The Presence and Absence of God in Object Relational and Theological Perspectives

In its examination of early personal development, psychoanalytic object relations theory contributes to an understanding of the presence of God in human experience. This contribution is analyzed with reference to the object relational explanations of creativity, person or object centered motivation, and reality experienced as otherness. From the perspective of early human development, object relations theory helps to clarify and confirm Terrien's (1978) interpretation of the presence of God as elusive. Implications of object relations theory for pastoral and clinical practice are briefly noted.