Page 26 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 11
P. 26

menology of Spirit (1807/1977). Hegel presents    mans  can  experience  their  god-like-ness  and
             God’s redemptive rhythm of incarnation, cru-      God’s  human-like-ness  through  reconciliation
             cifixion,  and  resurrection  throughout  history,   with  God,  and  God  becomes  available  to  all
             which  later  inspired  the  late  20th  century  re-  people  through  the  presence  of  Spirit.  Hegel
             lational  theory  of  intersubjectivity.  We  reflect   presents this narrative as a story of “infinite love
             upon Hegel, the mother/child relationship, and    that arises from infinite anguish [that] creates
             the movements of the Holy Spirit in therapeutic   a  unique  and  unsurpassable  intersubjectivi-
             work. Returning to Rachel, we demonstrate the     ty….” (Hodgson, 2005, p. 182). Intersubjectivi-
             presence of a relational God in the redemptive    ty theory (the relating of two equal subjects) is
             work we call psychotherapy.                       originally based on Hegel’s conception of Spirit
                                                               which he draws from Trinity – Father, Son, and
             Theological Perspectives on the Leading of        Holy  Spirit.  The  Spirit  intersubjectively  con-
             the Holy Spirit                                   nects a person relationally to God and to one’s
             Overview                                          neighbor  who  is  intersubjectively  related  to
             Christians embrace the Judaic Scriptures which    God and neighbor in the Spirit. Intersubjecti-
             attest to humans created in the image of God.     ve relating is achieved through surrender to the
             The Judaic account of human failure and God’s     crucified God and risen Son whose suffering is
             actions to restore a people for Himself progres-  the model for “… shared suffering, creat[ing] a
             ses to the New Testament narrative of the salvific   new kind of human relationship in which one
             actions of Jesus Christ in His incarnation, cru-  finds oneself only by losing oneself for the sake
             cifixion, and resurrection, and the pouring out   of the other…. Love in the fullest sense is com-
             of God’s Spirit on all of humanity. The New Te-   passion, suffering with and on behalf of ano-
             stament witness relates the descent of the Holy   ther. It is grounded in the divine compassion.”
             Spirit to indwell men and women who become        (Hodgson, 2005, p. 183). The outpouring of the
             God’s temple. The Spirit inhabits the “here and   Spirit also becomes the introduction of the ex-
             now” in the Christian’s experiences of the fel-   perience  of  mutuality  and  equality  among  all
             lowship of Christ’s sufferings, and the power of   peoples. “Subjectivity has given up all external
             His resurrection (Phil. 3:10). The Spirit of God   distinctions in this infinite value, distinctions of
             transforms God’s people, setting them free from   mastery, power, position, even sex and wealth.
             bondage to sin, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is,   Before God all humans are equal…. Herein lies
             there is freedom,” (2 Cor. 3:17).                 the possibility and the root of truly universal ju-
                                                               stice and the actualization of freedom” (Hegel,
             G. F. W. Hegel                                    1807/1977), (Hodgson, 2005, pp. 182-183).
             Though  Hegel’s  Phenomenology  of  Spirit
             (1807/1977) has been widely viewed as a phi-      Clinical Presuppositions and the Leading of
             losophical masterpiece, much less known is the    the Holy spirit
             theological substrate that derives from his Pro-  A  psychotherapy  that  recognizes  the  spiritual
             testant theological training at Tubingen. Peter   force that propels toward health and renewal is
             Hodgson’s (2005)  translation  of  Hegel’s  works   not altogether different from its more secular
             rediscovers Hegel’s reliance on Jesus’ incarnati-  counterpart. What does distinguish the former,
             on, crucifixion, and resurrection as the historic   is a basis for hope that lies beyond our mere
             movement that initiates the coming of the Spirit   technical skills or our theoretical persuasions.
             to reside with us and cause progress in human     Such hope was captured by theologian Jurgen
             history.                                          Moltmann in these words: “…. The spell of the
             God,  the  transcendent  Other,  became  human    dogma  of  hopelessness…is  broken  where  he
             and died on a cross; God in Christ resurrected    who  raises  the  dead  is  recognized  to  be  God
             and He is no longer “Other.” For Hegel, the sen-  (Moltmann, 1993, p. 31-32).
             ding of the Spirit, the third person of the Tri-  This manifest hope elucidates for us five clinical
             nity, was achieved precisely through the death    recognitions of a Spirit-led, intersubjective, re-
             and  resurrection  of  the  God-man  Jesus.  Hu-  lational perspective:


                                                           25
   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31