See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/297191591

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BIBLE: THE UNEXPECTED

HISTORY OF AN ACCIDENTAL BOOK (review)

Article · January 2011

CITATIONS READS
0 352

1 author:

Geoffrey W Sutton
Evangel University
164 PUBLICATIONS 284 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Survey Research View project

Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Geoffrey W Sutton on 07 March 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.


“ultimate concerns” between the psychologies of
different faith communities like the Christian and
the modern/secular increasingly worth of atten-
tion (and publication). One of the goals of a
Christian psychology agenda is a retrieval of and
reinvestment in the resources of the Christian tra-
dition, in order to engage properly with the secu-
lar version of psychology that currently dominates
the field. However, Christian psychology’s interest
in its heritage is not an end in itself. It is only a
means for developing a richer psychology for the
Christian community in the 21st century, one that
is fully informed by all good psychological theory
and research whatever the source and is able to
contribute to a more pluralistic science of psy-
chology as it emerges in the coming decades. To
promote the Christian tradition’s own intellectual
vibrancy and to undermine tendencies within and
without that tend toward its own dissolution, we
need Christian scholars who reinvest in the Chris-
tian tradition’s resources in creative ways that are
relevant for contemporary scholarship. Conse-
quently, Charry, the theologian, has performed an
invaluable service to Christians in psychology and
counseling by retrieving for us a robustly Chris-
tian articulation of happiness. It remains for psy-
chologists and psychotherapists to build on her
work and extend it into psychology research pro-
grams and therapy models.
One discordant note to this lover of the Refor-
mation was Charry’s hasty and unsympathetic
portrayal of the theological stances of Luther and
Calvin (quite in contrast to the more detailed and
favorable discussions of other Christians, even
Boethius), whom she treats as the enemies of
Christian happiness and depicts as guilt- and anxi-
ety-ridden promoters of self-deprecation. She
remarkably argues that, with the allegedly harsh
picture of God and their obsession with the relief
of guilt, they did as much to usher in the anti-ash-
erist age of modernity as did the early modern
psychological egoists. All this will surprise those
who have actually found some divine happiness
reading Luther and Calvin and applying their
gospel remedies to their own guilt.
Charry’s interpretation may be related to the
reliance of her model of Christian happiness on
what perhaps could be called a theocentric natu-
ralism, that is, the assumption that God draws
human nature as it is into God’s life and love.
Relatively little attention is consequently paid to
the hindrances of sin on happiness (the fine,
probing case studies in the last chapter notwith-
standing) and therefore less time spent detailing
BOOK REVIEWS 257
the role of Christ’s death (and atonement) and
resurrection in Christian happiness than a
Reformer might have thought warranted. There
would seem to be a great emphasis in Scripture
on the radical discontinuity and disruption of
human life caused by the death of Christ and the
irruption of his resurrection One of the major
paradoxes of the Christian life is the role of self-
denial in the Christian life (emphasized not just
by Calvin, but throughout the classical Christian
tradition). This of course is hard to square with
self-love, but wisdom will find the way. It was
after all the asherist apostle John who wrote, “He
who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his
life in this world will keep it to life eternal”
(12:25). Charry is right to underscore the pro-
found continuity between creation and redemp-
tion and the fulfillment of the former in the
latter, but perhaps to most deeply undermine the
ravages of the Fall, new creation happiness
requires coming to ever greater terms with the
divine judgment of death upon this fallen human
life through an ongoing conversion of faith in
Christ and repentance based on our union with
him. Given the infections rampant in our culture
of narcissism, the kind of Christian health Charry
is advocating would seem to be best promoted
by the ongoing redemption of created self-love
from its vicious fallenness (2 Tim. 3:3) through
death and resurrection.
This is a very important book, but it cannot be
the final word on Christian happiness, for as
Augustine taught us, a sad truth of this age is that
the fullest happiness awaits us in the age to come
(I side with Augustine here a little more than does
Charry). In the meantime, such divine happiness
as is our portion down here enables us increas-
ingly to listen empathically to one another
(whether the guilty anguish of a Luther or a
Calvin or the more optimistic, self-affirmative ori-
entation of a Charry) and trust that there may be a
kind of validity in the other’s journey that can
enrich us all on our walk together. Such deep and
ongoing dialogue would seem also to be a part of
God’s therapeutic, aretegenic happiness.
* * *
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BIBLE: THE UNEX-
PECTED HISTORY OF AN ACCIDENTAL BOOK.
Timothy Beal, New York: Houghton, Mifflin, Har-
