A Biblical Understanding of Pain

Its Reasons and Realities

John Timmerman, John H. Timmerman

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN:
  9781610971096
  9781498216616
• eBook ISBN:
  9781630874339
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

In A Biblical Understanding of Pain: Its Reasons and Realities, John Timmerman examines six different sources of pain, each with its own chapter of description and biblical response. These include physical pain, the pain of mental illness, spiritual pain, emotional pain, the pain of the Prodigal, and the pain of memories. Additional chapters explore the sources of pain, the denial of pain, and the question of God's omnipotence and why he doesn't just remove pain. Rather than setting forth sets of rules governing our response to pain, Professor Timmerman narrates actual life events and examples, and then examines biblical responses to these. The result is a study that feels lived in.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Introduction: A Broken Heart
• Chapter 1: “I Don’t Need Any Help”
• Chapter 2: Where on Earth Does Pain Come From?
• Chapter 3: I Hurt All Over
• Chapter 4: “It’s All in Your Head”
• Chapter 5: “Hear My Prayer, Oh Lord”
• Chapter 6: The Shockwave of Grief
• Chapter 7: The Pain of the Prodigal
• Chapter 8: The Pain of Memories
• Chapter 9: “Why Doesn’t God Just Make It Go Away?”
• Works Cited