OPEN A WINDOW INTO YOUR HEART.
Our dark emotions are much more than just uncomfortable feelings we
struggle to control. They are windows into our heart. They are the
cry of our soul. These emotions-the ones we tend to suppress and
hide-actually have something important to tell us. They can reveal,
in a very graphic way, where we are in our relationship with God.
So often we find ourselves caught between extremes. Either we feel
too much or not at all. We tend to ignore our feelings or fight them
off as if they were an enemy. But all emotion-whether positive or
negative-can give us a glimpse of the true nature of God. We want to
control our negative emotions and dark desire. God wants us to
recognize them as the cry of our soul to be made right with Him.
Beginning with the Psalms, Dr. Dan Allender and Dr. Tremper Longman III explore what Scripture says about our darker emotions. In this ground-breaking work they reveal that often our attempts to control our emotions-far from an attempt to be Christlike-are really a form of rebellion against God or an attempt to flee from Him.
The Cry of the Soul is a penetrating look at the condition of the
human heart. You won't find the kind of answers that alleviate
struggle or help you overcome anger, jealousy, or despair in three
easy steps. But you can encounter God Himself, who exults in using
darkness to reveal the brilliance of His infinite goodness.
The result is joy. Not a superficial happiness that ignores the
problems of our lives, but a profound emotion that can confront
darkness with open eyes and confidence.
"Allender and Longman add an important contribution to a new wave
of Psalm studies. There is an enormous temptation for 'high faith' to
deny the 'dark side' of life where 'things do not work.' Against that
common propensity, they show how the Psalms make contact with the
'emotions of failure.' Such places in life become, by their sensitive
reading of the Psalms, places of revelatory healing and
transformation. Readers will be helped to fresh and faithful
discernment of life and text."-Walter Brueggemann, professor of Old
Testament, Columbia
"Dan and Tremper have done us a fierce kindness. In a culture
committed to either running from or wallowing in our emotions, The Cry
of the Soul offers an excruciating but hopeful alternative-to listen
to our own hearts (as did the psalmists) so we can better receive and
worship the pursuing heart of God."-Nancy Groom, author of From
Bondage to Bonding and Heart to Heart about Men
"The Cry of the Soul offers insight after surprising insight into
the unexpected relationship between our emotions and our view of God.
A needed correction to the simplistic explaining away of pain and
suffering."-Daniel Taylor, Ph.D., author of The Myth of Certainty and
Letters to My Children
"In The Cry of the Soul I hear an echo of my own heart-cry and that
of the psalmists-to know God intimately and authentically, and to see
Him powerfully at work in our broken world."-Luci Shaw, poet, teacher,
author of God in the Dark and Writing the River
"If we are to be rescued from the incessant tendency to
psychoanalyze the gospel, this book will be a good start. Dan and
Tremper give us not more psychological information, but biblical
encouragement to be faithful."-Michael Card, singer, songwriter, and
author of Immanuel: Reflections on the Life of Christ
DR. DAN B. ALLENDER travels and speaks extensively to present his unique perspective on sexual abuse recovery, love and forgiveness, worship, and related topics. He is author of The Wounded Heart and has coauthored three other books with Dr. Tremper Longman: Intimate Allies (Tyndale House), Bold Love (NavPress), and Bold Purpose (Tyndale). Dan serves as professor of counseling at Western Seminary in Kirkland, Washington, and taught at Grace Theological Seminary and Colorado Christian University in a similar role. He lives in Seattle with his wife and three children.
DR. TREMPER LONGMAN III received his M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in Ancient Near Eastern studies from Yale University. Dr. Longman is professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary. He has written of many professional and pastoral articles and is also the author of How to Read the Psalms (InterVarsity), Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation (Zondervan), Commentary on Ecclesiastes (Eerdmans), Old Testament Introduction (with Ray Dillard, Zondervan), and coauthor of Bold Love (NavPress). Dr. Longman and his wife, Alice, live near Philidelphia, Pennsylvania, with their three sons, Tremper IV, Timothy, and Andrew.
