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Hope in the Face of Chronic Pain and Mortality

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Abstract

Human pain, especially when severe, chronic, and life-threatening, is a distinct challenge to hope. A review of recent research regarding human pain and its effects supports this idea. A pastoral theology that attends to the way of the cross and the hope of the resurrection can guide ministry with persons facing this challenge. The meditations and reflections of John Tully Carmody during his season of suffering with multiple myeloma are illustrative and instructive.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 100 E. 27th Street, Austin, TX, 78705, USA

    Ralph L. Underwood

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  1. Ralph L. Underwood
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Correspondence to Ralph L. Underwood.

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Excerpt from God is No Illusion: Meditations on the End of Life, by John Tully Carmody, copyright © 1997. Reprinted by permission of the Continuum International Publishing Group.

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Underwood, R.L. Hope in the Face of Chronic Pain and Mortality. Pastoral Psychol 58, 655–665 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-009-0249-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-009-0249-z

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