Page 109 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 5

Church Traditions for a Christian Psychology

his “surplus of seeing” (2010:299, referring to The central focus of Christian psychology is, be-
Bakhtin, 1986), but also openly share our per- sides on a Christian anthropology as the foun-
spectives and be bold to question, criticize, eva- dation, on our relationship with God. Christi-
luate. In this way, we can “forge another link in an psychology investigates and communicates
the ongoing conversation of humanity that con- this lived relationship with God as a powerful
stitutes human history” (2010:300) – and in the resource for our concept of ourselves, for ma-
same way, I suggest, we can promote our under- stering life challenges and changing lives. Chri-
standing of Christian psychology. Partners in stian psychology looks at this relationship with
this dialogue should be different contemporary God from the viewpoint of the Christian reve-
proponents from the wide psychological and lation in history and the present.
Christian field of ministries and standpoints,
but also “wise members of the Christian tradi- In a self-experience seminar on the topic of the
tion – first and foremost… the inspired authors sense of inferiority and self-esteem, we also try
of the Christian canon (the Hebrew and Chri- to push open a door to a sense of one’s own value
stian Scriptures) and second… other Christians communicated by fellowship with God. Here I
who have thought deeply about psychological have before my eyes a woman from whom re-
and counseling matters.” (2010:300). And God jection and stories of experiences of inferiority
himself shall be our guide. simply poured out. From childhood on, she was
familiar with the Word of God, and prayer and
praise are nothing new to her. Until now, all im-
Werner: pulses in this direction have bounced off her. I
can imagine that a new way of meeting God –
I would try to move our discussion in a practi- meeting God in the poor, for example, which
cal direction with an example. comes more from the Catholic tradition and is
I am one of those working in “Together for Eu- relatively alien to her tradition – could open the
rope”: http://www.together4europe.org, a mo- way for the Holy Spirit to reach her heart.
vement involving different church traditions. In “Together for Europe”, the intention is to
At a recent meeting, seven ways of access to an track down the treasures which each tradition
encounter with God were described, inspired has discovered and not so much that which se-
by different Christian traditions: parates us.

1. Where two or three are gathered, Jesus is Agnes:
there in the midst of us.
2. Meeting Christ in the poor. When I think back to the first years of “our
3. The icon as a window onto the triune God. Christian Psychology” in the 1980s, we thought
4. Praise and worship that the treasure could only be in one version
5. The celebration of the Eucharist and the diversity of Christian traditions was
6. In the Word of God, the Bible. rather seen as a consequence of misunder-
7. In prayer (personal prayer, prayer in ton- standing the Bible. We talked about “Christian
gues, the Prayer of the Heart, prayer fellow- Psychology based on a biblical worldview” and
ship and liturgy) were convinced that our biblical understanding
of the human condition was the correct one. It
Personally, my ways of access during the first was mainly shaped in terms of sin and grace, a
ten years of following Jesus were rather in the distinction between old and new creation. Tho-
direction of praise, the Word of God and prayer se, who emphasized aspects of original creati-
personally and in fellowship. Today I value in on seemed to value human power without the
addition the Prayer of the Heart. need of salvation. Over the years, we have had
Now, what does this have to do with Christian to reinterpret and reinterpret our interpretation
psychology? of the biblical standpoint and in this process we

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