Love Does Not Control

Book excerpt: That love does not control seems obvious to many people. And yet the temptation to control—often with good motives — is strong. The long-term results of yielding to this temptation damage everyone. Contributors to Love Does Not Control explore uncontrolling love and a vision of God as uncontrolling. They do so from their perspectives as therapists, psychologists, and counselors. Writers ponder what uncontrolling love might mean for human healing. Open and relational theology operates as the underlying framework for most contributors. That theology fits nicely with the belief that love is uncontrolling. Open and relational theology rethinks divine power in light of love and postulates what it might mean for creatures to imitate their Creator’s uncontrolling love. The essays in Love Does Not Control are diverse. Readers may discover some differences of opinion as they move from essay to essay. But contributors share in common the quest to explore what uncontrolling love means for issues in counseling, psychology, and/or therapy. These essays have a power that goes beyond mere theoretical reflection. The ideas in these pages have the capacity to transform our living. And even reading Love Does Not Control has the potential to become an exercise in uncontrolling love!