Introduction

Fundamental concepts and themes of the book are introduced, including definitions of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) and related phenomena. Voices, or AVHs, not infrequently include spiritual/religious (S/R) content, or are experienced as emanating from an S/R source. They are experienced widely in the general population, and in different S/R traditions, as well as in the context of mental disorder. The approach taken in the book is interdisciplinary, but with a particular concern to understand S/R voices from the perspective of Christian theology. The Introduction offers an outline of the underlying theological anthropology and epistemological assumptions.