What is pain

I was formally asked by my supervisor of midwives to reflect upon two episodes of care. Both of these involved women who would be termed as 'low risk' primigravida and in both instances the women had considered whether, had they been advised against pushing when it was 'too soon', they might have avoided caesarean sections. To help this process I used my own reflection triangle: 'What happened ... Was it OK ... What about next time?' informed by the Gibbs model (1998). In this paper I present my reflections alongside my reflection triangle.

To push ... or not to push

1. Why Only Humans Weep: Introduction to the theme 2. The Human Nature of Crying 3. Crying and Adaptation: The hardware 4. Crying over the Lifespan 5. The Antecedents and Context of Crying 6. The Intra-individual Effects of Crying 7. The Social Effects of Tears 8. Culture and Crying 9. Why Some People Cry More Often than Others 10. Male and Female Tears 11. Crying and Health 12. Too many tears... 13. A Cultural Historical Perspective of Tears 14. Epilogue

Why only humans weep Unravelling the mysteries of tears 1st Edition

To push or not to push

Discussion of the doctrine of atonement in recent years has drawn attention to the metaphorical nature of the traditional language of atonement. Justice, victory and sacrifice are metaphors used extensively in the tradition to bear witness to the atoning death of Jesus Christ. This article considers whether there might be other metaphors also capable of serving the theological cause of witness to Christ's death. In particular it considers the metaphor of travail, and finds in the scriptures of both Old and New Testaments considerable warrant for speaking of the atonement in this way.

The travail of God

The concept of pain and grieving in the Hebrew Bible is often linked to the context of travail in the birthing process. This perspective suggests that experiences and emotions of pain are associated with feelings of deep distress which, when properly resolved, give way to positive dimensions of care, hope and empowerment as well as the vitality to face new challenges of life. This paper investigates the conceptualization of pain in Scripture from linguistic expressions and ceremonial practices. It compares these findings with phenomenological perspectives of childbirth experiences and how these can assist to explain biblical labour metaphors. The aim is to show how the conceptualization of pain in Scripture can assist to resolve pain in contemporary contexts.
 
https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2019/v32n3a6

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Gudrun Eli Lier

Papers

The Travail of Pain: An Interpretive Perspective from Scripture