Radical Grace: How Belief in a Benevolent God Benefits Our Health »

J. HAROLD ELLENS is Philosophy and Psychology Professor Emeritus, Presbyterian Pastor and Theologian Emeritus, Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of The Journal of Psychology and Christianity, Executive Director Emeritus of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies, and a retired US Army Colonel. He is Series Editor for the Praeger series in Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality. Among his 164 authored or edited volumes published are The Destructive Power of Religion, 4 volumes (Praeger, 2004 and condensed edition, 2007); Sex in the Bible (Praeger, 2006); and Psychology and the Bible, 4 volumes (Praeger, 2004).

The esteemed editor who brought us the acclaimed set The Destructive Power of Religion, turns his attention here to a similarly powerful, yet positive side of religion: how our concept of God can fuel healthy body and mind. This book contends that all health—mental and physical—is shaped, for good or ill, by our spiritual, theological, and psychological notions about the nature of God, and by the way we form an outlook on life as a result of these notions. Across history, a large percentage of people have believed that God is a threat, an attitude Ellens describes as sick gods created through pathological beliefs, or sick gods that make sick people. But Ellens grounds his brighter perspective in this text on God as a source of unconditional grace and goodwill, then illuminates the effect this perspective has on people who have incorporated it into their minds and lives.

Ellens shows that people with firm faith in God's radical grace are psychologically strong and healthy. His offering of psychology interfacing with theology is reminiscent of Carl Rogers' teaching on unconditional positive regard and its ability to heal suffering persons. All readers, he explains, can benefit by this understanding that can inspire spiritual and psychological healing whether for ourselves, family, friends, or clients in counseling or therapy.

Preface     ix
Acknowledgments     xi
Introduction: Grace and Health     xiii
God's Health and Human Health     1
A Psychotheology of Illness and Health     11
Anxiety and the Rise of Religious Experience     29
The Bible and Human Health     41
Modern Notions about Human Nature     55
Psychology and Spiritual Conversion     64
Communication as Psychological Healing     88
A Psychotheology of Communication     102
Story as Psychotherapy     112
Psychological Stress as a Way to Spirituality     133
The Essence of Psychospiritual Health: Life and Grace     146
Radical Grace: Psychological Implications and Applications     158
The Psychospiritual Health of the Healer     167
Grace Theology in Psychotherapy     189
Conclusion: Summing Up-Grace and Health     205
Series Afterword   J. Harold Ellens     207
Bibliography     211
Index     217