We’re thrilled to announce the publication of Hearing Voices, Demonic and Divine: Scientific and Theological Perspectives, an exciting new book from our very own Chris Cook.

DESCRIPTION:

Experiences of hearing the voice of God (or angels, demons, or other spiritual beings) have generally been understood either as religious experiences or else as a feature of mental illness. Some critics of traditional religious faith have dismissed the visions and voices attributed to biblical characters and saints as evidence of mental disorder. However, it is now known that many ordinary people, with no other evidence of mental disorder, also hear voices and that these voices not infrequently include spiritual or religious content. Psychological and interdisciplinary research has shed a revealing light on these experiences in recent years, so that we now know much more about the phenomenon of ‘hearing voices’ than ever before.

Hearing Voices, Demonic and Divine considers biblical, historical, and scientific accounts of spiritual and mystical experiences of voice hearing in the Christian tradition in order to explore how some voices may be understood theologically as revelatory, proposing that in the incarnation, Christian faith finds both an understanding of what it is to be fully human (a theological anthropology), and God’s perfect self-disclosure (revelation). Within such an understanding, revelatory voices represent a key point of interpersonal encounter between human beings and God.

REVIEWS:

‘With expertise in both theology and psychiatry, Professor Chris Cook is ideally placed to examine the complexities around the hearing of voices in spiritual and religious contexts. His book is an authoritative and comprehensive guide to the scientific and theological research in the area. It is also a delightfully engaging read.’ — Charles Fernyhough, Director and Principle Investigator, Hearing the Voice, Durham University, UK

 

‘Hearing Voices, Demonic and Divine, is a careful and comprehensive account of the voice-hearing phenomenon. Unlike other such surveys, Cook takes seriously the possibility that voices communicate divine intention. Cook explores the vexed problem of discerning whether and when spirit speaks with thoughtfulness, empathy and wise caution.’ — Tanya Marie Luhrmann, Howard H. and Jessie T. Watkins University Professor of Anthropology, Stanford University, USA

 

‘The experience of hearing voices is something that is common to religious experiences and to those experiences that some determine as unusual or pathological. Untangling the complex origins and meanings of voice hearing is not an easy task, especially if we take into consideration issues around religion and theology. The dual temptation to under or over spiritualise voice hearing is alluring and difficult to avoid. Chris Cook recognises this difficult tension, but also realises that it is not enough simply to partition voices with some assumed to be the responsibility of psychiatrists and others open to the discernment of religion and theology. The phenomenon of voice hearing requires an integrated approach that takes seriously the insights that can be gleaned from disciplines such as psychiatry, psychology, biology and neurology, whilst at the same time taking equally as seriously the insights that theology and Christian tradition brings to the conversation. All of these perspectives in turn require to take cognisance of the profound importance of listening to the personal narratives of voice hearers. Voices do not occur apart from people. If we forget that we risk losing the soul of our therapeutic and scientific endeavours. It is within this crucial hospitable conversation that new insights and fresh possibilities emerge. This powerful and well-argued interdisciplinary reflection on hearing voices opens up vital space for re-thinking the phenomenon of voice hearing and opening up new possibilities for understanding and responding. This is a helpful and important book.’ — John Swinton, Professor in Practical Theology and Pastoral Care and Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies, University of Aberdeen, UK

 

‘Reading the Demonic and Divine was validating and empowering. I’d spent so long wondering how to make sense of voice hearing myself, unsure whether it was a religious or a mental health issue, and so I occupied an isolated space hiding it from those who were trying to help me. I felt scared to bring it up with mental health professionals for fear they would dismiss my faith as something that was causing me distress. This book doesn’t just explore the nuances of the complex interaction between voice hearing and spirituality, but it understands them. The book is grounded in the experience of voice hearers past and present and shows the importance of looking at people’s experiences of voice hearing in a holistic way.  I really wish mental health professionals I have worked with had this resource which would have equipped them to help me untangle voice hearing, mental illness and my faith’ — Rachel Bourne, person with lived experience

Thanks to Wellcome Trust funding, the book will be made available as an open access pdf here. A hardback copy can be bought from the publisher’s website here.

 

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