The Practice of Biblical Lament as a Means Towards Facilitating Authenticity and Psychological Well-Being
Biblical lament provides a vital way of maintaining a healthy relationship with God when one’s life experience does not match up with one’s beliefs. Not to lament in such a situation is to deny authenticity. And, as the psychological theories of authenticity indicate, this leads to a person having r...
| Subtitles: | Special Issue "In Honor of Lewis Rambo" |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2020]
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| In: |
Pastoral psychology
Year: 2020, Volume: 69, Issue: 5/6, Pages: 523-537 |
| Further subjects: | B
Satisfaction with life scale
B Authenticity index B Spiritual authenticity B Trauma B Rosenberg's self-esteem scale B Authenticity B Psalms B Well-being B Psychological healing B Affect Balance Scale (Bradburn) B Self-esteem B Biblical lament B Community |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | Biblical lament provides a vital way of maintaining a healthy relationship with God when one’s life experience does not match up with one’s beliefs. Not to lament in such a situation is to deny authenticity. And, as the psychological theories of authenticity indicate, this leads to a person having reduced self-esteem and a lower sense of personal well-being. In this study, women (and a few men) from a poor community in Cape Town, South Africa, were invited to study some psalms of lament and then to compose their own laments. A validated measure of authenticity (the Authenticity Index) was administered to them before and after the lament exercise, as well as Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale and two measures of personal well-being (the Affect Balance Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale). It became apparent that the opportunity to express themselves using the form of biblical lament led to a greater sense of authenticity for participants. Their responses on the other scales also indicated that they found the opportunity to lament led to an enhanced sense of self-esteem and well-being. This suggests that those committed to facilitating psychological healing for those who have suffered trauma will do well to provide space for pain-bearers to lament following the biblical pattern. |
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| ISSN: | 1573-6679 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Pastoral psychology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s11089-020-00928-z |