Exploring an exciting new methodThis volume provides an introduction to psychological interpretations of the Hebrew Bible in generalwith the Garden of Eden story as a test case. It approaches the text from Freudian, Jungian, and Developmental psychologies, comparing and contrasting the different methods while taking on the hermeneutical issues. The work of Ricoeur is used to establish criteria for adequate interpretation. Genesis 3 presents a particularly fruitful text for psychological interpretation given its importance in modern Western culture. Its themes of sexuality, guilt, consciousness, and alienation are issues of great concern, not only for psychologists, but for everyone in our society. Kille's aim is to locate psychological criticism within the field of biblical studies generally and to propose a hermeneutical framework for describing and evaluating psychological approaches. The second part is devoted to analysis of evaluation of different treatments of Genesis 3 from the three chosen psychological perspectives.
D. Andrew Kille is a consultant with Revdak Consulting in San Jose, working with non-profit academic, religious and community service organizations especially ecumenical and interreligious efforts. He has been a pastor, a retreat leader, spiritual director and teacher in San Jose for many years. Ordained in the American Baptist Churches USA, he served in the Office for Parish and Planning of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose. His most recent project is InterfaithSpace, devoted to connecting people from diverse religious traditions in geographic-, conversational- and cyber- spaces. Dr. Kille holds an M.Div. degree from the American Baptist Seminary of the West in Berkeley, CA, and a Ph.D. in Psychology and Biblical Studies (Interdisciplinary) from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He is the author of Psychological Biblical Criticism (Fortress, 2001), and numerous articles on psychology and the Bible. He is a regular contributor to the "Studying the Lectionary" section of The Homily Service. Dr. Kille is Co-chair of the Psychology and Biblical Studies Section of the Society for Biblical Literature, and a member of the Steering Committee of the Person, Culture & Religion Group of the American Academy of Religion. He serves as Webmaster for both groups. Among his presentations have been: "Psychological Development and Spiritual Growth" (Institute for Leadership in Ministry) "Unconsciously Poisoning Our Roots: Psychological Factors in Christian Anti- Judaism" (National Conference of Christians and Jews, Silicon Valley). "Jesus in a Psychological Age: A Response to J.W. Miller's Jesus at Thirty" (SBL) "A Degree in What? Psychological Biblical Criticism from a Graduate Student's Point of View." (SBL) "Jacob: A Study in Individuation," (Canisius College conference on Jung and the Bible) "What is This to You? Amos 5:18-20." (SBL) Dr. Kille's interests include intersections of psychology, spirituality and the Bible, the meaning of sacred space, appropriate uses of modern digital technology in communications and spiritual growth. He is a liturgical musician who plays guitar and composes the occasional hymn, and enjoys bicycling, hiking and backpacking. Web Address:http://www.revdak.com/
Introduction The Interpretation of Genesis 3 Ricoeur and a Model of Interpretive Adequacy Freud and Psychoanalysis Jung and Analytical Psychology Developmental Readings Conclusion
