Taking the Word to Heart: Self and Other in an Age of Therapies

Christians today are besieged by ideas about personhood -- what it means to be a whole person, a happy person, a fulfilled person, a healthy person. In fact, Robert C. Roberts says, psychology has invaded the Christian church -- and while modern psychologies offer insights and practices that can be helpfully adapted for Christian use, they sometimes contradict and can even displace true Christianity.

Roberts examines several psychologies that tend to function as alternative spiritualities -- Rogerian therapy, rational emotive therapy, assertiveness training, contextual family therapy, the psychology of Carl Jung, and the psychology of Hienz Kohut -- and offers a critical evaluation of each in light of the Christian view of the self.

But just what is the Christian interpretation of selfhood? It has a great deal to do with community, with our relationships to others and to God, explains Roberts. "Christians are people of God's Word," Roberts says, "called daily to take it to heart, and thus be formed, as persons, by the sound of his voice. This book is all about becoming persons who dwell, in a variety of ways, among other persons."

With this idea of personhood in mind, Roberts explores a variety of relationships important to the Christian personality, then sets forth the parameters of a distinctively Christian psychology.

Based on impressive scholarship yet highly readable, Taking the Word to Heart is a thoughtful study that will be of interest to laypeople as well as pastors, Christian counselors, theologians, and students.