Christian. As with other volumes in the Encountering Biblical Studies series, Encountering the Book of Hebrews is designed for classroom use and includes a number of helpful features, including further-reading sections, key terms, chapter objectives, and outlines along with numerous sidebars and illustrations.




On Job


Book Description

One of this century's most eminent theologians addresses the eternal questions of the relationship of good and evil, linking the story of Job to the lives of the poor and oppressed of our world.




Jesus Christ for Today's World


Book Description

J rgen Moltmann formulates necessary questions about the significance of Jesus the Christ for persons today. He offers a compelling portrait of the earthly Jesus as the divine brother in our distress and suffering and points to the risen Christ as the warrant for the "future in which God will restore everything . . . and gather everything into his kingdom." Urging that acknowledgment of Christ and discipleship are two sides of the same coin, Moltmann contends that the question of Jesus Christ for today is not just an intellectual one. Moltmann takes fresh approaches to a number of crucial topics: Jesus and the kingdom of God, the passion of Christ and the pain of God, Jesus as brother of the tortured, and the resurrection of Christ as hope for the world, the cosmic Christ, Jesus in Jewish- Christian dialogue, the future of God, and others.