More than 150 years after its end, we still struggle to understand the full extent of the human toll of the Civil War and the psychological crisis it created. In Aberration of Mind, Diane Miller Sommerville offers the first book-length treatment of suicide in the South during the Civil War era, giving us insight into both white and black communities, Confederate soldiers and their families, as well as the enslaved and newly freed. With a thorough examination of the dynamics of both racial and gendered dimensions of psychological distress, Sommerville reveals how the suffering experienced by Southerners living in a war zone generated trauma that, in extreme cases, led some Southerners to contemplate or act on suicidal thoughts. Sommerville recovers previously hidden stories of individuals exhibiting suicidal activity or aberrant psychological behavior she links to the war and its aftermath. This work adds crucial nuance to our understanding of how personal suffering shaped the way southerners viewed themselves in the Civil War era and underscores the full human costs of war.

The essays in The Beauty and Glory of the Father call us to stand in wonder of the First Person of the Trinity. Through an assortment of studies, readers are challenged to recognize the Father’s glory displayed in His Son, to adore His beautiful attributes, to know Him as a Savior, and to rest in His loving hands. This book, along with The Beauty and Glory of Christ and The Beauty and Glory of the Holy Spirit, reinforces the ongoing necessity of cultivating a Trinitarian piety. Contributors include Joel Beeke, Bart Elshout, Jerry Bilkes, Ryan McGraw, David Murray, Burk Parsons, Paul Smalley, Derek Thomas, and William VanDoodewaard. Table of Contents: Part 1: Seeing the Father’s Glory in His Only Begotten Son 1. The Father’s Love for His Son (John 3:35) — Bart Elshout 2. Father and Son in the Exodus (Hos. 11:1, etc.) — Jerry Bilkes Part 2: Adoring the Beautiful Attributes of the Father 3. The Holiness of the Father in the Old Testament (Isa. 6) — Derek Thomas 4. The Father’s Mercy (1 Peter 1:3-5) —William VanDoodewaard 5. Richard Sibbes on the Mercy and Faithfulness of the Father (2 Cor. 1:3, 18) — Paul Smalley Part 3: Knowing God the Father as Savior 6. Seeing the Father in the Face of Jesus (John 14:9) — Derek Thomas 7. The Apostle John and the Puritans on the Father’s Adopting, Transforming Love (1 John 3) — Joel Beeke Part 4: Resting in the Father’s Loving Hands 8. Your Father in Heaven (Matt. 5-7) — William VanDoodewaard 9. Counseling and the Fatherhood of God — David Murray 10. The Father’s Beautiful Hand of Blessed Chastisement (Heb. 12:4-13) — Burk Parsons Conclusion 11. The Need for a Trinitarian Piety (Eph. 2:18) — Ryan McGraw

The Puritans have gotten bad press for their supposed lack of teaching on the doctrine of spiritual adoption. In Heirs with Christ, Joel R. Beeke dispels this caricature and shows that the Puritan era did more to advance the idea that every true Christian is God's adopted child than any other age of church history. This little book lets the Puritans speak for themselves, showing how they recognized adoption's far-reaching, transforming power and comfort for the children of God. Table of Contents: 1. Introduction: Correcting a Caricature 2. The Greatness and Comprehensiveness of Adoption 3. Adoption Compared in the Two Testaments 4. What Adoption Is Not 5. The Westminster Assembly's Definitions of Adoption 6. The Transforming Power of Adoption 7. Pastoral Advice in Promoting Adoption 8. The Marks of Adoption 9. Transformed Relationships in Adoption 10. The Privileges and Benefits of Adoption 11. The Responsibilities or Duties of Adoption 12. Motives for Pursuing the Consciousness of Adoption 13. Warning, Invitation, and Comfort

Reprint of the original, first published in 1845.