Download or read book Wandering in Darkness written by Eleonore Stump and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2012-09-13 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Only the most naïve or tendentious among us would deny the extent and intensity of suffering in the world. Can one hold, consistently with the common view of suffering in the world, that there is an omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly good God? This book argues that one can. Wandering in Darkness first presents the moral psychology and value theory within which one typical traditional theodicy, namely, that of Thomas Aquinas, is embedded. It explicates Aquinas's account of the good for human beings, including the nature of love and union among persons. Eleonore Stump also makes use of developments in neurobiology and developmental psychology to illuminate the nature of such union. Stump then turns to an examination of narratives. In a methodological section focused on epistemological issues, the book uses recent research involving autism spectrum disorder to argue that some philosophical problems are best considered in the context of narratives. Using the methodology argued for, the book gives detailed, innovative exegeses of the stories of Job, Samson, Abraham and Isaac, and Mary of Bethany. In the context of these stories and against the backdrop of Aquinas's other views, Stump presents Aquinas's own theodicy, and shows that Aquinas's theodicy gives a powerful explanation for God's allowing suffering. She concludes by arguing that this explanation constitutes a consistent and cogent defense for the problem of suffering.
Download or read book Narrative Pain and Suffering written by Daniel B. Carr and published by IAS Publishing. This book was released on 2005 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When I experience pain, who or what is the me that suffers? When I relieve another's pain, who or what is the other that I restore to well-being? Increasingly, these questions seem answerable only through an understanding of narrative. Studies of pain narrative focus not simply on engrossing tales, but on complex and subtle processes rooted in the neurobiology of self-representation, emotion, and social interaction. These processes shape how individuals and cultures experience and report pain. Studies of narrative in its broadest sense not only deepen our understanding of pain and suffering, but also teach us about meaning, motivation, and discourse as represented in the biomedical, human, and social sciences. This book embodies the path-breaking multidisciplinary perspective that was created when leading contributors in neurobiology, integrative physiology, anthropology, psychology, sociology, and clinical research joined with clinicians, writers, and journalists from developed and developing countries. Together they have produced a unique volume that speaks to core issues integral to emerging pain research and humane health care in the 21st century.
Download or read book The Suffering Self written by Judith Perkins and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-09-11 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Suffering Self is a ground-breaking, interdisciplinary study of the spread of Christianity across the Roman empire. Judith Perkins shows how Christian narrative representation in the early empire worked to create a new kind of human self-understanding - the perception of the self as sufferer. Drawing on feminist and social theory, she addresses the question of why forms of suffering like martyrdom and self-mutilation were so important to early Christians. This study crosses the boundaries between ancient history and the study of early Christianity, seeing Christian representation in the context of the Greco-Roman world. She draws parallels with suffering heroines in Greek novels and in martyr acts and examines representations in medical and philosophical texts. Judith Perkins' controversial study is important reading for all those interested in ancient society, or in the history `f Christianity.
Download or read book Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God written by Marilyn McCord Adams and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2018-09-05 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When confronted by horrendous evil, even the most pious believer may question not only life's worth but also God's power and goodness. A distinguished philosopher and a practicing minister, Marilyn McCord Adams has written a highly original work on a fundamental dilemma of Christian thought—how to reconcile faith in God with the evils that afflict human beings. Adams argues that much of the discussion in analytic philosophy of religion over the last forty years has offered too narrow an understanding of the problem. The ground rules accepted for the discussion have usually led philosophers to avert their gaze from the worst—horrendous—evils and their devastating impact on human lives. They have agreed to debate the issue on the basis of religion-neutral values, and have focused on morals, an approach that—Adams claims—is inadequate for formulating and solving the problem of horrendous evils. She emphasizes instead the fruitfulness of other evaluative categories such as purity and defilement, honor and shame, and aesthetics. If redirected, philosophical reflection on evil can, Adams's book demonstrates, provide a valuable approach not only to theories of God and evil but also to pastoral care.
Download or read book Illness as Narrative written by Ann Jurečič and published by University of Pittsburgh Pre. This book was released on 2012-03-12 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For most of literary history, personal confessions about illness were considered too intimate to share publicly. By the mid-twentieth century, however, a series of events set the stage for the emergence of the illness narrative. The increase of chronic disease, the transformation of medicine into big business, the women's health movement, the AIDS/HIV pandemic, the advent of inexpensive paperbacks, and the rise of self-publishing all contributed to the proliferation of narratives about encounters with medicine and mortality. While the illness narrative is now a staple of the publishing industry, the genre itself has posed a problem for literary studies. What is the role of criticism in relation to personal accounts of suffering? Can these narratives be judged on aesthetic grounds? Are they a collective expression of the lost intimacy of the patient-doctor relationship? Is their function thus instrumental—to elicit the reader's empathy? To answer these questions, Ann Jurecic turns to major works on pain and suffering by Susan Sontag, Elaine Scarry, and Eve Sedgwick and reads these alongside illness narratives by Jean-Dominique Bauby, Reynolds Price, and Anne Fadiman, among others. In the process, she defines the subgenres of risk and pain narratives and explores a range of critical responses guided, alternately, by narrative empathy, the hermeneutics of suspicion, and the practice of reparative reading. Illness as Narrative seeks to draw wider attention to this form of life writing and to argue for new approaches to both literary criticism and teaching narrative. Jurecic calls for a practice that's both compassionate and critical. She asks that we consider why writers compose stories of illness, how readers receive them, and how both use these narratives to make meaning of human fragility and mortality.
