Publisher Description

As Princeton scholar Donald Capps says in the Foreword, decades from now, our successors will surely wonder how such a monumental undertaking as these four volumes on psychology and the Bible could have ever come about. These books provide the first comprehensive portrait from a relatively new field that combines psychological analysis with biblical studies. Thirty-four experts from seven countries gather here to show us how the various schools of psychology interpret the scriptures, from sexual laws and beliefs about shame to the personalities of Jesus, Job, and the prophet Ezekiel. A range of psychological perspectives from Freud to Kohut is chronicled, demonstrating a broad spectrum of applications from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.The first volume, From Freud to Kohut, explains how 14 different psychological schools—including Freudian psychology, Jungian psychology, developmental and social psychology, and post traumatic stress disorder theory—view the scriptures. The second volume, From Genesis to Apocalyptic Vision applies psychological theory to interpreting the Hebrew Bible. The third volume, From Gospels to Gnostic, provides psychological insights on the New Testament, including the parables of Jesus and the book of Revelation. And the final volume, From Christ to Jesus, focuses on the new field of psychological inquiry into the Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus.

Author Biography

J. HAROLD ELLENS is Editor for the Praeger Series in Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality. He is a Research Scholar at the University of Michigan Department of Near Eastern Studies, a retired Presbyterian theologian, an ordained minister, a retired U.S. Army Colonel and a retired Professor of Philosophy, Theology, and Psychology. He served 15 years as Executive Director of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies, and was Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Psychology and Christianity. He has authored, coauthored, or edited 164 books, including The Destructive Power of Religion, 4 volumes (Praeger, 2004).WAYNE G. ROLLINS is Adjunct Professor of Scripture at Hartford Seminary and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Assumption College. He received his Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from Yale University and is Founder and Chair of the Society of Biblical Literature Section on Psychology and Biblical Studies.

Table of Contents

Volume IForewordSeries Foreword1 Introduction2 Reading the Bible in Three Dimensions: Psychological Biblical Interpretation3 Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible: Freuds Lens4 Jung, Analytical Psychology, and the Bible5 Theissens Integration of Psychology and New Testament Studies: Learning Theory, Psychodynamics, and Cognitive Psychology6 Developmental Psychology in Biblical Studies7 Winnicotts Squiggle Game and Biblical Interpretation8 Gospel Narrative and Psychoanalytic Criticism: Peter Brooks, Norman Holland, and Jacques Lacan9 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Vicarious Atonement in the Second Isaiah10 Family Systems Psychology as Hermeneutic11 A Romantic Psychologist Reads the Bible: Eugen Drewermann12 The Psychosymbolic Approach to Biblical Interpretation13 Jewish and Christian Messianism: The Psychoanalytic Approach of Heinz Kohut14 The Bible and Psychology: An Interdisciplinary PilgrimageGlossaryIndexAbout the ContributorsAbout the Series Editor and AdvisersVolume IIForewordSeries Foreword1 Introduction2 Wrestling with God: Psychological Insights in Bible Study3 The Psychodynamics of the Fall Story: Genesis 2:253:244 What Is Wrong with This Picture? Daughters and Fathers in Genesis5 Jacob: A Study in Individuation6 A Psychological Approach to the Book of Jonah7 Lady Wisdom: A Polytheistic and Psychological Interpretation of a Biblical Goddess8 Psychotherapeutic Change in the Book of Job9 Reading the Prophecies of Jeremiah through a Psychoanalytic Lens10 Psychoanalyzing Ezekiel11 An Adequate Psychological Approach to the Book of Ezekiel12 Traumatizing Ezekiel, the Exilic Prophet13 Whats in a Name? That Which We Call a Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet: Gods Name, Lacan, and the Ultimate Phallus14 The Day of the L from a Jungian Perspective: Amos 5:182015 Role and Selfhood in Hebrew Prophecy16 Because of My Grief I Have Spoken: The Psychology of Loss in 4 Ezra17 The Visionary Practices of Jewish ApocalyptistsGlossaryIndexAbout the ContributorsAbout the Series Editor and AdvisersVolume IIIForewordSeries Foreword1 Introduction2 Snagged by the Seat of My Pants While Reading the Bible3 Object Relations Theory and Mark 15:3339: Interpreting Ourselves Interpreting the Bible4 The Parable and the Centered Self: Ericksons Confusion Technique as Hermeneutic for the Stories of Jesus5 Coping with the Death of Jesus: The Gospels and the Theory of Grief Work6 Reading Mark for the Pleasure of Fantasy7 The Psychology of Johannine Symbolism8 The Cognitive Origins of Johns Unitive and Disunitive Christology9 A Psychodynamic Approach to 2 Corinthians 101310 Differentiation in the Family of Faith: The Prodigal Son and Galatians 1211 Pauls Letter to the Galatians in Social-Psychological Perspective12 Revelation 17: The Apocalypse as Psychic Drama13 Psychological Aspects of Biblical Apocalypticism14 The Bible and the Psychology of Shame15 Biblical Imagery and Psychological Likeness16 Psyche, Soul, and Self in Historical and Contemporary Perspective17 Begotten, Not Created: The Gnostic Use of Language in Jungian PerspectiveGlossaryIndexAbout the ContributorsAbout the Series Editor and AdvisersVolume IVForewordSeries Foreword1 Introduction2 From Christ to Jesus: The Jesus Quest3 Psychobiography: A New and Challenging Methodology in Jesus Research4 A Psychobiography of Jesus5 Jesus: A Psychological and Historical Portrait6 Beyond Schweitzer and the Psychiatrists: Jesus as Fictive Personality7 Jay Haleys Psychological Portrait of Jesus: A Power Tactician8 Erik Eriksons Psychological Portrait of Jesus: Jesus as Numinous Presence9 The Original Impulse of Jesus10 Social Identity, Status Envy, and Jesus as Fatherless Child11 A Way Forward in the Scientific Investigation of Gospel Traditions: Cognitive-Critical Analysis12 The Myth of History and the Evolution of Consciousness: A Jesus Scholar in Psychological Perspective13 Jesus and Transformation14 The Bible and the Alchemy of Language in Psychological PerspectiveGlossaryIndexAbout the ContributorsAbout the Series Editor and Advisers

