Sidney Callahan – författare

More than a few people today scoff at the notion of "religious experience." What the believer accepts as god acting in human lives, the skeptic attributes to delusion or hysteria - especially when the believers in a woman. Indeed, the possibility of self-deception in the realm of religious experience is sufficiently great that even devotees tread softly around it. at what point does mindless enthusiasm come to an end and actual, transcendent reality begin? Sidney Callahan, a psychologist, author and Christian ethicist, describes authentic religious experience as the work of :a creative God of love who gives totally and renounces coercion." Human beings, she says, "are wired for relationship." they move instinctively toward a dynamic presence who abides within the world and in human affairs. In this Madeleva Lecture delivered at Saint Mary's College in Indiana, Callahan affirms not only the reality but the usefulness of private religious experiences, especially those of "women barred from hierarchical authority," which, she says, "can be a rich source of strength for the church."Beginning with the insights of William James and Rudolf Otto, and borrowing from contemporary theologians Karl Rahner and John E. Thiel, Callahan describes the way religious "signals" emerge into society through the attentive reflection of individuals. And the world is better for it. "Women who hear voices and see visions and have prophetic and intimate religious experiences," she states, "have given witness to God's justice and equality while affirming god's maternal love."

In the face of suffering, is it possible to believe in God? In this heartfelt and thoughtful new book, revered Catholic columnist Sidney Callahan answers yes, offering a reflection on suffering from a Christian perspective. Taking on C.S. Lewis and other traditional writers, she introduces the reader to new insights from fields such as the psychology of human emotion and evolutionary biology. Drawing from her own harrowing experience of a mother's loss, she shows that Christians view suffering in a different way, with the expectation--in the face of all evidence to the contrary--that we are created to experience joy. Topics include Sept. 11, traditional justifications, a new story of God and creation, Jesus--man of sorrows, suffering and joy in Christian practice, the emotions, prayer, and transformation.

SIDNEY CALLAHAN AND DANIEL CALLAHAN This book, like many other things to do with abortion, is a product of long controversy. Though carried out with cooperation, it was conceived in conflict. The conflict between the coeditors has per­ sisted for years-in fact, for at least half of their thirty-year marriage. One, Sidney, is prolife; the other, Daniel, is prochoice. Ever since the topic of abortion became of professional interest to us, in the 1960s, we have disagreed. At one time, while Daniel was writing a book on the subject, Abortion: Law, Choice and Morality (1970), we talked about the subject every day for the four years of the book's gestation. On many occasions during the 1970s, prolife articles writ­ ten by Sidney were passed out at Daniel's lectures in order to refute his pro choice views. Over the years, every argument, every statistic, every historical example cited in the literature has been discussed by the two of us. As Eliza Doolittle says about "words" in My Fair Lady, "There's nota one I haven't heard. " And yet we still disagree. How can it be, we ask ourselves, that intelligent people of goodwill who know all the same facts and all the same arguments still come down on different sides of the con­ troversy? As we well know, it is possible to agree about many things and have great love and respect for an opponent, and still differ.