Page 101 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 3

secular country like the USA, people suddenly talk more subjective meaning structure and uses it as a context for
freely about God and prayer in a crisis. Though officially accepting suffering in life. Bratus rightly notes how psy-
prayer in American schools is illegal, frightened teachers chology is moving toward religion and philosophy, and
and student naturally took to prayer when facing evil. this is very apparent in ACT. For Christians, there is a
I greatly appreciated the story of the tired horse Bra- wonderfully full and complete context of meaning pro-
tus shared. When suffering, we seem to naturally want vided in our understanding of and relationship to God.
to look to the “village in the distance”. Psychology of- We really cannot separate the ideal from the material;
fers no comfort. Research shows that having meaning Science will always have to look beyond itself for me-
strengthens people, but a godless science cannot offer aning. A Christian psychology offers a wonderful way
that meaning. To cope with suffering, whether that faced of bridging this gap with meaning that is more than sub-
by Frankl or the children at the school I mentioned, one jective. I thank God for Bratus and others like him who
must have some context of meaning. Indeed, a new the- are speaking out to share the value and importance of
rapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) sees Christian faith.
just that. It intentionally identifies and rallies a person’s

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