With the stigma of being fat and the threat of fat shaming weighing on the minds of many modern women (Bailey, 2010), along with the threat of obesity spreading at pandemic levels throughout the world (Hruby & Hu, 2015), some women can develop a mental obsession or disorder that causes them to swing too far in the opposite direction: instead of risking becoming obese, they risk becoming too thin or engage in behavior that reflects an evident eating disorder (Cederstrom & Spicer, 2015).
The unrealistic expectations placed upon women in the modern era, thanks to advertising and cultural norms propagated through the media (Unger, 2010), contrast sharply with the image of woman as presented in the Old and New Testaments as well as with the image of spiritual perfection as represented by Christ in the New Testament. Instead of focusing on virtues, principles, duties and vocation, women in the modern era are subjected to a barrage of images that convey to them the need to look a certain way in order to be respected and admired. The result is that women adopt unhealthy eating habits that are symptomatic of a mental disorder, associated with trying to fit into the hypersexualized, unrealistic body image of fabricated imaging promoted all over popular media.
1 Timothy 2:9-10 states “that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.” This urgent call from Timothy to the early Christians gives the Biblical perspective on how women should see their actual image—not as ornaments to attract the “male gaze” but rather as focusing on “good works,” which are appropriate for godly women. And what are these good works that should be the focus of women? Timothy explicitly states that women “will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty” (1 Tim 2:15). In the modern era, women are pulled away from Timothy’s exhortation to women to grow in faith, love, holiness and modesty and to seek to become mothers: women are instead urged to put themselves alongside men (instead of in the kind of submissive role advocated by Timothy). As a result, they are conflicted. Instead of “eating for two” as the saying goes, they starve themselves to match the skinny, skimpy idealized models of modern womanhood; or they overeat in order to compensate for the depressed feelings that they experience in the wake of their pursuit of goals opposite to those identified by Timothy as the goals they should seek for themselves.
Christian Biotechnology: Not a Contradiction in Terms Presented with the idea of "Bioethics" most people in the scientific community today immediately get the impression of repressive, Luddite forces wishing to stifle research and advancement in the name of morality and God. Unfortunately, this stereotype too often holds true. If one looks over the many independent sites on the Internet regarding bioethics, reads popular magazines and publications, or browses library shelves for
Finally, learning how to rely on and depend on others can help people rely on and depend on God. The exercise teaches the value of trust and shows that we can depend on other people as well as God. 7. Body Outline: Drawing an outline of the body is a helpful exercise for people who have eating disorders. It can help people recognize that their body image does not match
Soul: Why Only Christian Psychologists Can Practice "True Psychology" Today, there are more than one hundred thousand licensed psychologists practicing in the United States. These mental health professionals are in a unique position to provide individuals, groups, and American society with valuable counseling services for a wide range of mental health issues and mental disorders. This study uses a triangulated research approach to demonstrate that true psychology can be done
(Paul, 2005) In fact, the AAPC survey found that African-Americans, devout evangelicals, people without a college degree, the elderly and people age 18 to 29 are most likely to fear that a professional counselor won't take their religious beliefs into serious consideration when treating them. (Paul, 2005) People come to Christian counselors for two reasons," commented Randolph Sanders, executive director of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies, an association of
) may typically be used in the conduction of the activity; and 3) Activities can be standardized and adapted with a minimum of alteration for use across groups and members so that a common framework can be replicated. (Trotzer, 2004) The main feature of activities are: 1) Technical; and 2) Mechanical and have "...parameters and directions that make them merely tools." (Trotzer, 2004) Categorization of the activities of a group are on the
Forgiveness on human health. In its simplest form, the purpose of the study is to evaluate human psychological stress that might constitute a risk factor for heart disease. Further, the study will also evaluate the impact of forgiveness on heart disease. However, such a simple dissertation clearly demands further definition. What, exactly, do we signify when we speak of heart disease? What is properly considered as forgiveness? What impact does