The Possibilities of Grace amid Persistent Depression

Abstract

Chronic and recurring depression presents challenges to theologians working on the doctrine of grace. First, its frequent misrepresentation inhibits accurate perceptions of God’s loving presence in this context. Second, like all suffering, it threatens the affirmation of divine benevolence upon which the doctrine is predicated. Third, the moral complexities of depression obfuscate grace’s healing effects. To meet these challenges and clarify the contextual work of grace, the author draws on depression narratives to identify the effects of grace as gratuitous, elevating, and healing expansions of possibility that many sufferers experience as depression persists.