court, 2011. Pp. ix + 244, hardcover. ISBN 978-0-
15-101358-6. Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton
(Evangel University/Springfield, MO).
258 BOOK REVIEWS
Beal, a Professor of Religion at Case Western
Reserve University, offers an informative review
of the Bible as a cultural icon. The Bible has
image recognition and star quality. It remains a
best seller, but Bible reading is minimal even
among those described as Bible-believing. As an
icon, it is part of American civil life and multi-
ple versions reside on American tables and
bookshelves.
In eight chapters, Beal reviews highlights of
recent research and scholarship, which are perti-
nent to the origins of the biblical manuscripts
and how they came to be a part of the canon
that dominates bestselling versions in the United
States. Beal’s analysis explains some misunder-
standings about the formation of the various
compilations of scripture as revealed in recent
national polls. In addition to comments on text
formation and selection, he suggests how doctri-
nal beliefs affected the inclusion or exclusion of
various documents or components thereof. He
also suggests how some Christian beliefs, based
on limited evidence, have gained prominence,
especially in the United States.
Beal’s introductory work will be of interest to
JPC readers who have not covered a similar his-
tory in their post-secondary education. Academi-
cians may find it a useful adjunct text in a first
course on the integration of Psychology and
Christianity. Clinicians may find the book of
value in cases where clients have questions
about the application of Scripture to modern life
situations. Those interested in a careful analysis
of the issues will not find this introductory vol-
ume meets their needs.
I particularly found his assessment of the
Scriptures as a cultural icon of great interest. The
Bible is a bestseller. Carefully developed and
marketed editions offer American Evangelicals
value-laden comments that are metatext supple-
ments designed to meet the perceived needs of
select target groups (e.g., youth, singles, military
personnel). As the author notes, despite having
numerous Bibles in the home, reading of the
actual text is not as popular as having a pre-
ferred edition on hand. From the perspective of
the Psychology of Religion, two of Beal’s points
were of interest. First, his thesis regarding the
effect of beliefs on the selection and inclusion or
exclusion of various manuscripts is intriguing.
Although the collection is fairly stable, scholars
continue to make value-biased decisions about
including or excluding subsections of old texts
and controversial interpretations of select texts.
Second, the notion that the Bible is a cultural
icon suggests a possibility for research into the
interactive effects of the Bible qua holy icon on
spiritual experiences independent of the textual
content.
* * *
AMISH GRACE: HOW FORGIVENESS TRAN-
SCENDED TRAGEDY. Donald Kraybill, Steven M.
Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher, San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 2007. Pp. xv + 237, hardcover.
Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton (Evangel Univer-
sity/Springfield, MO).
The horrific slaughter of Amish children
attending school in the Old Order Amish com-
munity of Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, garnered
international attention in October, 2006. When
the Amish responded with forgiveness and rec-
onciliation, people were doubly shocked. Chris-
tian teaching and psychological research on
forgiveness can appear as sterile narratives until
tragedies upend everyday life. The authors of
Amish Grace offer informed readers the kind of
details and analyses that allow Christian clini-
cians and researchers to consider how Christian
virtues and psychological research on forgive-
ness and reconciliation may be integrated.
The authors explore the virtues of grace, for-
giveness, and reconciliation as they review the
Amish response to the tragic school shooting of
October 2, 2006 in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania,
USA. Following an account of the shooting and
the sequellae, the authors devote five of their 13
chapters to aspects of Amish forgiveness. Readers
will find useful resources in the endnotes and
Appendix. Each of the authors has published on
Amish culture. Donald Kraybill is a distinguished
professor and senior fellow at the Young Center
for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabeth-
town College. Steven Nolt is a professor of histo-
ry at Goshen College, and David Weaver-Zercher
is an associate professor at Messiah College.
In Part One, the authors revisit the school
shooting narrative with an emphasis on the
responses of the Amish toward their communi-
ty victims as well as the family of the shooter
who committed suicide. In addition to explain-
ing how the varied responses fit within Amish
traditions, the authors explored the reactions of
various North American pundits who both
praised and criticized the Amish response. A
quote from a father whose daughter died revealed
his perspective on the Amish worldview: “Our
forgiveness in not in our words, it’s in our
Copyright of Journal of Psychology & Christianity is the property of Christian Association for Psychological
Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the
copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for
individual use.

View publication stats