Temptation A Biblical and Psychological Approach

Renowned author and pastoral counselor Wayne E. Oates brings biblical and psychological insight into dialogue in this search for the meaning and management of temptation--a subject he believes has been neglected in theological discussion and usurped by psychoanalysis, psychiatry and psychology.

Oates, a leader in the field of pastoral counseling, discusses the forms and meanings of temptation, including the most subtle temptation to put ourselves in God's place; the personifications of temptation in scripture, both in Satan and in human psychic conflict; the relationship between temptation and oppression, both in everyday situations and in heroic persons such as Gandhi, King, Tokes, Mandela, and Havel; the relationship between temptation and pathology, such as addiction, anxiety, projection, reaction formation, and inner conflict. His chapter on overcoming temptation offers insights on responsibility, arrogance, lust for power and sex, despair, and decision. Throughout, Oates's view is that temptation is a time of opportunity, of testing, and of destiny and that temptation is not in itself sinful. Recommended for seminary and large public libraries.
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