Depression, Anxiety, and the Christian Life
by Richard Baxter | Book Summary
Author: Richard Baxter
|
What is the way forward? As Christians, what sort of response should we have to depression and anxiety? Should we run straight to the doctor and psychiatrist for a pill and counseling? Or should we simply run to God through stricter spiritual discipline? In two addresses, Advice to Depressed and Anxious Christians and The Resolution of Depression and Overwhelming Grief through Faith, Richard Baxter provides great insight on the causes and cures of depression and anxiety. Packer and Lundy introduce these works by highlighting the profound connection Richard Baxter saw between body and soul in counseling depressed people. |
Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymnodist,[1] theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he made his reputation by his ministry at Kidderminster, and at around the same time began a long and prolific career as theological writer.
After the Restoration he refused preferment, while retaining a non-separatist Presbyterian approach, and became one of the most influential leaders of the Nonconformists, spending time in prison. His views on justification and sanctification are somewhat controversial and unconventional within the Calvinist tradition because his teachings seem, to some, to undermine salvation by faith, in that he emphasizes the necessity of repentance and faithfulness.
Depression, Anxiety, and the Christian Life
by Richard Baxter
[ Book Summary ]
| Author | Richard Baxter |
| Publisher | Crossway |
| Date | July 31, 2018 |
| Pages | 175 |
Overview:
Depression, anxiety, and related disorders are plaguing North America and the rest of the world. As our lives get busier, faster, and more stressful the rates of depression seem to increase accordingly. In general, depression takes hold of the mind, crushing our reason and emotions under a weight of intense sadness, irrationality, or fear.
What is the way forward? As Christians, what sort of response should we have to depression and anxiety? Should we run straight to the doctor and psychiatrist for a pill and counseling? Or should we simply run to God through stricter spiritual discipline?
In two addresses, Advice to Depressed and Anxious Christians and The Resolution of Depression and Overwhelming Grief through Faith, Richard Baxter provides great insight on the causes and cures of depression and anxiety. Packer and Lundy introduce these works by highlighting the profound connection Richard Baxter saw between body and soul in counseling depressed people.
Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymnodist,[1] theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he made his reputation by his ministry at Kidderminster, and at around the same time began a long and prolific career as theological writer.
After the Restoration he refused preferment, while retaining a non-separatist Presbyterian approach, and became one of the most influential leaders of the Nonconformists, spending time in prison. His views on justification and sanctification are somewhat controversial and unconventional within the Calvinist tradition because his teachings seem, to some, to undermine salvation by faith, in that he emphasizes the necessity of repentance and faithfulness.