Kalman J. Kaplan, PhD, is Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Departments of Psychiatry and Medical Education at the University of Illinois in the Chicago College of Medicine, as well as Director of the Program for Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Health (sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation). Professor Kaplan is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, a past recipient of a Fulbright Teaching-Research Fellowship at Tel Aviv University, and a current member of the SAMHSA Interfaith Task Force on Religion and Suicide. Professor Kaplan has written widely in the area of interpersonal relations, life promotion and suicide prevention,Click the link to buy this book from Amazon.com and help support The Other Journal. and a biblical approach to mental health. His most recent book (coauthored with Dr. Matthew Schwartz) is A Psychology of Hope: A Biblical Response to Tragedy and Suicide (2008).
This essay advocates a biblical emphasis on life promotion and suicide prevention as freedom from a fatalistic and tragic life, especially in contrast to the ancient Greek fascination with death and suicide.
