Abstract
The thesis of this article is that Ernest Becker's book, The Denial of Death, presents viable propositions for an integration of psychological and theological views of personality. The key integrative bases for this work are (a) that the core tendency of the personality is to minimize the fear of death while minimizing the fear of life, and (b) that this tendency is supported both by Christian theology and the nature of the religious quest. Both psychological and spiritual resources for minimizing the fears of life and death are delineated. A brief model of personality, psychological growth, and holistic maturity is presented in order to resolve tensions between religious and psychological conceptions of growth and maturity.
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