
Living in Limbo
Life in the Midst of Uncertainty
Wipf & Stock Publishers
Published on 1. September 2010
Book
Hardback
138 pages
978-1-4982-1273-1 (ISBN)
Description
Limbo has traditionally been viewed as a place between heaven, on the one hand, and purgatory and hell, on the other, to which the patriarchs, who lived under the old law, and babies who died before being baptized into the Christian faith have been consigned. Like purgatory, it is a dark place but not deprived of grace. Now that the Roman Catholic Church has declared that limbo is not an official church teaching, the idea of limbo has been freed from ecclesiastical constraints and available for reflection on the human condition on this side of the grave.
Living in Limbo by Donald Capps and Nathan Carlin focuses on the acute limbo situations that are an integral part of human life, including the vicissitudes of growing up, of forming committed relationships, of finding employment and staying employed, of undergoing life-threatening illnesses, and of experiencing dislocation and doubt. Using cases and examples of real-life persons, the book identifies the forms of distress likely to occur throughout the duration of the limbo experience, and it also identifies the internal and external resources that individuals draw upon as they cope with the stresses and uncertainties of living in limbo.
Drawing on the traditional view, especially reflected in Christian art, that Christ descends into limbo to comfort and liberate its occupants, Living in Limbo comes down on the side of hope versus despair. In reading about other limbo dwellers, readers will meet themselves-or someone they love and care about-and will be encouraged by the very fact that they are not alone. Although it is not a pleasant place to be, limbo is not a place of solitary confinement, and one derives strength and resilience from the presence of the others.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Eugene
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
364 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4982-1273-1 (9781498212731)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
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E-Book
09/2010
Wipf and Stock Publishers
€18.49
Available for download
Persons
Donald Capps (1939-2015) was William Harte Felmeth Professor of Pastoral Theology (Emeritus) and Adjunct Professor at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the author of Striking Out (Cascade Books, 2011), At Home in the World (Cascade Books, 2013), Still Growing (Cascade Books, 2014), and The Resourceful Self (Cascade Books, 2014). He is coauthor with Nathan Carlin of Living in Limbo (Cascade Books, 2010) and The Gift of Sublimation (Cascade Books, 2015).