Download or read book Narrative of Suffering Meaning and Experience in a Transcultural Approach written by Lolita Guimarães Guerra and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2019-01-04 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book This Too Shall Last written by K.J. Ramsey and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2020-05-12 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is not a before-and-after story. Our culture treats suffering like a problem to fix, a blight to hide, or the sad start of a transformation story. We silently, secretly wither under the pressure of living as though suffering is a predicament we can avoid or annihilate by working hard enough or having enough faith. When your prayers for healing haven't been answered, the fog of depression isn't lifting, your marriage is ending in divorce, or grief won't go away, it's easy to feel you've failed God and, worse, he's failed you. If God loves us, why does he allow us to hurt? Over a decade ago chronic illness plunged therapist and writer K.J. Ramsey straight into this paradox. Before her illness, faith made sense. But when pain came and never left, K.J. had to find a way across the widening canyon that seemed to separate God's goodness from her excruciating circumstances. She wanted to conquer suffering. Instead, she encountered the God who chose it. She wanted to make pain past-tense. Instead, God invited her into a bigger story. This Too Shall Last offers an antidote to our cultural idolatry of effort and ease. Through personal story and insights from neuroscience and theology, Ramsey invites us to let our tears become lenses of the wonder that before God ever rescues us, he stands in solidarity with us. We are all mid-story in circumstances we did not choose, wondering when our hard things will end and where grace will come if they don’t. We don't need to make suffering a before-and-after story. Together we can encounter the grace that enters the middle of our stories, where living with suffering that lingers means receiving God's presence that lasts.
Download or read book Suffer Strong written by Katherine Wolf and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2020-02-11 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is it possible to embrace suffering as a privilege, rather than a punishment? Beloved authors Katherine and Jay Wolf offer readers the bold invitation to trust a known God with an unknown future, as well as practical insights into surviving anything by redefining how we think about everything. After miraculously surviving a near-fatal brainstem stroke at age 26, as told in their memoir, Hope Heals, life for Katherine and Jay Wolf changed forever - and so did the way they viewed God, the world, and themselves in it. There was no going back to normal after such a tragedy. Yet Katherine and Jay learned that suffering is not the end, but rather the beginning of a new story. In Suffer Strong, they invite us into this new story as they share universal lessons and helpful practices that will help us to: Recognize we are being equipped for an uncommon assignment, not cursed by our story. Transform our unmet expectations into brave anticipations. Disrupt the myth that joy can only be found in a pain-free life. Rewrite the narrative of hard circumstances by turning our definitions of suffering into declarations of strength. And, ultimately, thrive even in the lives we never imagined living.
Download or read book Job and the Mystery of Suffering written by Richard Rohr and published by Gracewing Publishing. This book was released on 1996 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Richard Rohr, internationally known retreat leader, speaker and writer, plumbs the depths of the Job's story and its relevance for us today. Rohr strips Christian faith down to the essentials, beyond glib answers and a "hand-me-down" experience of God, and points the way to true knowing. In this invigorating exploration, the tension between suffering and faith becomes a powerful means to an authentic, open connection with the divine.
Download or read book On Suffering An Interdisciplinary Dialogue on Narrative and Suffering written by Nate Hinerman and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-10-12 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Illness Narratives written by Arthur Kleinman and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2020-10-13 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From one of America's most celebrated psychiatrists, the book that has taught generations of healers why healing the sick is about more than just diagnosing their illness. Modern medicine treats sick patients like broken machines -- figure out what is physically wrong, fix it, and send the patient on their way. But humans are not machines. When we are ill, we experience our illness: we become scared, distressed, tired, weary. Our illnesses are not just biological conditions, but human ones. It was Arthur Kleinman, a Harvard psychiatrist and anthropologist, who saw this truth when most of his fellow doctors did not. Based on decades of clinical experience studying and treating chronic illness, The Illness Narratives makes a case for interpreting the illness experience of patients as a core feature of doctoring. Before Being Mortal, there was The Illness Narratives. It remains today a prescient and passionate case for bridging the gap between patient and practitioner.
