FAITH FOR PERSONAL CRISES

For the pastor, who seeks for help in translating the concepts of Christian theology so that he may better make the deed of Christ effective in helping people in their critical needs; and for the many who today have become versed and skilled in modern psychoanalytic approach to the problems of human anxiety, often to the exclusion of religion,- this is a book of great importance which should be widely read. The author, Dr. Michalson, possesses both a deep psychological insight into the nature of people, and a sound grasp of the relevance of theology to all men who face inevitably the anxiety-ridden crises of life which are the issues of life and death. The seven crucial situations which he examines are guilt, doubt, vocation, marriage, suffering and death. Since he believes that man's task in all things is to be responsible to God, he makes clear how the Christian faith both speaks to men plainly through these situations, and also provides the resources for meeting them. Any mature person must receive great help from this book, which says convincingly, ""the truth about man is as available to us in the Christian faith as an anxiety-reducing truth; it does not remove all anxiety; the spice of life remains. But it removes the unsavory anxiety that makes life tedious and tasteless. For Christianity is the truth that man is made in the image of God, and when one knows who God is the conditions of reality are present for a salutary adjustment to the manifold situations of life.