“Today this may be more difficult for us. We are growing up without our values being as obvious as they were in the past. Parents are confused as to what they value, and the young are confused in return by not seeing real values. We are saying one thing and living another. We’re living in a time when traditions no longer hold, either in practice or in being respected. Some children were interviewed on TV. They were asked about telling lies. They said their parents lie all the time. Mom will tell them to tell someone she is not there when the phone rings. Their parents lie on the phone to people when they call. They said their parents tell them they shouldn’t lie but then they themselves do. The children all felt it was okay to lie. For them the problem was, how much they should lie.”
– an excerpt from the book
ARPress is honored to publish Psychological Development of Man As Expressed Through Biblical ThemesbyBonnie L. Norem. This book is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the ARPress website.
In looking at the stages of man’s life, we need to see them through history. We have many different sides, and only by looking back can we look forward with power and affect. It is in looking back and learning from the past, a past that can’t be changed, that we can utilize it in molding our lives today.
The Bible is one rich source for dealing with the seasons of life. This book will express some transitions and sources of conflict as found in the Bible in relationship to individual and community development. It also will express a means for growth of unity. The Bible is a history of man’s walk in life in relationship to God. This relationship may be seen as a unity developing within man’s life. Each person does have an ultimate concern for life.
This book will look at this concern as a religion. Rollo May (1933) states that religion is based on the assumption that life has meaning. Religion, or the lack of it, is not shown in some intellectual or verbal formulation, but we see it in one’s total orientation to life.
Author Bonnie L. Norem was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1936. As a child, she suffered from tuberculosis of the spine but was told by her orthopedist that in no way could her emotional upsets have an effect on her condition. She has since learned through experience that by focusing on things beyond her immediate situation, she can indeed make positive things happen. This book is based on how visions of those who are going through crises in life can be helped in a holistic way and also lead a more harmonious community life. She and her husband, David, have four grown children.
In Psychological Development of Man As Expressed through Biblical Themes, author Bonnie L. Norem discusses the development of man on the physical, mental, and spiritual levels. Taking as her premise that major biblical themes describe critical transitions the individual goes through in his or her life’s journey, she compares how biblical themes can be correlated with some aspects of modern psychological theory.
Initially concentrating on the development of the individual, she then moves on to the development of a sense of community and mankind’s needs and responsibilities as members of a community. Problems in responding to a sense of wholeness with one’s community include running away from the challenge, and the reaction provoked by suffering. A serious work of psychology and biblical scholarship, Psychological Development of Man As Expressed through Biblical Themes deserves serious attention, adding as it does a depth and resonance to both fields of endeavor.
Psychological Development of Man As Expressed Through Biblical Themes by Bonnie L. Norem is now available for purchase via ARPress Bookstore: