God's Psychiatry , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - L. Allen Charles

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71 pages

English

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With more than a million and a half copies sold, this classic book shows you how to apply ancient biblical truths for a happier, healthier life today.

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 juin 1984
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781585589517
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0168€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

To my father THE LATE REVEREND J. R. ALLEN and to my mother LULA FRANKLIN ALLEN
© 1953 by Fleming H. Revell Published by Baker Books a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.bakerbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2013
Ebook corrections 04.21.2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-5855-8951-7
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked TNIV is taken from the Holy Bible, Today’s New International Version™ Copyright © 2001 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Dedication
Copyright Page
The Healing of Mind and Soul
PART I: HOW TO THINK OF GOD
THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM
1. A Pattern of Thinking
2. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want
3. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures
4. He leadeth me beside the still waters
5. He restoreth my soul.
6. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake
7. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me
8. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me
9. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies
10. Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over
11. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
12. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever
13. “He knows the Shepherd”
PART II: GOD’S RULES FOR LIVING
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy
5. Honor thy father and thy mother
6. Thou shalt not kill
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery
8. Thou shalt not steal
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor
10. Thou shalt not covet
PART III: HOW TO TALK TO GOD
THE LORD’S PRAYER
1. Not Saying but Praying
2. Our Father which art in heaven
3. Hallowed be thy name
4. Thy kingdom come
5. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven
6. Give us this day our daily bread
7. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors
8. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
PART IV: THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM
THE BEATITUDES
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
2. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted
3. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth
4. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled
5. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy
6. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God
7. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God
8. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Back Cover
The Healing Of Mind And Soul
O UR MODERN WORD “PSYCHIATRY” COMES FROM THE TWO Greek words Ψνχή (psyche) and ιατρεία (iatreia): psycheiatreia. The word “psyche” really means the person, and is variously translated as “breath,” “soul,” “mind,” “reason,” and the like.
The word iatreia means “treatment,” “healing,” “restoring,” and the like.
So, put the two words together and we have “the healing of the mind,” or, as David might have said, “the restoring of the soul.”
The word can mean medical treatment, or the treatment by a physician, but that is only one of its meanings, and I feel that the science of psychiatry is not to be limited to the medical profession. Often the minister is a psychiatrist, because he deals not only with the minds of people but also with their souls.
In fact, the very essence of religion is to adjust the mind and soul of man, and we have long ago learned, as in this book I quote Augustine as saying, “My soul is restless until it finds its rest in Thee, O God.” Healing means bringing the person into a right relationship with the physical, mental and spiritual laws of God.
The physician is a minister of God. All true scientific research is merely an organized effort to learn the laws of God and how they operate.
The teacher is also a minister of God. The teacher seeks to train the mind, to seek truth and know truth when it is found. A mind which thinks error is a sick mind. So a teacher is practicing part of the great science of psychiatry.
Beyond our bodies and minds are our souls. The minister is concerned with man’s soul; he believes that if his soul is sick the man is sick, indeed. And only God can heal the soul.
So, the first and most important psychiatry must be God’s psychiatry, the essence of which I find contained in the four best known passages of The Bible: The Twenty-Third Psalm, The Ten Commandments, The Lord’s Prayer, and The Beatitudes.
As the pastor of churches located in Atlanta and Houston, it has been my privilege to counsel with many people who needed help. As a result of writing a newspaper column and speaking regularly for some years over radio and television, my mail has brought me many letters from people telling me of their problems. I have not yet found one in need of the healing of his or her mind or situation where I have not also found that somewhere back down the line in that life one of the basic principles that I write about in this book was violated. So I say that most of all we need God’s psychiatry.
In this small volume I have not concerned myself so much with cases or techniques. Instead, I have sought here to explain the great principles that God has ordained to govern the life of man, believing, as I do, that if man lives according to these principles, his life will be whole and healthy. If he violates them, he will be sick. As someone has put it:

He who formed our frame,
Made man a perfect whole;
And made the body’s health
Depend upon the soul.
There are many to whom I would like to express deep appreciation. To the members of the Grace Methodist Church in Atlanta, whose love and loyal support are far greater than I deserve; to my secretary, Mrs. Charles T. Moss, who not only is efficient but also is kind and understanding and loyal; to my assistant, Miss Mary Hogan, who daily does much work that I should be doing and thereby allows me more time for my study and speaking engagements; to my lovely wife, Leila, who continues to love me, though I give so much of my time to my work and to other people.
C. L. A.
Grace Methodist Church
Atlanta, GA
PART I
How To Think Of God
T HE T WENTY-THIRD P SALM
The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

1. A PATTERN OF THINKING
A MAN I ADMIRE VERY MUCH CAME IN TO SEE ME. M ANY years ago he started with his company at the bottom but with determination to get to the top. He has unusual abilities and energy and he used all he had. Today he is president of his company and he has all the things that go with his position.
Yet, along the way, he left out something, and one of the things he did not achieve is happiness. He was a nervous, tense, worried, and sick man. Finally, one of his physicians suggested that he talk with a minister.
We talked of how his physicians had given him prescriptions and he had taken them. Then I took a sheet of paper and wrote out my prescription for him. I prescribed the Twenty-third Psalm, five times a day for seven days.
I insisted that he take it just as I prescribed. He was to read it the first thing when he awakened in the morning. Read it carefully, meditatively, and prayerfully. Immediately after breakfast, he was to do exactly the same thing. Also immediately after lunch, again after dinner, and, finally, the last thing before he went to bed.
It was not to be a quick, hurried reading. He was to think about each phrase, giving his mind time to soak up as much of the meaning as possible. At the end of just one week, I promised, things would be different for him.
That prescription sounds simple, but really it isn’t. The Twenty-third Psalm is one of the most powerful pieces of writing in existence, and it can do marvelous things for any person. I have suggested this to many people and in every instance which I know of it being tried it has produced results. It can change your life in seven days.
One man told me that he did not have time to be bothered with reading it during the day, so he just read it five times in the morning. However, when a physician prescribed a medicine after each meal, or every certain number of hours, no right thinking person would take the full day’s dose at one time.
Some have told me that after two or three days they felt they knew it sufficiently, and thus, instead of taking time to read it thoughtfully, they would just think about it through the day. That won’t work. To be most effective, it must be taken exactly as prescribed.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A man is what he thinks about