Page 10 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 7
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imaginary,  Christian  Bellehumeur  and  Thanh    Thinking about this inherent goodness vs sin-
             Tu Nguyen present a sample of their work with     fulness discussion, I’ve conceived of a metaphor
             Vietnamese immigrants in Canada. In her doc-      which, though imperfect, has helped me to un-
             toral  dissertation,  Nguyen  demonstrates  that   derstand this apparent paradox. To me, I think
             the imaginary – the construction of symbolic      of the condition of man as being that of a bro-
             representations of God (particularly images) –    ken and rusted classic car that was parked and
             is related to an individual’s understanding and   left in a remote corner of a farmer’s field deca-
             feelings  about  God.  Moreover,  the  imaginary   des ago. For all intents and purposes, the car has
             appears  to  integrate  and  give  meaning  to  life   lost all innate material value that it once had,
             events and functions as a means of coping with    and yet we can still stand and marvel at what
             existential  anxiety.  In  a  subsequent  interview,   that scrap heap once was and what it still re-
             Christian Bellehumeur further expands on his      presents. In the same way, we are image-bearers
             understanding of the imaginary and its impor-     of God and whatever is good in us is only that
             tance to Christian psychology, tracing its roots   which reflects His Goodness worked in us by
             from Gilbert Durand to his current program of     His Spirit.
             research.
             The Canadian edition concludes with a series      Throughout this edition we are treated to the il-
             of  articles  focussing  on  the  work  of  Canada’s   lustrations of artist and author, Michael O’Brien.
             most  prolific  and  well-known  Christian  psy-  As evidenced in the selections presented here,
             chologist, David Benner. This section contains    O’Brien sees “each visual image and each work
             excerpts from some of Benner’s previous works     of prose [as] an incarnation of a word, a state-
             in which he discusses the implications of Bib-    ment of faith.” He, like many psychologists, has
             lical and theological insights (e.g., imago Dei,   faced professional pressure to exclude religion
             sin,  and  the  incarnation)  for  therapy  and  the   from his work, however, he has firmly commit-
             therapist’s role. Wolfram Soldan then dialogues   ted  himself  to  portraying  explicitly  Christian
             with Benner as he elaborates on the necessity of   themes. The product and process of his artistry
             moral frameworks and Christ-like attitudes in     is bold and deeply devotional – certainly a great
             therapy as pastoral conversation (i.e., listening   inspiration for all of us.
             to another while also speaking for God). Mike
             Sheldon then provides commentary as Benner        A Taste of Canada
             explores  humanity  and  what  it  means  to  be-  Canada is a culturally diverse nation with two
             come  fully  human.  Finally,  Benner  shares  his   official languages, English and French. Here is
             reflections as he looks back on these excerpts,   a taste of Canadian culture and our beautiful
             emphasizing  the  importance  of  attending  to   landscapes.
             the psychospiritual dynamics of the therapeutic   As the second largest country in the world, the-
             process.                                          re is much to see and do: Canada - Keep Explo-
                                                               ring or: Canada Shared by Canadians
             I  have  really  appreciated  the  variety  of  topics   Here’s an overview of some of the most well-
             and  perspectives  that  have  been  presented  in   known cities in Canada: Cities of Canada
             this edition. One of the most striking articles
             for  me  was  the  “original  goodness”  article  by   Two famous Canadian events are the Calgary
             Sam  Berg.  “As  iron  sharpens  iron”  (Proverbs   Stampede: Calgary Stampede 2012
             27:17), Sam Berg has called me to wrestle with    and the Winter Carnival in Quebec City:
             and refine my own understanding of man’s sin-     Carnaval de Québec
             ful nature and I thank him for this. While I do
             not state the case quite as strongly as Sam Berg,
             there is certainly much value in identifying and
             encouraging individuals’ gifts and strengths in
             the context of counseling (for example, I am re-
             minded here of 1 Corinthians 12).

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