Download or read book Hope Heals written by Katherine Wolf and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2016-04-26 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When all seems lost, where can you find hope? Katherine and Jay Wolf married right after college and sought adventure far from home in Los Angeles, CA. As they pursued their dreams--she as a model and he as a lawyer--they planted their lives in the city and their church community. Their son, James, came along unexpectedly in the fall of 2007, and just six months later, everything changed in a moment for this young family. On April 21, 2008, as James slept in the other room, Katherine collapsed, suffering a massive brain stem stroke without warning. Miraculously, Jay came home in time and called for help. Katherine was immediately rushed into brain surgery, though her chance of survival was slim. As the sun rose the next morning, the surgeon proclaimed that Katherine had survived the removal of part of her brain, though her future recovery was uncertain. Yet in that moment, there was a spark of hope. Through forty days on life support in the ICU and nearly two years in full-time brain rehab, that small spark of hope was fanned into flame. Hope Heals documents Katherine and Jay's journey as they struggled to regain Katherine's quality of life and as she relearned to talk, eat, and walk. As Katherine returned home with a severely disabled body but a completely renewed purpose, she and Jay committed to celebrating this gift of a second chance by embracing life fully, even though that life looked very different than they could have ever imagined. As you uncover Katherine and Jay's remarkable story, you'll be encouraged to: Find lasting hope in the midst of struggle Embrace the unexpected Welcome God's miracles into your everyday life In the midst of continuing hardships, both in body and mind, Katherine and Jay found what we all long to find: a hope that heals the most broken place--our souls. Let Hope Heals be your guide along the way. Praise for Hope Heals: "As I read this book, tears streamed from my eyes even as joy flooded my heart. Jay and Katherine are a raw yet refreshing testimony to the unshakable trustworthiness of God amidst the unimaginable trials of life. This book reminds all of us where hope can be found in a world where none of us know what the next day holds." --David Platt, author of the New York Times bestseller Radical and president of the International Mission Board "Hope Heals is a beautiful, true story that illustrates the love and protection God has for us even in the darkest times of our lives. Katherine and Jay's dedication to each other and the Lord through their most devastating season is inspiring. This book will help your heart believe that He sees, He knows, He cares, and He is still working miracles today!" --Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries
Download or read book The Practice of Story written by Mindy Makant and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Demonstrates how Christian redemption addresses the horrors of profound suffering
Download or read book The Suffering Genius written by Ciprian Pater and published by . This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The content of this book aims to serve as a remembrance for the young generations, those which society is currently failing in its accountability, to educate and tender for objectively, towards the relief of their myriads of mental health struggles. It provides a series of short biographical accounts of past geniuses and other influential personas. It may serve as a guiding light, exemplifying how few individuals through chance of circumstances, within their agency of conscious efforts and despite various suffering conditions, contributed to the collective advancements of our identification as mankind, the caretakers of truth and reality. The legacy of these pioneers and trail blazers, should strengthen and comfort the mind and soul of anyone living within the pain of delusion of their personal shortcomings, which society justifies by inhibiting their freedom and right for an authentic personality. Ciprian Pater is an avid student of political science and social studies, he emphasises science, epistemology and philosophy of mind as being fundamental to his inquiry into a metaphysical and transcendental universal theory of everything.
Download or read book On Suffering written by Nate Hinerman and published by . This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do we suffer? Can there be any meaning to suffering? If so, how and in what contexts? This interdisciplinary volume explores the place of narrative in efforts to make sense of suffering.
Download or read book Companions in Suffering written by Wendy Alsup and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2020-06-09 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you ever felt emotionally wrung out from an ongoing trial? Though suffering often leaves us feeling isolated, God invites us into the community of the Trinity and offers us many companions in Scripture. Journey in these pages with Wendy Alsup through her story of suffering, and more importantly, with the God who walks with us in the wilderness.
Download or read book The Wounded Storyteller written by Arthur W. Frank and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2013-10-18 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updated second edition: “A bold and imaginative book which moves our thinking about narratives of illness in new directions.” —Sociology of Heath and Illness Since it was first published in 1995, The Wounded Storyteller has occupied a unique place in the body of work on illness. A collective portrait of a so-called “remission society” of those who suffer from illness or disability, as well as a cogent analysis of their stories within a larger framework of narrative theory, Arthur W. Frank’s book has reached a large and diverse readership including the ill, medical professionals, and scholars of literary theory. Drawing on the work of such authors as Oliver Sacks, Anatole Broyard, Norman Cousins, and Audre Lorde, as well as from people he met during the years he spent among different illness groups, Frank recounts a stirring collection of illness stories, ranging from the well-known—Gilda Radner’s battle with ovarian cancer—to the private testimonials of people with cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, and disabilities. Their stories are more than accounts of personal suffering: They abound with moral choices and point to a social ethic. In this new edition Frank adds a preface describing the personal and cultural times when the first edition was written. His new afterword extends the book’s argument significantly, discussing storytelling and experience, other modes of illness narration, and a version of hope that is both realistic and aspirational. Reflecting on his own life during the creation of the first edition and the conclusions of the book itself, he reminds us of the power of storytelling as way to understand our own suffering. “Arthur W. Frank’s second edition of The Wounded Storyteller provides instructions for use of this now-classic text in the study of illness narratives.” —Rita Charon, author of Narrative Medicine “Frank sees the value of illness narratives not so much in solving clinical conundrums as in addressing the question of how to live a good life.” —Christianity Today
