Better than One: A Biblical View of Loneliness

by Valeriia Chornobai, Viktoriia Hrytsenko

In the beginning, God declared that it was not good for human beings to be alone. Yet the ache of loneliness is rampant in our societies, knowing no boundaries of age, sex, geography, culture, or religion.

This book offers the reader a robust theological understanding of loneliness as a multifaceted phenomenon impacting the lives of believers. It identifies five different types of loneliness – emotional, social, cultural, existential, and spiritual – and illustrates each type through wellknown biblical narratives, exploring what each narrative reveals about the relational nature of God and the humans created in his likeness. Yet beyond a theological framework, this book also provides practical and effective strategies for understanding and combating loneliness in the contexts of our contemporary lives. It pays particular attention to the historic and contemporary challenges of singleness and celibacy, especially as experienced in collectivist cultures and evangelical contexts.

Chornobai and Hrytsenko aim to equip all those suffering from loneliness – as well as those walking alongside them, whether pastors, counselors, or social workers – to better understand the inner and outer factors impacting their experience and to find more effective strategies for coping and thriving.

269 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 31, 2023

Reviews

[John Damon Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5
A wonderfully insightful resource for all Christians that I hope to draw from in the future again. The Ukrainian theologians Chornobai and Hrytsenko both accurately diagnose the various aspects and complexities of loneliness and compellingly point to it's hope and solution. So either if one is lonely or wants to minister to those who are I would thoroughly recommend this book as a well researched gospel centered resource.
However I would offer a couple caveats: There were times when the books seeming translation from Ukrainian resulted in some clunkiness of language. And I was slightly disappointed with how the authors largely avoided addressing homosexuality and I felt they could have said more about the goodness of singleness even for those who are eventually called to marriage.

[Adam Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting and helpful reflections on the multifaceted nature of loneliness, written from a Ukrainian context, with a final section addressing singleness. There is quite a strong emphasis on psychology, especially attachment styles, and perhaps less engagement with Scripture than the subtitle might suggest.

[James-Michael Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A helpful intro to the topic of loneliness, but the solutions at times were a bit cliché. Still a very helpful discussion, particularly for single Christians.