Sin, Pride & Self-Acceptance

by Cooper, Terry D.

• ISBN13: 9780830827282
• ISBN10: 0830827285
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-07-01
• Publisher: Ivp Academic

Summary

What is at the root of the problem of humanity? Is it pride or lack of self-esteem?Do we love ourselves too much or too little?The debate about the human condition has often been framed this way in both theological and psychological circles. Convictions about preaching, teaching, marriage and child rearing, as well as politics, social welfare, business management and the helping professions, more often than not, fall on one side or the other of this divide. With theological and psychological insight Terry D. Cooper provides trenchant analysis of this centuries-long debate and leads us beyond the usual impasse.Humanistic psychology has often regarded traditional Christianity as its archrival in assessing the human condition. Cooper demonstrates how the Christian doctrine of a sinful and fallen humanity sheds light on the human condition which exhibits both pride and self-denigration. Bringing theological insights ranging from Augustine and John Calvin to Reinhold Niebuhr together with the psychological theories of Freud, Jung, Carl Rogers, Gerald May and Karen Horney, Cooper guides readers through the maze of competing claims to a resolution which affirms Christian conviction while critically engaging modern psychological theory. A model of the proper integration of Christian theology and the discipline of psychology,Sin, Pride & Self-Acceptancewill be of special help to students and practitioners of psychology, pastoral counseling and clinical psychology.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Direction of This Book

Pride and Self-Contempt

Psychological Critics of the "Low Self-Esteem" Argument

Social Critiques of Self-Centeredness

Rogers and Niebuhr as Representatives of the Debate

Reenactment of the Pelagian Controversy

The Larger Issue: Sin and Self-Acceptance

Pride As the Primary Problem

Anxiety and Pride: Niebuhrian Theological Psychology

Differences with Augustine

The Deceptive Nature of Sin

The Primacy of Pride

Warning About Equating Narcissism with Niebuhrian Pride

Summary

Pride, Sensuality and Addiction

Sensuality, Concupiscence and Addiction

From Augustine to Gerald MayBack to the Pride

Versus Self-Contempt Conflict

But Is Pride the Problem for Everyone?

Pride and Self-LossPride and Self-Loss

Socialized to Sin Differently?

Social Versus Individual Sin

Conclusion

Self-Acceptance and Humanisstic Psychology

The "Gospel" of Humanistic Psychology

The Actualizing Tendency"Natural Goodness"

The Organismic Valuing Process

Incongruence and the Emergence of the Undervalued Self

Reclaiming the Despised Self"Theologizing"

Pride and Low Self-Esteem Intertwined?

Pride and Self-Hate: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Basic Anxiety

Three Neurotic Trends to Alleviate Anxiety

Common Bonds in All Three Movements

The Idealized Self

Three Responses to the Idealized SelfPride and Self-Hate

The "Search for Glory"

"Neurotic Claims and Entitlement

Genuine Self-Esteem and Neurotic Pride

Horney's Contribution to the Pride Versus Self-Contempt Debate

Anxiety, Sin and Self-Understanding

Integrating the Pride and Self-Contempt Perspectives

Back to Niebuhr and Feminist Understandings of Sin

Pride and Distrust

Pride and Sensuality: A Confusion of Terms?

"Manly" and "Womanly" SinEquality of Sin, Inequality of Guilt

Anxiety and Its Relationship to Sin

Sinning Out of Strength as Well as Weakness

Conclusion

Select Bibliography

Author Index

Subject Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.