In this 35th episode, Dr. Knabb explores God representations, including the God concept (our "head" knowledge about God) and God image (our "heart" knowledge about God) within the secular psychology of religion literature. Then, he discusses ways to close this gap so that Christians' head and heart are working together to relate to God and others with greater authenticity and intimacy. To conclude, Dr. Knabb offers a short exercise, based on lectio divina (Latin for "divine reading"), to help 21st century Christ followers experience, on a deeper, more intimate level, God's loving goodness.
References
APA Dictionary of Psychology. (n.d.). Image. https://dictionary.apa.org/image
Beck, J. (2011). Cognitive therapy for challenging problems: What to do when the basics don’t work. The Guilford Press.
Benner, D. (2010). Opening to God: Lectio divina and life as prayer. InterVarsity Press.
Davis, E., Moriarty, G., & Mauch, J. (2013). God images and God concepts: Definitions, development, and dynamics. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5, 51-60.
Gorsuch, R. (1968). The conceptualization of God as seen in adjective ratings. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 7, 56-64.
Guigo II. (2012). The ladder of monks (P. Nau, Trans.) [Kindle version]. Amazon.com
Hoffman, L. (2005). A developmental perspective on the God image. In R. Cox, B. Ervin-Cox, & L. Hoffman (Eds.), Spirituality and psychological health (pp. 129-150). Colorado School of Professional Psychology Press.
Knabb, J. (2018). The compassion-based workbook for Christian clients: Finding freedom from shame and negative self-judgments. Routledge.
Knabb, J. (2021). Christian meditation in clinical practice: A four-step model and workbook for therapists and clients. InterVarsity Press.
Knabb, J., Frederick, T., & Cumming, G. (2017). Surrendering to God’s providence: A three-part study on providence-focused therapy for recurrent worry (PFT-RW). Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 9, 180-196.
Knabb, J. J., Vazquez, V. E., Wang, K. T., & Bates, M. T. (2018). “Unknowing” in the 21st century: Humble detachment for Christians with repetitive negative thinking. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 5(3), 170–187.
Lawrence, R. T. (1997). Measuring the image of God: The God Image Inventory and the God Image Scales. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 25, 214–226.
Moriarty, G. (2012). Pastoral care of depression: Helping clients heal their relationship with God. Routledge.
Olson, T., Tisdale, T., Davis, E., Park, E., Nam, J., Moriarty, G., & Davis, D. (2016). God image narrative therapy: A mixed-methods investigation of a controlled group-based spiritual intervention. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 3, 77-91.
Rizzuto, A. (1979). The birth of the living God: A psychoanalytic study. The University of Chicago Press.
Silton, N. R., Flannelly, K. J., Galek, K., & Ellison, C. G. (2014). Beliefs about God and mental health among American adults. Journal of Religion and Health, 53, 1285-1296.
Thomas, M., Moriarty, G., Davis, E., & Anderson, E. (2011). The effects of a manualized group psychotherapy intervention on client God images and attachment to God: A pilot study. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 39, 44-58.
Tung, E., Ruffing, E., Paine, D., Jankowski, P., & Sandage, S. (2018). Attachment to God as mediator of the relationship between God representations and mental health. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 20, 95-113.