The primary concern of this volume is to help those in the helping professions and in the professional clergy to view people as historical creatures, appreciating the importance of past development on present and future human development, particularly in the dimension of faith. Developmental theory is primarily concerned with the normal changes one might expect as one progresses through life’s span. The focus is on healthy personality development, as opposed to other branches of psychology which focus on arrested or abnormal development.

Because of the stage theory of faith developed by James Fowler, the last decade has seen a resurgence of interest in the role of faith in lifespan human development. Therefore it is not surprising that the editors chose to devote the first part of the text to issues of human development and faith. Part two examines the mature self as a developmental phenomenon, while the third and final part applies developmental theory to specific situations. The editors acknowledge the variety of opinions and approaches to developmental theory among the numerous contributors to this volume but highlight the shared commitment of the authors to Jesus Christ’ who as the giver of all faith and growth is the ultimate perspective on human development.

LeRoy Aden opens the volume with a fascinating application of Erikson’s psychological stage theory of human development to the experience of faith. He begins with the infant’s need to trust a significant other as necessary for the lifelong task of opening one’s life to a faithful God and ends his discussion with the faith of the later years of life when all of the earlier dimensions of faith ‘are combined into a deep reliance upon, and a decisive relationship with, the God of life and death’ (p. 32). Thomas Droege then attempts to fill in the missing pieces of faith development in Levinson’s study of the seasons of life. This is a fine contribution as the author suggests practical applications of faith development to adult ministry at various seasons of life and in transition periods.

The first part of the book ends with Mary Gaebler’s fascinating discussion of Luther’s struggles with Anfechtungen (bouts of despair) when he feared that God hated rather than loved him. Gaebler proposes an alternative model of faith development. Rather than using the continuum of developmental theory, she proposes the deepening faith in moments of doubt. In her conclusion, she notes that while developmental theory posits growth in the autonomous self leading to growth in faith, Luther saw conversely that growth in faith led to a growth in self.

Jared Pingleton opens part two of his volume by proposing a model of relational maturity. He rightly notes that ‘the bulk of the research and writing on maturity tends to ascribe greater importance to individual interiority or autonomy than to one’s relational context or style’ (p. 101). He then describes the pathologies of dependence and independence and proposes a model of relational maturity based on interdependence.

Ronald Rottschafer offers a well-written indictment of conservative Christianity’s harsh message of self-dislike and self-subjugation and appeals to God’s grace and his pleasure in our growth toward fullness. He also notes that passivity is sometimes encouraged within the church by a misreading of Scripture, by persistent prayers of weakness and dependence, and by the hierarchical structures within the church.

Lyman Lundeen concludes part two of the volume with a theological reflection on four approaches to self-fulfilment. Defining self as both God’s gift and God’s promise, he helps the reader celebrate the role of God’s grace and forgiveness in the ability to know ourselves freely and to have hope for the future.

This volume presupposes some familiarity with developmental theory so would not be as useful to the novice. Some of the authors clearly make a concerted effort to reflect theologically on issues raised by human developmental theory. Others, however, raise few or no theological questions, while some seem to discuss issues more pertinent to counselling psychology than to developmental psychology. The reader may be disappointed that this book contains some clearly secondary issues while totally ignoring primary aspects of human development that have strong bearing on our understanding of self, e.g., physical development as it impacts psychological and spiritual health. The book would not be helpful as a basic text but may be useful for supplementary reading.

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