The Paranoid Prophet by William D. Backus

by William Backus

The Paranoid Prophet

Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Hannah Moenyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an interesting mix of psychology, philosophy, theology & biblical interpretation presented in narrative form. At its most basic, it’s a retelling of the Jonah story from the Bible, but really that’s just a small part of the book. The book combines ancient times with modernity and narrates the book through the perspective of a psychologist and his experiences in treating his patients, with Jonah as one of his patients. The book also includes significant discussions with his old classmate friend and two of his previous professors. The strength of this book is the way it introduces a wide variety of psychological, philosophical and religious theories and perspectives through the form of narrative. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new perspective on the story of Jonah or anyone wanting to better understand what it’s like to be a therapist. It’s also a good book for considering different philosophical/theological theories, though I wouldn’t recommend it on its own in this regard. I can see this book being a good companion to other books such as The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck or alongside reading Jewish and/or Christian theology as well as Eastern mysticism literature.