Description
'Remarkably beautiful and pastoral' JUSTIN WELBY, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY 'Brimming with wisdom and humanity' DAME SARAH MULLALLY, DBE, BISHOP OF LONDON Struggling with God gets right to the heart of a great predicament for many Christians. When it feels as if our struggles are overwhelming - and our capacity for faith and hope and love is diminished - how is it possible to maintain, never mind nourish, our relationship with God? The truth, as this deeply compassionate volume reminds us, is that Jesus came alongside people wrestling with mental health problems. Many familiar conditions, such as anxiety and depression, and more severe ones, including bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia, are addressed by the authors here. Dispelling common myths and misconceptions, they explore the impact such mental health disorders can have on individual Christians, Church and society.. Each chapter includes biblical reflections relevant to its theme, prayers, questions to facilitate individual/group study, and pointers to further reading. In short, the book presents a Christian vision of spiritual and mental wellbeing through prayerful struggling with God.
A fresh, hopeful and scriptural companion for both those struggling with mental illness and their supporters, carers, and the church community who like Jesus, seek to come alongside all with the practical and spiritual hope of a God who journeys with us in our suffering.
About the Author
Christopher C. H. Cook (Author) Christopher C. H. Cook is Professor of Spirituality, Theology & Health at Durham University. He worked as a psychiatrist in the NHS for over 25 years before retiring from clinical practice, and was ordained as an Anglican priest in 2001. He ministers in a small rural parish in the Yorkshire Dales and is the author of several books. Isabelle Hamley (Author) Isabelle Hamley is Theological Adviser to the House of Bishops and was formerly Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Isabelle has written a number of recognised books on questions of justice, mercy and restoration, having been a probation officer before ordination and ministering subsequently amidst the diversity of parish life. John Swinton (Author) John Swinton is a Scottish theologian, academic, and Presbyterian minister. He is the Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies (University of Aberdeen) and the founder of the university's Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability. John is a major figure in the development of disability theology and was awarded in 2016 the Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing for his book Dementia: Living in the Memories of God.
Reviews
'This remarkably beautiful and pastoral study by three knowledgeable and outstanding scholars challenges clearly but gently almost every way in which, until the very recent past, we first made mental illness a category that separates and then tried to hide it away . . . There is a great need for the courage to love those who are ill, support their supporters, and form communities of all kinds which are welcoming and safe places . . . I finished the book with new attitudes and a sense of having once again seen potential beauty in the church which we have yet to realise but which is within our grasp.' -- Justin Welby, Archbishop of York on STRUGGLING WITH GOD
'Most people struggle at some point with their mental health. This book offers a fresh, hopeful and scripturally-rooted response, brimming with wisdom and humanity. The stigma which isolates individuals and denies their God-given image is rightly given short shrift. The church is encouraged to embrace the reality of people's experience as a gift, with a vulnerable openness to learning new things. Struggling with God beautifully draws out the resources of the Christian faith to address mental health challenges - our own and other people's - with intelligence, compassion and hope.' -- Dame Sarah Mullally, DBE, Bishop of London on STRUGGLING WITH GOD
'An essential read and resource . . . The theology has a strong true foundation, based both on lived experience of mental health challenges, as well as years of clinical experience and academic research. Particularly helpful are the bible reflections and prayers which are written with sensitivity and empathy.' -- The Revd Dr Alison J Gray, FRCPsych, Priest Associate Church of the Ascension, Munich on STRUGGLING WITH GOD
This fine book is the product of the collective wisdom of three distinguished authors. [It] would be an ideal focus for house groups or Lent discussion groups. The more people in congregations of any denomination who read this and, changing their attitudes towards those who struggle with mental-health challenges, adopt a more Christlike acceptance of them, the better for us all. -- Church Times on STRUGGLING WITH GOD
'John Swinton has clearly become the premier pastoral theologian of our time.' -- Stanley Hauerwas
Book Information
ISBN 9780281086412
Author Professor Christopher C. H. Cook
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint SPCK Publishing
Publisher SPCK Publishing
A fresh, hopeful and scriptural companion for both those struggling with mental illness and their supporters, carers, and the church community who like Jesus, seek to come alongside all with the practical and spiritual hope of a God who journeys with us in our suffering.
About the Author
Christopher C. H. Cook (Author) Christopher C. H. Cook is Professor of Spirituality, Theology & Health at Durham University. He worked as a psychiatrist in the NHS for over 25 years before retiring from clinical practice, and was ordained as an Anglican priest in 2001. He ministers in a small rural parish in the Yorkshire Dales and is the author of several books. Isabelle Hamley (Author) Isabelle Hamley is Theological Adviser to the House of Bishops and was formerly Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Isabelle has written a number of recognised books on questions of justice, mercy and restoration, having been a probation officer before ordination and ministering subsequently amidst the diversity of parish life. John Swinton (Author) John Swinton is a Scottish theologian, academic, and Presbyterian minister. He is the Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies (University of Aberdeen) and the founder of the university's Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability. John is a major figure in the development of disability theology and was awarded in 2016 the Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing for his book Dementia: Living in the Memories of God.
Reviews
'This remarkably beautiful and pastoral study by three knowledgeable and outstanding scholars challenges clearly but gently almost every way in which, until the very recent past, we first made mental illness a category that separates and then tried to hide it away . . . There is a great need for the courage to love those who are ill, support their supporters, and form communities of all kinds which are welcoming and safe places . . . I finished the book with new attitudes and a sense of having once again seen potential beauty in the church which we have yet to realise but which is within our grasp.' -- Justin Welby, Archbishop of York on STRUGGLING WITH GOD
'Most people struggle at some point with their mental health. This book offers a fresh, hopeful and scripturally-rooted response, brimming with wisdom and humanity. The stigma which isolates individuals and denies their God-given image is rightly given short shrift. The church is encouraged to embrace the reality of people's experience as a gift, with a vulnerable openness to learning new things. Struggling with God beautifully draws out the resources of the Christian faith to address mental health challenges - our own and other people's - with intelligence, compassion and hope.' -- Dame Sarah Mullally, DBE, Bishop of London on STRUGGLING WITH GOD
'An essential read and resource . . . The theology has a strong true foundation, based both on lived experience of mental health challenges, as well as years of clinical experience and academic research. Particularly helpful are the bible reflections and prayers which are written with sensitivity and empathy.' -- The Revd Dr Alison J Gray, FRCPsych, Priest Associate Church of the Ascension, Munich on STRUGGLING WITH GOD
This fine book is the product of the collective wisdom of three distinguished authors. [It] would be an ideal focus for house groups or Lent discussion groups. The more people in congregations of any denomination who read this and, changing their attitudes towards those who struggle with mental-health challenges, adopt a more Christlike acceptance of them, the better for us all. -- Church Times on STRUGGLING WITH GOD
'John Swinton has clearly become the premier pastoral theologian of our time.' -- Stanley Hauerwas
Book Information
ISBN 9780281086412
Author Professor Christopher C. H. Cook
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint SPCK Publishing
Publisher SPCK Publishing
