Donald Capps

Theological ideas and biblical injunctions have frequently been employed to legitimate the physical abuse of children. Some theological ideas are inherently abusive because they create fear in a child's mind, causing a child to feel alone, odd, and of little worth. Donald Capps exposes the abuses that theology and the Bible have inflicted on vast numbers of children. In particular, he is concerned with the "hidden" abuses of children by well-intentioned adults and the role that reli...

Donald Capps draws upon the poetry of William Stafford and Denise Levertov to show how poetry can benefit the field of pastoral care. He argues that poetry focuses on the immediate experience and attends to life itself, whereas theology and ethics focus more on abstract discourse, seeking to achieve a more panoramic view of life.

The early years of adolescence are a tumultuous time, full of challenges and opportunities that can shape one's whole life. In recent years several books have analyzed this period of life for girls, but this is the first book that investigates the interior life of boys as they develop their sense of self and begin the spiritual journey that will carry them throughout their lives. The authors contend that adolescent boys often experience themselves at various times as losers, loners, ...

Drawing on research and case studies, three pastoral care experts argue that one of the primary contexts in which the faith formation of teenage boys takes place is in their relationships with other adolescent males. Written by the authors of Losers, Loners, and Rebels: The Spiritual Struggles of Boys, this book is an important resource for anyone interested in helping adolescent males navigate years often marked by isolation and loneliness to develop a meaningful spiritual iden...

In groundbreaking fashion Donald Capps builds on Erik Erikson's work on the eight stages of life by focusing on the decades of life. This important modification allows developmental theory to be applied to the way people discuss life stages--in ten-year periods. Capps integrates the insights of psychology with those of pastoral care to show pastors and students how the decades of life help us all to understand the journey of life.