This is an introductory Christian textbook on a biblical psychology of the individual.

For centuries scholars have been developing ways of studying the bible, through exegesis, historical critique, literary critique, form criticism, and narrative analysis. During the last half century new theoretical approaches have come to the fore. Psychological Hermeneutics takes as its starting point the text itself, and its context - the dynamics of the human document created, the person(s) who authored the text, the original audience for which it was intended, the subsequent audiences to which it spoke, and the factors that were at play behind, in, and in front of the text. The contributions to this volume examine the growth of Psychological Hermeneutics as a discipline within biblical studies. The book is structured in two parts. The first assesses the approach taken by Wayne G. Rollins, one of the pioneers of this field. The second provides applications of Rollins' approach. The result is a book which presents a state-of-the-art survey of the discipline and development of Psychological Hermeneutics over the last thirty years.

Why does the Gospel of Mark make specific and repeated reference to the compassion of Jesus in the miracle stories? This volume discusses the function that compassion has in the Markan characterization of Jesus, particularly in how the terminology employed depicts Jesus as entering the suffering of others. In doing so, it underscores how this portrayal is exceptional among the stories of miracle workers in ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish literature. In Mark, this compassion toward the suffering other is a central feature of the kingdom of God, an attribute the Markan audience is challenged to emulate.

THE RAY S. ANDERSON COLLECTION by WIPF & STOCK PUBLISHERS Ray Sherman Anderson (1925-2009) worked the soil and tended the animals of a South Dakota farm, planted and pastored a church in Southern California, and completed a PhD degree in theology with Thomas F. Torrance in New College Edinburgh. He began his professional teaching career at Westmont College, and then taught and served in various administrative capacities at Fuller Theological Seminary for thirty-three years (retiring as Professor Emeritus of Theology and Ministry). While teaching at Fuller, he served as a parish pastor, always insisting that theology and ministry go hand-in-hand. The pastoral theologian who began his teaching career in middle age penned twenty-seven books. Like Karl Barth, Prof. Anderson articulated a theology of and for the church based on God's own ministry of revelation and reconciliation in the world. As professor and pastor, he modeled an incarnational, evangelical passion for the healing of humanity by Jesus Christ, who is both God's self- revelation to us and the reconciliation of our broken humanity to the triune God. His gift of relating suffering and alienated humans to Christ existing as community (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) is a recurrent motif throughout his life, ministry, and works. The Ray S. Anderson Collection comprises books by Ray Anderson, an introductory text to his theology by Christian D. Kettler, two edited volumes that celebrate his distinguished academic career (􏰀ncarnational 􏰁inistr􏰂: The Presence of Christ in Church, Society, and Family and On Being Christian . . . and Human), and a reprint of an E􏰃ification volume that focuses on Ray Anderson's contributions to the field of Christian Psychology. A word of gratitude is due to The Society of Christian Psychology and its parent organization, The American Association for Christian Counselors, for their permission to make the E􏰃ification issue available in book form. Jim Tedrick of Wipf and Stock Publishers deserves a special word of thanks for publishing many of Ray Anderson's books and commissioning this collection of works to continue his legacy. Todd H. Speidell, General Editor

In this three-volume set, international scholars from across a broad spectrum of scholarly fields examine the concept of evil throughout history and world cultures from religious, scientific, psychological, and political perspectives. The manifestation of evil has provided a convenient theme for popular culture entertainment, ranging from the classic film The Exorcist, to almost all of Stephen King's horror novels, to video games such as Resident Evil. Unfortunately, dealing with—and attempting to overcome—the forces of evil is a pervasive problem in the real world as well. Explaining Evil addresses incidents of evil from ancient times to modern day around the globe. Concepts of evil within the big three religions—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—are examined, as well as in Chinese philosophy and Native American beliefs. The political or national expressions of evil are explored, such as the "axis of evil" that culminated in World War II. These volumes identify the causes and effects of evil, and suggest possible remedies to humanity's inescapable flaw.

This Special edition of “Dynamic Biblical Counseling” is dedicated to the American homeowner. The American dream of homeownership that is available to everyone has been sold to the American public; however, not everyone is financially or educationally prepared for home ownership. It seems that the American homeowner has not the education regarding how to prevent foreclosure. Perhaps it is not completely the homeowners fault, because often times unscrupulous and predatory realtors, investors, mortgage companies and even loss mitigation companies have sometimes compounded the problem. This fact, coupled with a lack of education regarding financial budgeting has turned the “American Dream” into an “American Nightmare.” Preventing this nightmare is the purpose of this book and mission of Gold Cross of America.

Gratitude, like other positive emotions, has inspired many theological and philosophical writings, but it has inspired very little vigorous, empirical research. In an effort to remedy this oversight, this volume brings together prominent scientists from various disciplines to examine what has become known as the most-neglected emotion. The volume begins with the historical, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of gratitude, then presents the current research perspectives from social, personality, and developmental psychology, as well as from primatology, anthropology, and biology. The volume also includes a comprehensive, annotated bibliography of research on gratitude. This work contributes a great deal to the growing positive psychology initiative and to the scientific investigation of positive human emotions. It will be an invaluable resource for researchers and students in social, personality, and developmental, clinical, and health psychology, as well as to sociologists and cultural anthropologists.