Birth of the Living God

Utilizing both clinical material based on the life histories of twenty patients and theoretical insights from the works of Freud, Erikson, Fairbairn, and Winnicott, Ana-Maria Rizzuto examines the origin, development, and use of our God images. Whereas Freud postulated that belief in God is based on a child's idea of his father, Rizzuto argues that the God representation draws from a variety of sources and is a major element in the fabric of one's view of self, others, and the world.

Ana-Maria Rizzuto, M.D. is training and supervising analyst at the Psychoanalytic Institute of New England, East.

Preface Part One 1. Introduction 2. Freud 3. Beyond Freud 4. The Representations of Objects and Human Psychic Functionings Part Two 5. Introduction to the Clinical Research 6. A God without Whiskers 7. A God in the Mirror 8. God, the Enigma 9. God, My Enemy Part Three 10. Conclusions Epilogue Appendix Notes References Index