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First Page

92

Last Page

92

Abstract

Dissertation Notice:

M.A. Thesis, Trinity International University, 2015.

Full Text of the Thesis available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

This study approaches the topic of mental illness within the church, integrating biblical theology and clinical psychology to propose a model of pastoral care for the severely depressed. Examining the history of distrust between the church and the social sciences, and criticizing prominent models of pastoral care built upon the chastisement of mentally ill individuals, the thesis proposes a model of care built upon the acceptance and validation of persons facing psychological distress. In this model, ministers teach sufferers to employ the paradigm of biblical lamentation: voicing one’s distress before God, remembering his past faithfulness, replacing present rumination with meditation on his promises, and looking to the future consummation of all things in eternity.

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