135 - Despair: Sickness or Sin? Hopelessness and Healing in the Christian Life

Despair: Sickness or Sin? Hopelessness and Healing in the Christian Life
By Mary Louise Bringle
Nashville, Abingdon, 1990.186 pp. $14.95.

Experiences of despair and hopelessness are endemic to human living, as Bringle eloquently articulates. Genuine pastoral theology is dependent upon attributes she demonstrates in this study: the ability to think theologically and to engage in issues pertinent to living faithfully. Bringing these together, she demonstrates the capacity to address the problems and struggles of a contemporary world in the context of Judaeo-Christian faith. This book, consequently, is not merely an intellectual endeavor, but engages affects and experiences of living.

Critically addressing the question of whether despair is sin or sickness, Bringle utilizes a phenomenological approach employing illustrations from literature and contemporary life, theological reflection on Christian thinkers such as Gregory, Aquinas, Luther, Kierkegaard, and on psychodynamic theory. While the last is her weakest chapter, even here one finds strength of character, poignant and discerning language, and integrity. She exhibits an awareness of theological diversity while remaining unashamedly within a " confessional perspective" of the Judaeo-Christian tradition. This book is highly recommended for laypersons struggling with how to make sense of despair and hope, pastoral care-givers, and those who would understand themselves as "practical" theologians.

Joretta L. Marshall,
Vanderbilt Divinity School,
Nashville, Tenn.