The Strong and The Weak

In this book the famous Swiss physician demonstrates through the narrative description of clinical case histories that the psychological roots of anxiety lie in a misunderstanding of the real nature of strength and weakness. He sees that the pervading fear from which the spiritual recession of our time has come can be overcome not by automatic reactions but through Christian understanding. Dr. Tournier writes not only to bring some hope to the weak but also to benefit the strong, who feel vaguely that the victories they must constantly be trying to win sustain the atmosphere of violence, nervous tension, and threat of catastrophe under which we live in the modern world. There is however, an illusion underlying both the despair of the weak and the unease of the strong, and that is the very notion that there are two kinds of human beings, the strong and the weak. The truth is that human beings are much more alike than they are prone to think. What is different is the external mask, agreeable or disagreeable, the outward reaction, strong or weak. Actually these appearances hide an identical inner personality, but the external mask deceives everyone, the strong as well as the weak. They are all afraid of being trampled underfoot. They are all afraid that their inner weaknesses will be discovered. they all have their secret faults and bad consciences on account of acts they would like to keep covered up. They are all afraid of other men, of God, of themselves, of life, and of death. What distinguishes men from one another is not their inner nature but the way in which they react to their common distress. After analyzing these two attitudes, which he illustrates fully from his notebook, Dr. Tournier turns to the Bible for the source of true strength, and this he finds in Jesus Christ