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The Wounded Healer Spelled Out: A Review of Jesus

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Abstract

Donald Capps observes that biblical scholars have made good use of the social sciences, but fail to take seriously Jesus' emotional life and to apply psychology. Capps carefully notes the cultural emotional climate within the historical period of Jesus' lifetime. He addresses the dangers of psychobiography: inadequate evidence, reconstruction, and reductionism. This article explores Capps' presentation of Jesus' psychological life, set in the context of his family, his village, and his culture. Capps concludes that Jesus' behavior meets the criterion for a utopian melancholic personality. The author suggests that Capps' description also portrays the paradoxical character, the wounded healer.

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Authors
  1. Margaret G. Alter
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Alter, M.G. The Wounded Healer Spelled Out: A Review of Jesus . Pastoral Psychology 50, 447–458 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015495715395

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015495715395

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