My book on depression, the reason for pain and evil, and the Gospel
This is my page about my Christian book titled Pain. I wrote and edited this book over the past three winters mostly (they’re my offseason as a landscaper), and just had it published in June 2024 by Wipf & Stock. For my first book, Get Married and Save the World, I decided early on to use self-publishing. That is in part because the topics of that book were unpopular (lifelong marriage, gender roles, etc.), and in part to make sure I had full artistic control. Doing self-publishing has had its positives and its negatives. For my book Pain, I decided to see if I could go the route of regular publishers, and after sending out several proposals, I was happy to receive an offer from Wipf & Stock, a relatively new publisher on the west coast.
Pain grew out of the germ of an idea; that of discussing the claims that people in the Bible suffered from depression, claims I’ve always been skeptical of, and the subsequent desire to evaluate them based in part on my own experience with depression. Such an evaluation would need to involve describing the hell and alienation of what today’s society has labeled a mental illness. Naturally, the topic of pain brings up why we must all suffer in the first place, so I saw the need to thoroughly cover from Scripture why we have suffering, as well as evil on this earth. I figured — if I’m going to talk about the problem, I might as well talk about the solution — so I expanded the explanation to include all that Christ does in saving us; with a chapter on how the cross cleanses us, a chapter on how we are made holy in the Christian life, and a chapter on God’s kingdom, both how it is present with us healing our world right now, and on its final culmination in an end to all suffering and evil for God’s people.
Pain is rich with Scripture, and with doctrinal explanation from Scripture. I included over 1,000 verses, since I am explaining quite a lot of theology, and also because I want to be thorough, and am willing to include the broader passages, rather than only the short quotes. For this reason, I ended up using the KJV, which is on the public domain in most of the world. They do not charge a penny no matter how many verses you quote. Thanks be to God. I felt especially, in the area of explaining God’s sovereignty over all things, that I wanted the reader to see just how many passages, and how many detailed ones, teach His sovereignty. So, I included more verses than I truly needed to make my point.
While heavily theological, Pain is also very personal. It is interwoven from start to finish with my experience with severe depression, as well as many other personal stories. It includes advice for those suffering such anguish, and common-sense methods of helping them. I include details of my life as an unbeliever, my experience in coming to know Christ, and a short reflection at the end on the meaning of pain in my own life, something which I have to say, I am thankful for, as I must be for everything. I hope this book can both inform and inspire you.
This is a link to the Amazon page for Pain: Pain: Ackerman, Thomas D.: 9798385207039: Amazon.com: Books
This is an interview I did with Pastor Jack Shannon of St. Athanasius Church, Fort Collins: On the Problem of Evil with Thomas Ackerman (youtube.com)
This is a short interview I did with WPGM radio, mostly about the angle of mental health, and not theology. It is listed at June 8-9, 2024: Community Forum – WPGM / WBGM / WJSA
I hope to do more interviews and discussions in the future.
