¶ … Gift of Being Yourself by David Benner
Discovery and Knowledge of the Self in "The Gift of Being Yourself" by David Benner
The Gift of being Yourself: the sacred call to self-discover" by David Benner offers new insights about the importance of discovery of one's self in order to discover God in the process. The book's thesis illustrates a new way in which the seemingly scientific notion of self-discovery is integrated into the theological teaching of discovering God. Introducing two concepts, which are 'theological way' of self-discovery and transformational knowledge acquisition, Benner provides a thorough explanation of the arduous, yet rewarding, process towards establishing a strong relationship with God through self-discovery.
The first concept that Benner categorizes as vital to self-discovery is the development of transformational knowledge. This concept takes self-knowledge one step towards taking action,...
The book criticizes how the psychological concept of transformational knowledge differs greatly from its theological counterpart. Transformational knowledge in the social sciences is meant to allow the individual to know "periodic interpretations of the meaning of these free associations to guide...exploration." This differs from the theological concept of transformational knowledge, wherein self-knowledge can lead to "freedom or psychological health." This can only become possible is self-knowledge is used to motivate an individual's actions and behavior towards himself/herself, others, and life in general.
Another important insight that Benner offers in the book is the relationship that is inherently found between the process of self-discovery and discovery of God. The author posits that it is in knowing one's self that s/he can truly establish…
