Mental Health, Mental Care, the Bible, and Ethics

I am developing resources about mental health, mental care, the Bible, and ethics. Check the Mental Health Page on my blog, as I wrote there:

See the positive side of life even if negative things surround you. I do not mean we should ignore the dark side of life. We can face it with a positive attitude. We should not allow negative energy to overwhelm us, seeing shining hope amid despair, visualizing the moment that the stormy clouds will part soon, and recognizing the sun already shining above them. At a time of distress or turmoil, seek God and the Spirit. Listen to your body and attend to each breathing. Thank God for each inhale and exhale. Life is a gift. If there is night, there comes also day.

Excerpts from "How to Read the Gospels"

I finished proofreading the typeset pages of my new book, How to Read the Gospels (forthcoming July 2024). You may pre-order it through online/retailers or from the publisher. I pull the following excerpts from the conclusion chapter: 

As such, interpretation of the Gospels or the stories of Jesus cannot be dominated or domesticated by one group or school. All readers can interpret them carefully from their context and discern what is good. In doing so, we must avoid Biblicism in all our efforts. The Gospels are neither a weapon that tramples other religions or cultures nor the knowledge books that subsume all other books. The Gospels are ongoing stories inviting us to read them through our stories. (p. 244)

WHY REJOICING ALWAYS: Paul As a Deep Thinker and Mind-Healing Therapist

1 Thess 5:16-22 (NRSV)

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.

Rejoicing is a desirable attitude toward life and this world. What we see and how we think about what we see will determine our lives. Do we see positive things and energy amid chaos and turmoil? Can we see the hidden power of the Spirit of God in the world? Can we sing the songs of the birds when we hear them? Can we be happy when we see small plants growing in the yard? Can we celebrate the source of our life, which is God? Can we rejoice always under any circumstances? The answer is yes because the source of our joy does not depend on ourselves. So, Paul asks, "Rejoice always." 

When we face the harsh realities of life, feeling sucked in the vortex of life crises, we can pray to God to deal with them wisely and patiently, letting go of groundless fear or worries. Prayer is the time that we invite God to intervene in our minds. We yield to God and realize again who we are. Then, we may navigate rough waves faithfully without being crushed. Since uncertainties and thorns fill us relentlessly, we need to pray without ceasing. That is Paul's insight. 

The last thing Paul asks for is to give thanks in all circumstances. This point of thanks goes back to the importance of rejoicing always. We must count the things we receive from God. We breathe in and out every second. We walk on trails in the park. We eat and talk. We run and rest. We have people whom we love. Most importantly, we are not alone because God is with us.

As we see above, Paul is more than a theologian. Knowing what to think of himself and how to face the world wisely, he knows how to undergo a whirlwind of emotions. He is a deep thinker and mind-healing therapist. His advice is this: "Don't focus on negative things in your life. Focus on what you have. Trust God always because God is more than you think. You are also more than what you see. Rise above from the seat of negativity. See the bright sun rising on you every day."

Critical Imagination

Imagination is necessary to enrich our lives. We can live a new life through imagination. Science has been advanced through new imagination. New discoveries of many things were possible through imagination. We can imagine flying like a bird and can do so through airplane or other means of flying. But if one does not do anything with his/her imagination, nothing will happen. Indeed, we can realize our imagination variously. 

But how to realize it is crucial. If one goes up a mountain and jumps off from a cliff or mountaintop, that person will be killed in a few seconds. This kind of imagination is so naïve that even one’s life may be lost. But if a person invents new things to ride on or uses a hang glider, he/she can fly like a bird. Thus what we need is imaginative power combined with critical, self-critical thinking. 

I observe the importance of critical imagination in my book: 

Biblical Interpretation:

Theory, Process, and Criteria

 

Amos N. Wilder also observes: 

Imagination is a necessary component of all profound knowing and celebration; all remembering, realizing, and anticipating; all faith, hope, and love. When imagination fails doctrines become ossified, witness and proclamation wooden, doxologies and litanies empty, consolations hollow, and ethics legalistic … Then that which once gave life begins to lull and finally to suffocate us.

*See Amos Wilder, Theopoetic: Theology and the Religious Imagination (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1976), 2. 

Helpful Diagrams for Biblical Interpretation

Gospel Media

I enjoyed Nicholas Elder's book, Gospel Media. I reviewed it at Amazon. This book is very informative and informs readers of the variety of gospel media practices. Mark textualizes the precedent oral traditions for proclamation. Among other things, I like his emphasis on paratexts of the Synoptic Gospels and John's colophon, which help us understand different uses of the manuscripts for different kinds of readers: εὐαγγέλιον (Mark 1:1); βίβλος (Matt 1:1); διήγησις (Luke 1:1); βιβλίον (John 20:30).