Page 98 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 7

Christian Psychology alive

Teaching Forgiveness as a Pastoral/Professio- 4. Students also discover that serious forgiveness
nal Skill is a process. Forgiveness is mandated for belie-
In terms of pastoral and clinical practice, stu- vers (cf. the Lord’s prayer), but the timetable is
dents often gain key insights in several areas: not. Sometimes there are very good reasons to
withhold forgiveness. To rush into forgiveness
1. Forgiveness is both a decision and a process. too quickly can sometimes enable an unrepen-
“Decisional forgiveness” plays a role in most tant offender to do greater evil. If forgiveness
models of forgiveness in the research literature, has been granted only to satisfy social pressure
although some emphasize it more than others. from well-meaning family or the church, it can
At some point for a person to overcome bitter- be a superficial exercise that leaves the victimi-
ness they need to decide they want to forgive, zed person feeling guilty about their unresolved
an existential and biblical act of faith. This is anger and hurt. Respecting the need to let peop-
helpful for both my pastoral and counselling le be in process with forgiveness, is a vital part
students to recognize. of helping them to move forward in obedience
to Jesus’ command to forgive.
2. The scientific study of forgiveness is spe-
cifying the bio-psycho-social-spiritual impact 5. In addition, in this course students also have
of unresolved bitterness, the more healthful to grapple with how congruent is the concept
outcomes of practicing grace and extending of therapeutic forgiveness, (roughly defined as
forgiveness in interpersonal relationships, and forgiving in order to relieve oneself of the ne-
articulating practical cognitive and emotional gative symptoms of bitterness), and forgiveness
strategies that seem to underlie successful for- enjoined by Jesus? Some theologians have sug-
giveness. This convergence of Biblical teaching gested that therapeutic forgiveness has serious
and empirical findings strengthens student’s deficiencies (cf. Jones, 1995 for an example).
confidence in faith and practice, and stimula- To what extent are these criticisms valid or off
tes interest in pursuing research interests in the the mark, is a question particularly important
area of forgiveness. to create healthy discomfort among counselling
students who are seeking to be integrative Chri-
3. Course readings in the psychological research stian professionals.
literature also raise critical questions about how
data from general revelation (behavioral sci- One student was compelled to contrast the
ence findings in this case) relates/does not re- humanistic approach common in her field of
late to data from special revelation (chiefly the counselling and Biblical witness regarding the
Bible). This furthers student development of the triune God:
integration of faith and professional practice for
counselling students, and gives pastoral stu- I could not help but think of my recent Satir
dies students a practical understanding of how training in line with a few of Jones’ assertions
to help people trapped in unforgiveness, using regarding the self. On page 76, Jones, taking
both theological and clinical insights. the example of Unforgiven, [a Clint Eastwood
film with forgiveness themes] asserts that the
capacity that each of us have to destroy and
One student noted: “ If forgiveness simply re- do evil shows that there is no stable self that
mains learned behavior then it somehow is can be presumed to be fundamentally good
void of divine power and mandate. It is diffi- or fundamentally evil; rather “our selves
cult to imagine the Spirit included in a purely are battlefields in which we can never claim
humanistic act. On the other hand, it is also complete control.” Obviously, Satir and other
clear that forgiveness is not only an action humanist philosophies argue that there is a
that is performed by Christians. It is a God- true, stable, congruent self, filled with positi-
given trait perhaps, but it falls under the doc- ve life energy, that works for transformatio-
trine of common grace, all humanity has been nal change, and is, ultimately, good. What a
granted the poser to forgive””. (M.M.) different approach than what Jones is advoca-
ting – nothing said about a larger narrative of

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