Short description:

This book seeks to remedy this deficiency through a breadth of reflection upon human resilience from canonical biblical and Christian theological sources.

Long description:

In recent years, resilience has become a near ubiquitous cultural phenomenon whose influence extends into many fields of academic enquiry. Though research suggests that religion and spirituality are significant factors in engendering resilient adaptation, comparatively little biblical and theological reflection has gone into understanding this construct. This book seeks to remedy this deficiency through a breadth of reflection upon human resilience from canonical biblical and Christian theological sources.

Divided into three parts, biblical scholars and theologians provide critical accounts of these perspectives, integrating biblical and theological insight with current social scientific understandings of resilience. Part 1 presents a range of biblical visions of resilience. Part 2 considers a variety of theological perspectives on resilience, drawing from figures including Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Part 3 explores the clinical and pastoral applications of such expressions of resilience.

This diverse yet cohesive book sets out a new and challenging perspective of how human resilience might be re-envisioned from a Christian perspective. As a result, it will be of interest to scholars of practical and pastoral theology, biblical studies, and religion, spirituality and health. It will also be a valuable resource for chaplains, pastors, and clinicians with an interest in religion and spirituality.

"What does theology have to do with resilience? In this collection of essays, White and Cook have brought together an insightful and thought provoking collection of responses from within the Christian tradition. The answers that emerge challenge some assumptions within the social sciences and have wide relevance for pastoral and clinical practice. This is a very welcome and needed addition to the burgeoning field of resilience studies."

Harold G. Koenig, Director, Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, USA

"How best to cope with life?s difficulties ? how to be resilient ? is a question of perennial importance, which is perhaps particularly pressing today. These wide-ranging essays open up fresh and life-giving perspectives on the issue."

Walter Moberly, Professor of Theology and Biblical Interpretation, Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University, UK

Table of Contents:

Foreword- John Swinton; Acknowledgements; List of Contributors; 1 Introduction- Nathan H. White and Christopher C.H. Cook; Section 1: Biblical Visions of Resilience; 2 ?To Do You Good in the End?: The Wilderness Experience in Israel?s Communal Memory (Deuteronomy 8)-Noel Forlini Burt; 3 Singing Stories Together: Relationship and Storytelling as Resources for Resilience in the Book of Psalms-Rebecca W. Poe Hays; 4 Struck Down but Not Destroyed: Images of Resilience from the Book of Jeremiah-Jonathan D. Bentall; 5 Traumatic Speech and the Rejection of Narrative in Lamentations- David Janzen; 6 Abide in Me: A Johannine Theology of Resilience- Andrew Byers; 7 Complements to the Notion of Human Resilience: Paul?s First Letter to the Thessalonians as a Test Case- Steven J. Kraftchick; 8 Resilience in 1 Peter: Faithfulness and Hope in the Face of Adversity-Katherine M. Hockey; Section 2: Theological Visions of Resilience; 9 Resilience and Music in the Early Church-Carol Harrison; 10 Virtue and Resilience: Aquinas?s Christian Approach to Virtue Applied to Resilience- Craig Steven Titus; 11 The Certainty of God?s Promises: Martin Luther?s Pastoral Use of the Gospel-Carl L. Beckwith; 12 ?The Science of the Cross?: Edith Stein and Resilience- Peter Tyler; 13 Resilient unto Death: Resilience through the Lens of Dietrich Bonhoeffer- Jennifer Moberly; 14 ?A Simple and Warm Common Humanity?: Self-Transcendence and Restless Resilience in Jürgen Moltmann?s Theology- Adam J. Powell; Section 3: Practical Visions of Resilience; 15 Clinical Applications of Resilience- Joanna Collicutt; 16 Pastoral Reflections on Resilience- Page Brooks; 17 Concluding Reflections: Transforming Resilience- Christopher C.H. Cook and Nathan H. White