What is the result of…people-idolatry? As in all idolatry, the idol we choose to worship soon owns us. The object we fear overcomes us. Although insignificant in itself, the idol becomes huge and rules us. It tells us how to think, what to feel, and how to act. It tells us what to wear, it tells us to laugh at the dirty joke, and it tells us to be frightened to death that we might have to get up in front of a group and say something. The whole strategy backfires. We never expect that using people to meet our desires leaves us enslaved to them.
— Edward Welch (b. 1953), Psychologe, Seelsorger und Autor
Topics: Freedom & Truth, Temptation & Struggle, Fear & Anxiety
Occasions: For Reflection
Edward Welch
Der US-amerikanische Psychologe und Theologe Edward T. Welch lehrt seit 1981 an der Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation sowie am Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. Er gilt als einflussreiche Stimme der biblisch-reformierten Seelsorgebewegung zu Themen wie Depression, Scham und Angst, wobei die Skepsis dieses Ansatzes gegenüber säkularen psychiatrischen Modellen fachlich debattiert wird. Bibellesern vermitteln seine Schriften eine seelsorgliche Lebenshilfe, die emotionale Nöte und zwischenmenschliche Konflikte aus einer dezidiert biblischen Perspektive deutet.
All quotes by Edward Welch (120)
The Father’s love does not force itself on the beloved.
Henri Nouwen
Martin Luther King Jr.
In essential unity; in nonessentials liberty; in all this charity.
Rupertus Meldenius
Tim Keller
William Temple
To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was yourself.
Diane H. Moody
Don't allow anybody to make you feel that you're nobody.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.
Søren Kierkegaard