Reviews for Christian Psychology in "a Course in Miracles"

The average rating for Christian Psychology in "a Course in Miracles" based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-12-10 00:00:00 John Henrikson This is one of the more significant books today available to the serious "self-help" reader. Although, anyone with knowledge of psychology, and specifically clinical psychology, will most likely gain much from the book, it remains a useful and advantageous reading experience for the non-clinician but informed reader. In short, I view this book as a call to Christian maturity in the contemporary Western world. The author is critical of the Catholic Church in light of the recent sexual scandals that have been given much publicity in the media. Manning accounts for this situation through the psychological principles expounded by Freud, Jung and James, regarding what is healthy or unhealthy in contemporary religious behaviour. In this account he is quite straight-forward. What is novel, to my mind, is his introduction of "chromatic archetypes" and his unique understanding of colour in the interpretation of myth and religion. Throughout the book, which is a difficult read at times, Manning has the reader in mind and generously supplies explanations of his use of terms and technical specialized vocabulary. During my reading of the book, I found myself re-evaluating my position on a number of occasions. I sometimes agreed with Manning wholeheartedly, sometimes partially and other times I was not sure what to think. I read the book conscious that I am on the "inside" of the Church he criticizes. But also I am a philosopher and theologian. And it is from that point of view that Manning's presentation of philosophy disappoints me. His understanding of phenomenology, which is summed up in a brief remark on page 18, to my mind, is inadequate if not inaccurate. He describes phenomenology as a "realism-based system of philosophy." Readers of this book should be aware that "the thesis that the objects of presentation and belief are ordinarily extra-mental was formulated in opposition to idealism and was common to all of the forms of realism. But Husserl was to reject it in the later stages of his phenomenology" [Chisholm, Roderick. Realism and the Background of Phenomenology, Free Press, 1960:3]. Manning is critical of the institutional church although, in fairness, he does not disparage the sacredness of the religious life. Rather, he questions the competency of the church's hierarchy as being the primary expositors of that life, that is, as being "doctors of the soul" - at least in the contemporary Western context. In addition, the book does undertake a brief overview of symbolism that is in keeping with a Jungian understanding of non-Christian world religions. The book's value, as I see it, is in the reader's subjective appreciation of Manning's arguments and reasoning process. I would classify this book as written for and characterized by our times and as being most valuable to religious individuals troubled by a stifling experience of the institutional church. The publisher is CheckPoint Press, the author's own publishing company, whose motto is "books with something to say." Whether or not this book has any appeal or, something to say beyond the "self-help" section of contemporary book stores and airport kiosks remains to be seen.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-11-24 00:00:00 Sherry Ayers Provides an understanding of the mental processes involved in study applicable more importantly to students and others who are just getting to understand the mechanics of how to study a topic