Page 178 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 7

The Work and Thinking of David Benner

Whether we like it or not, we must usually do
without ethical instruction in most conversa-
tional contexts, since it does not help us to-
wards our goal. Instead, we require a culture
of dialogue which introduces ethical topics
invitingly, questioningly and reflectively and,
in the process, always listens attentively in
order to understand the real inner landscape
of my vis-à-vis and also, so to speak, to see
where Jesus is active in this landscape at the
moment. At the right time, this can include
boldly provocative questions. Here, I believe,
we Christians have some catching up to do
and in many cases we first of all need to allow
ourselves to be given the necessary inner free-
dom, composure and humility. How? Ideally,
we allow ourselves to be „morally challenged“
in our lives and convicted by Jesus (and brot-
hers and sisters in faith) so as to gain a deep
experience of grace and forgiveness in psycho-
therapy: self-experience is a central part of
developing competence.

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