An intriguing recasting of prayer in the psychotherapy arena.
A Christian-oriented psychological self-help guide.
The basic concepts of Roderiques’ nonfiction debut originated in the author’s therapy sessions with an unnamed counselor years ago. In these, he says, he attempted to address the long-term complications of his childhood experiences with psychological, physical, and sexual abuse. The counselor introduced him to a coping method that he called “the Joshua Protocol,” which Roderiques claims offers new hope to people suffering from a number of challenges, including anger, anxiety, low self-esteem, and even such clinical conditions as PTSD or obsessive-compulsive disorder. The author is clearly aiming his book at his fellow fundamentalist Christians. However, he interestingly writes that he intends his material to occupy a shared space between secular psychology and spirituality—with the concept of “sin” doing double duty to describe undesirable mental and emotional faults. Consequently, the book’s vocabulary blends Christian discussion of miracles and personal, divine intervention with popular-psychology sentiments, such as “You can change the functional pathways in your physical brain to reflect and be optimized to support a better outlook on life.” The Joshua Protocol itself is essentially a regimen of prayer-meditations, targeted at specific acts, such as gambling or feeling anxiety, with a key element running throughout: The participant should begin by remembering that they’re not the sum total of their sins; that the sins are separate from the participant; and that they can be defeated with God’s help. In all cases, readers are urged to rely on the foregone assurance of God’s forgiveness as the bedrock on which to build better habits. Overall, this protocol may not prove effective for readers who may be dealing with more serious disorders, such as those involving neurochemical imbalances. However, the book’s clear, encouraging language is certain to help some of those who may be struggling with ordinary and persistent temptations of everyday life. For example, for readers who are trying to avoid being hurtfully sarcastic, the author offers this prayer: “God, thank you for your fellowship; I am not alone in this fight against sarcastic behavior. Your Holy Spirit indwells me and strengthens me.”
An intriguing recasting of prayer in the psychotherapy arena.Pub Date: May 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-973614-46-3
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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