New Book by John Colwell Coming Soon ...

Why Have You Forsaken Me? A Personal Reflection on the Experience of Desolation by John Colwell (Paternoster, December 2009)

In this powerful book on the experience of desolation John Colwell focuses on Psalm 22, read in the light of his own struggle with bi-polar disorder and the Christian belief that God the Son suffered in his humanity, to offer existential-theological reflections on the experience of God-forsakenness. The author writes, My concern in writing this book and in reading this psalm is to reflect on the felt experience of God-forsakenness, my own and that of Christ in the light of this psalm; to explore the theological and spiritual significance of this felt experience for myself, for Christ, for Christians generally. If this exploration proves to be helpful to me or to others then obviously I am glad, but I am not writing this book to be helpful but rather to be truthful (and perhaps hopeful). This is a personal journey of reflection with a psalm which I invite you, the reader, to share if you will.

This book is a gift to anyone who has been touched by the darkness of bi-polar illness. Colwell's willingness to write honestly about his illness will be an aid for those struggling with the condition, but even more important is his use of the psalms and attention to Jesus way of dereliction to locate how such illness is not pointless. This is a book that needed to be written. But only someone like John Colwell could write it. --Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School, USA

It is a well-known fact that the Church doesn't do depression. Melancholy just doesn't sit comfortably with our sanguine view of spiritual progress. Thank God, however, that John Colwell has the guts to attend to this erroneous state of affairs and offer us a spirituality that embraces the wintry as well as the sunny seasons of our lives. --Ian Stackhouse, Team Leader, Guildford Baptist Church, England

If the best theology is attentive to Scripture, focused on Christ, and meaningful for human life in all its messiness, then there are few better examples than this new book by John Colwell. --Steve Holmes, Lecturer in Theology, University of St Andrews, Scotland

Comments

[Jim Gordon]

Thanks for this preview notice Andy. Those who know John and his work will read this with deep pastoral proft, and a great sense of admiration for one of our best Baptist theologians.

[Terry]

I'm looking forward to this. I'm not bi-polar, but I do struggle with many negative emotions - and I suspect John's insight will have something to say to me, too.

[Beth Thomas]

i am a bi-polar 2 Christian and have had to stop going to church because of the ill feeling amongst the understanding of the other parishioners, I am so sad and so happy and let people down i want to help but i struggle to fulfill any promises i make when i am manic and let people down and they see this as a weakness in me rather than an illness, a flaw in my personality, rather than that i truly meant to help but slid away from the world without a rope to grasp onto. I look forward to this book and its revelations. Thank you.