Review

"Psychological approaches to the Bible, always popular with the general reader but rather out of fashion of late among the cognoscenti, receive in this anthology a welcome, rigorous, and refreshing revival."-Jack Miles, Pulitzer Prize recipient author of God: A Biography and Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God
?Highly recommended. General and academic readers.?-Choice
?Would I buy this set? Yes, if I were a psychology teacher, a Christian counselor, a person interested in the Bible and psychology, or just a sponge for knowledge....I would recommend my city or college library put it on their shelves.?-Perspectives on Scienc and Christian Faith
"Highly recommended. General and academic readers."-Choice
"Would I buy this set? Yes, if I were a psychology teacher, a Christian counselor, a person interested in the Bible and psychology, or just a sponge for knowledge....I would recommend my city or college library put it on their shelves."-Perspectives on Scienc and Christian Faith

Promotional

A groundbreaking and comprehensive collection applying psychological insights to biblical study.

Long Description

As Princeton scholar Donald Capps says in the Foreword, decades from now, our successors will surely wonder how such a monumental undertaking as these four volumes on psychology and the Bible could have ever come about. These books provide the first comprehensive portrait from a relatively new field that combines psychological analysis with biblical studies. Thirty-four experts from seven countries gather here to show us how the various schools of psychology interpret the scriptures, from sexual laws and beliefs about shame to the personalities of Jesus, Job, and the prophet Ezekiel. A range of psychological perspectives from Freud to Kohut is chronicled, demonstrating a broad spectrum of applications from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. The first volume, From Freud to Kohut , explains how 14 different psychological schools--including Freudian psychology, Jungian psychology, developmental and social psychology, and post traumatic stress disorder theory--view the scriptures. The second volume, From Genesis to Apocalyptic Vision applies psychological theory to interpreting the Hebrew Bible. The third volume, From Gospels to Gnostic , provides psychological insights on the New Testament, including the parables of Jesus and the book of Revelation. And the final volume, From Christ to Jesus , focuses on the new field of psychological inquiry into the Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus.

Review Quote

"Would I buy this set? Yes, if I were a psychology teacher, a Christian counselor, a person interested in the Bible and psychology, or just a sponge for knowledge....I would recommend my city or college library put it on their shelves."- Perspectives on Scienc and Christian Faith

Promotional "Headline"

A groundbreaking and comprehensive collection applying psychological insights to biblical study.

Details